Courtesy: JCU Athletics
Women’s Recap
GENEVA, Ohio — An outstanding performance on the first full day of the OAC Championships from SPIRE Institute will hopefully carry momentum over to the next two days for the John Carroll University Women’s Swimming & Diving team.
The Blue Streaks won four of the evening’s five events and built a 145-point lead heading into day two.
“The athletes swam incredibly well tonight,” said Head Coach Tanner Barton. “They started out strong this morning and finished the job tonight,” Barton said. “Whenever you’re winning, it’s nothing but fun.”
Kicking off this evening’s championship events was the Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay, in which Mount Union got off to a fast start and led for three quarters of the event. However, John Carroll’s team made up ground in the home stretch, finishing with a time of 1:37.85 and ultimately winning the event by 0.14 seconds over Mount Union. Gwyneth Hamilton, Ashley Lynch, Olivia Talamo, and Tori Vale took care of business for JCU, all swimming under 24.77 seconds.
Sophomore Ynrya Bohan entered as the No. 1 seed in the 500 Freestyle event. After Mount Union’s Bella Ratino, the defending champion from last season, jumped out to a quick start, Bohan powerfully built a 4.5 second lead heading into the ninth lap. While Mount Union’s Callie Landry slightly cut into the lead, it was all Bohan for the rest of the race. Bohan finished with a time of 5:10.70 and won by close to eight seconds. Teammate Hope Scherger (5:18.66) battled back and took second place, getting her senior OAC Championship weekend off to a fantastic start. JCU sophomore Lauren Spence also took 7th in the event, posting a time of 5:24.51.
“Ynrya and Hope went 1-2, and neither of them were in those spots in the past,” said Barton. “A swimmer from BW, Bella Ratino, won the event last year. Ynrya was able to get out in front and win. Hope and I talked after the morning swim, and I told her, ‘You are getting stronger in your last 50. Once you hit the 300 mark, kick it in. Don’t wait til the last 50, start kicking it in when you have 200 left. She did that and it paid off.”
In the 200 IM, John Carroll senior Gwyn Ledrick, the returning OAC Champion and conference record holder, entered the event with the top seed time. She led from start to finish and dominated the competition, winning by 5.95 seconds (2:06.20). Her teammates also impressed, with Monica McKie, Danielle Turi, and Rachel Halapchuk all in the top four after the first fifty meters. Ultimately, McKie (2:14.83) finished fourth, Turi (2:15.27) fifth, and Halapchuk (2:18.53) seventh for the Blue Streaks.
“Gwyn did great in the IM,” Barton said. “It was great to see her have fun, she was dancing during the walk-up song. She had a commanding victory in the 200 IM.”
Six of the eight competitors in the Women’s 50 Freestyle were John Carroll swimmers. While Megan Lubinski (24.25) from Ohio Northern took first and Mount Union’s Aurelia Incristi (24.33) took second, the Blue Streaks finished third through eighth. Gwyneth Hamilton (24.59) took third, Anna Glass (24.62) fourth, Ashley Lynch (24.85) and Tori Vale (24.85) each fifth, Olivia Talamo (25.09) seventh, and Maddie Panus (25.25) eighth.
“We have incredible depth,” Barton said. “I’m most proud of those 50 freestylers. We had six individuals entered in the 50 Free, and all six made it into the top eight. That shows that those women worked hard in the past semester. The rest that we gave them paid off. We didn’t get first or second in the race, but we got third through eighth. We scored the most points in that race because of our depth and speed.
The John Carroll 400 Medley relay team steadily amassed an insurmountable lead. After being in second place after the first 100 meters, they gained the lead after 150 meters and built a 13-second lead heading into the final 100 meters. The Blue Streaks won by over eleven seconds with a time of 3:57.10, as Panus, Ledrick, Vale, and Glass put up an impressive effort.
At the conclusion of the first day’s events, the John Carroll Women’s team jetted out to a first place overall lead with a score of 301 points. Heading into day two out of the five competing teams, Mount Union (156) is second, Ohio Northern (148) third, Baldwin Wallace (98) fourth, and Wilmington (62) fifth.
Friday’s preliminary round starts at 10:00 a.m. with the finals slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. Make sure to tune in to the broadcast on jcusports.com.
“Look for more fast swims on the women’s side,” Barton said for Day 2. “We’re going to do really well in the stroke events. Our depth and speed will shine through.”
Men’s Recap
GENEVA, Ohio — During the first full day of the OAC Championship events from SPIRE Institute in Geneva, the John Carroll University Men’s swimming team got off to a dominant start. They won every single event, cruising to two relay (200 Free and 400 Medley) and three individual (500 Freestyle, 200 IM, and 50 Freestyle) victories.
The Blue Streaks possess a 54-point lead heading into tomorrow.
Coming in as the favorite on the men’s side and returning the entire team that set the OAC record last year, the Blue Streaks sure did impress in the 200 Free Relay. Actually, they did more than impress: they shattered expectations.
The team, which consists of Adam Lenz, Liam McDonnell, Michael Heller, and Forrest Campbell, broke their own record with a time of 1:21.02 and breezed through the event. In fact, that time earned the Blue Streaks Division III All-American recognition for the event as they broke the automatic time standard by 1.97 seconds.
“All four of those men did a great job,” said Barton. “Liam had a fantastic split, Forrest was able to anchor us home to a commanding victory. It was a fantastic race.”
In a tightly contested 500 Freestyle race, John Carroll’s Erik Sriubas (4:40.27) led for the majority of the time, ultimately emerging victorious. However, it was not without a bit of drama; Sriubas’ teammate Jonah Venos (4:40.66) turned it on at the end, battling back from hovering around the fifth spot to cut significant time off the lead. Venos’ comeback would fall short by just 0.39 seconds, earning him second place. John Carroll’s Aidan O’Neill started off strong and was in second place for most of the race before finishing in fourth with a time of 4:41.60.
After the first 100 meters of the 200 IM, returning OAC Champion and John Carroll junior Adam Lenz was in fourth place. That’s when he decided to turn it up a notch, cruising through the final 100 meters and retaining his crown with a time of 1:54.21. Teammate Nick Mudry (1:55.72) was in seventh after 50 meters, but came on strong and finished fourth for the Streaks.
In the 50 Freestyle, Blue Streak Liam McDonnell blazed to a first place finish, finishing with a time of 20.51. Teammate Michael Heller (20.96) narrowly finished fourth, while Westin Fishel (21.53) took fifth and Joe Kaiser (21.61) sixth for John Carroll.
But the drama wasn’t in the finals for the 50 Free, it was in the morning time trials. Forrest Campbell asked to compete in the time trial for the event, and shattered the school record with a time of 20.43.”
“Forrest has laser focus. When he puts his mind to something, he’s going to get the job done,” said Barton. “When we had the option to do a time trial, and he asked me, ‘Can I re-do the 50 Free, I said, ‘Yes! I will never tell someone no,’ especially Forrest. That was a great swim to get the program record.”
For the 400 Medley Relay, the Blue Streaks entered with the fastest preliminary time and had a chance to set an OAC Record. They dominated the entire race, leading the entire time. After 100 meters, they built a 4.26 second lead and increased it to six and a half seconds after 250 meters. Ultimately, the Streaks (3:17.46) won the event, set the OAC Record, and fulfilled the NCAA Division III All-American consideration time, smashing the latter by close to four seconds, as McDonnell, Jonah Venos, Campbell, and Heller roared for the win.
“Whenever you break a record, it’s a reason to celebrate. Those men have fun with each other,” said Barton. “When you’re relaxed and you’re having fun, you’re going to swim fast. We were fortunate enough to break the record.”
Wrapping up the first day’s events, John Carroll leads on the men’s side heading into day two with a score of 258 points. Mount Union (204) is in second, Ohio Northern (160) third, Baldwin Wallace (95) fourth, and Wilmington (76) fifth.
Friday’s preliminary round starts at 10:00 a.m. with the finals slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. Make sure to tune in to the broadcast on jcusports.com.
“Look for more fast racing,” Barton predicted. “We started off incredibly strong. On the men’s side, we did not lose an event today. I expect our men to keep that momentum going. We’re going to continue to be in the thick of the races and put more points on the board.”
