Excitement Mounting in Team Battles After Day 2 at Men’s NESCACs

New England Small College Athletic Conference –Men

• Dates: Friday, February 19 – Sunday, February 21; prelims 10 AM, finals 6 PM (5:30 on Sunday)
• Location: Williamstown, MA (Eastern Time)
• Defending Champions: Williams (13x) (results)
• Live Results: Available
• Live Video: Available
• Championship Central

Williams is still out front after two days of NESCAC action, but the rest of the standing table is up for grabs. Connecticut College has a 80-point lead over Tufts, and perennial second-place finisher Amherst sits 46 points back from third. Bowdoin has moved past Middlebury to challenge Bates for fifth, although Middlebury is only 6 points back in seventh place. The rest of the teams (Wesleyan, Hamilton, Colby, and Trinity) are close enough that it’s anyone’s game for eighth through eleventh.

200 Yard Medley Relay

1. Williams College 1:29.31
2. Tufts University 1:31.00
3. Amherst College 1:31.41

Williams opened Saturday night’s session with a win in the 200 medley relay, as Benjamin Lin, Jake Tamposi, Timothy Kostolansky, and John Hammond came to the wall in a time of 1:29.31, setting a pool record and just mising the meet mark.

1000 Yard Freestyle

1. Michael McGean, Middlebury – 9:32.36
2. Stephen Skaperdas, Connecticut – 9:36.75
3. Brandon Jinn, Tufts – 9:37.71

Michael McGean of Middlebury, fourth in last year’s race, took control of the 1000 from the very first strokes. He had built up a body-length lead by the 200 and never looked back. McGean touched in 9:32.36, beating Connecticut’s Stephen Skaperdas (9:36.75) by 4.4 seconds. Tufts freshman Brandon Jinn picked up a bronze with 9:37.71.

400 Yard Individual Medley

1. AJ Pite, Connecticut – 3:57.82
2. Colin Hogan, Williams – 4:00.06
3. Jeff Anderson, Amherst – 4:02.36

Improving on his tenth-place finish of last year, Connecticut sophomore AJ Pite won the men’s 400 IM with the only sub-4:00 time in the field. Pite, who was runner-up in the 500 free on Friday, was trailing the top three at the 200 turn, but his explosive breast leg put him in front heading into the freestyle, and that’s all he needed to shut down the competition. Pite finished with 3:57.82, more than 2 seconds ahead of Williams junior Colin Hogan (4:00.06). Amhert senior Jeff Anderson rounded out the podium with 4:02.36.

100 Yard Butterfly

1. Kingsley Bowen, Tufts – 49.29
2. George Tilneac, Connecticut – 49.34
3. Reed Patterson, Amherst – 49.46

In an absolutely stunning finish of a very competitive final, Tufts freshman Kingsley Bowen held off the challengers to earn the win in the men’s 100 fly. Bowen got his hand to the wall in 49.29, just milliseconds ahead of Connecticut’s George Tilnead (49.34) and Amherst’s Reed Patterson (49.46).

200 Yard Freestyle

1. Karl Sarier, Bowdoin – 1:39.70
2. Theodore Pender, Bates – 1:40.40
3. Curtis Maher, Williams – 1:41.39

As if we needed any proof of how fast the NESCAC is becoming, four of the top eight finalists in the 200 free were freshmen, including Bowdoin’s Karl Sarier who won with 1:39.70. After his second-place finish in the 200 IM, Sarier found another gear on Saturday night. Turning in third at the 150 wall, he came back with intensity to blow past the leaders and finish first by 7/10. Bates sophomore and 2016 50 Free Champion Theodore Pender had a strong close as well, moving past Williams freshman Curtis Maher to score a silver medal with 1:40.40. Maher took third in 1:41.39.

100 Yard Breaststroke

1. Jake Tamposi, Williams – 55.50
2. Elijah Spiro, Amherst – 56.06
3. Stephan Koenigsberger, Middlebury – 56.08

Williams senior Jake Tamposi won his third straight NESCAC title in the 100 breast with a new pool record of 55.50. Tamposi was out first at the 50 and came home with the fastest split as well, coming to the wall over a half-second faster than Amhert’s Elijah Spiro (56.06) and Middlebury’s Stephan Koenigsberger (56.08). Spiro was runner-up in to Tamposi in the 50 breast on Friday. It was Koenigsberger’s third year in a row with a bronze medal in the 100 breast.

100 Yard Backstroke

1. Benjamin Lin, Williams – 47.93
2. Michael Winget, Tufts – 49.46
3. Alex McCarter, Williams – 49.47

Williams junior Benjamin Lin added a third consecutive win in the 100 back to his three straight titles in the 50 back. Lin set the NESCAC record in 2015 and this year broke the meet and pool records with his 47.93 win. Tufts senior Michael Winget put on quite a show for the crowd in the Williams Natatorium by nearly even-splitting his 100 and coming back from sixth at the 50 to eke out a second-place finish (49.46) by 1/100 over Willliams senior Alex McCarter (49.47), and pushing Connecticut junior Michael Fothergill (49.63) off the podium.

800 Yard Medley Relay

1. Tufts University 6:49.22
2. Williams College 6:50.55
3. Amherst College 6:50.79

After several years finishing off the podium at number four, the Tufts University 800 free relay won it all on Saturday. Freshmen Kingsley Bowen (1:42.72) and Noah Cagley (1:41.76) combined with junior Zachary Wallace (1:43.48) and senior Winget (1:41.26) for a winning 6:49.22.

Williams pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind win over rival Amherst to take second place, 6:50.65 to 6:50.79.

Men’s Standings

1. Williams College 1263.5
2. Connecticut College 1083
3. Tufts University 1003.5
4. Amherst College 957
5. Bates College 665
6. Bowdoin College 589.5
7. Middlebury 583.5
8. Wesleyan University 337
9. Hamilton College 326
10. Trinity College 325
11. Colby College 279