2017 CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- February 17th-19th, 2017
- Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- Championship Central (including results)
Article by Dan Mallozzi and Michael Harmon
Women
Lancaster PA, day three of the Centennial Conference Swimming Championships resumed with the longest event in the books. On the women’s side Dickinson’s Olivia Lyman (17:19.55) claimed a near 20 second victory in the 1650 Freestyle over runner up Caroline Fry (17:38.38) from Franklin and Marshall. Coming in third was Julia Portman (17:40.51) from Washington. Lyman had a strong mental attitude thanks to support from her team. “This is what I’ve worked for all year, I had great support from my team” Lyman said when reflecting on her race.
The 200 Backstroke featured another Dickinson champion as Katie Schmidt (2:02.83) handed Ursinus’ Peyten Lyons (2:03.26) a rare defeat. Rounding out the top three was Swarthmore’s Emily Bley (2:05.93). When asked about her race strategy, Schmidt knew exactly what she had to do. “I had to go out stronger than usual and hold on. There was no room to hold back” Schmidt said. It was a bold strategy that paid off and gave the Red Devils another individual victory.
In a close race, Sydney Gundersen (52.55) from Ursinus managed to edge Washington’s Jenni Clune (52.69) in the women’s 100 Freestyle. Gettysburg’s Kate Crilly claimed 3rd in a time of 53.24. After a fast swim and with the season almost at a close, Gundersen said, “I’m looking forward to feeling my muscles again.” “I had to talk with my assistant coach for a motivational speech before that race” Gundersen added.
In the evening’s pen ultimate individual event, the 200 Breaststroke, Swarthmore’s Liz Stanton (2:23.09) managed to hold off the Lady Bears as Ursinus teammates Olivia Tierney (2:23.23) and Haley Sturla (2:24.61) finished 2nd and 3rd. Stanton, who is looking forward to eating cheeseburgers after the season concludes, “The cheering from my teammates helped, but almost a little too much. I nearly hyperventilated at the end of my race.”
The final individual event of the evening gave Ursinus one last opportunity to show their dominance as the Lady Bears claimed 4 of the top 5 spots int eh 200 Butterfly. 1st was Meggie Leitz who touched in a blazing time of 2:03.82. In 2nd was Ursinus teammate Clara Baker (2:05.54) and 3rd was Ursinus’ Katherine Porter (2:09.99). Gettysburg’s Sydney “The Boz” Boswell managed to slip into 4th, preventing a clean sweep of the top 4 spots by the Lady Bears.
The championship wrapped up with one final relay, the 400 Freestyle. The meet ended just as it had begun, with a Lady Bear relay victory. Touching first was the team of Lyons, Baker, Leitz and Gundersen in a time of 3:31.86. 2nd was Washington (3:35.09) who was closely followed by Gettysburg (3:36.14).
At the conclusion of the meet, the Ursinus Lady Bears once again sat atop the mountain with 815 points and hoisted up the Centennial Conference Championship trophy for a 4th straight year. The Ursinus team overwhelmed the conference from the beginning of the meet until the end, and showed no signs of weakness along the way. Congratulations Urinus, well deserved! Rounding out the final team standings was Gettysburg 537, Swarthmore 524, Washington 409, Franklin and Marshall 405, Dickinson 368, McDaniel 333, and Bryn Mawr 148. Looking forward into next year, Coach Feinberg and Ursinus will look to retain their title, as the rest of the conference will attempt to dethrone them.
MEN
The final day of competition on the men’s side began with a number of potential changes in the standings. Gettysburg hoped to pull off an almost unfathomable comeback on Swarthmore, all the while, Ursinus remained within a more realistic striking distance of Gettysburg. Ultimately all 7 teams were focused on improving individual times, one after the next in efforts of closing gaps in the standings, a point best illustrated by McDaniel head coach Jeff Hiestand who recognized that the ideal outcome isn’t exactly to win, it’s to see improvement in swims. “We’re looking at the percentage of best times across the board” Hiestand said when asked on how he measures his team’s success by the outcome of the meet.
Keeping the pursuit of a best time is often one of the strongest motivators when swimming some of the longer, lonelier events in the program. The men’s mile, the longest event in NCAA swimming, showcased arguably the most exhilarating race of the meet as two freshmen went head to head for 66 laps. With less than a quarter second separating Ogden Leyens from Josh Parker heading into the final 50, it was anyone’s race. But staying true to form, Leyens pulled away from Gettysburg teammate Parker with only yards remaining, finishing in a 15:51.33, while Parker followed in a time of 15:53.22. Touching in third was Michael Lutzker from Swarthmore at 15:58.44. “I’d like to dedicate that race to my teammate Josh Parker. I could not have done it without him” said Leyens.
The 200 Backstroke was a one man race, as Liam Fitzstevens of Swarthmore cruised to victory as the only swimmer to break the 1:50.00 barrier. Fitzstevens clocked a 1:49.00 which was over 3 seconds faster than runner up William Benn (1:52.73) from Ursinua. Touching 3rd was Gettysburg freshmen Jeff Ragatz (1:53.15). In a race dedicated to his club coach Shane Logan, Fitzstevens made sure to stay relaxed before his race. “I was talking with the timer about them stepping on Michael Phelps’ toe at a swim meet, I wanted to keep a light mentality before my race” Fitzstevens said.
The 100 Freestyle has traditionally been a dominant event for the Gettysburg men. It was where they managed to pull away from the Garnet in last year’s contest. However, despite placing 3 swimmers in the top 8, 2 of which being the top 2 spots, the Bullets did not gain anywhere near as much ground as they needed to in the event and only managed to close the gap between them and Swarthmore marginally. In 1st and 2nd were Gettysburg teammates Tyler Dougherty (45.38) and Francisco Nieves (45.86). 3rd was Washington’s Kevin Mackenzie (46.40). As per usual, Dougherty kindly turned down yet another interview. Fortunately runner-up Nieves, fueled by a champion’s bliss, happily obliged. “I would like to thank my family and my old Coach Kim Case, who got me into swimming” Nieves said. When asked about his pre-race preparation and mindset Nieves said, “I listened to a little Frank Ocean beforehand to get me ready for my race.” It appeared to work well as Nieves proceeded to “Swim Good”.
The men’s 200 Breaststroke appeared to be a form of revenge tour as Gettysburg Freshmen Adam Dias (previously disqualified for moving his head on the starting blocks during the 100 breast final) locked down the final heat by leading from start to finish. He touched in a time of 2:04.16, taking 1st over Dickinson Senior Samuel Eaton (2:05.79). Finishing 3rd was Swarthmore’s Jeff Tse (2:05.82). When asked about his racing mindset Dias said, “My only real goal was to drop time.”
The men’s 200 Fly went somewhat similarly to the women’s as Ursinus placed 1st and 2nd with James Callaghan (1:54.43) taking the honors over teammate Colin McNamara (1:54.55). In 3rd was Franklin and Marshall’s Eric Dietrich-Peterson, whose teammates placed 4th and 5th behind him. When asked about his championship effort Callaghan said, “I really wanted the win, and I’m very happy to have come away with it.” When asked about what he is looking forward to most after the season Callaghan replied, “Honestly, I’m looking forward to getting back in the pool and training.” When asked the same question again, Callaghan said, “I’m looking forward to relaxing and cheering my girlfriend on at NCAAs.”
As the evening wrapped up, there was only one event left to swim, the men’s 400 Freestyle relay. In an event dominated by the Orange and Blue in recent years, Swarthmore sought to put a stamp on their season by claiming one last victory and securing a sweep of the relays, and after 15/16 laps, it seemed as if they would pull it off. Unfortunately for the Garnet a late surge by Gettysburg’s Tyler Dougherty brought the stands to their feet as he out-touched Jeff Tse for the final relay honors. Officially, the top three finishers were: 1st Gettysburg (3:03.36) with a team of Leyens, Nieves, Sorenson, and Dougherty. 2nd Swarthmore (3:03.80) and 3rd Washington 3:07.88.
As the splashing ceased and the cheering faded, a new champion was named as the Swarthmore Men’s swim team stormed the podium and for the first time in conference history a program other than Gettysburg and Franklin and Marshall hoisted up the trophy. When asked about their team goals, every Swarthmore swimmer wanted to win, they were all in tune with one another, and motivated each other, a mentality best echoed by Longtime Dickinson Coach Paul Richards, “Every team wants to win, it’s okay to fail, but it’s not okay to not try. The only way to succeed is teamwork, support and to take care of each other and push each other.” With unmatched depth and determination, the Garnet more than held off the late push from 6-time defending champion Gettysburg to accomplish the goal they set out for themselves at the beginning of the season. Looking ahead to next year, Coach Colby and Swarthmore will likely compete with Gettysburg for the title once more, as Ursinus creeps ever closer to contention.
Women’s standings after day 3
- Ursinus 815
- Gettysburg 537
- Swarthmore 524,
- Washington College 409
- Franklin & Marshall 405
- Dickinson 368
- McDaniel 333
- Bryn Mawr 148
Men’s standings after day 3
- Swarthmore 720
- Gettysburg 600
- Ursinus 533
- Franklin & Marshall 492
- Washington College 434
- Dickinson 420
- McDaniel 216.
