Granville, Ohio- Freshman Benjamin Hongell and junior Annelise Gibson paced the Wittenberg University men's and women's swimming & diving teams, respectively, on the third day of competition at the 2019 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships at Denison University's Trumbull Aquatics Center.
With 26 men's events in the books, Wittenberg sits eighth overall in the NCAC team standings with 310 points, while Denison leads the way with 1,276 total points. In women's action, the Tigers also sit in eighth-place in the team standings with 287 points, while Denison also holds the top spot in the women's standings after night three with 1,317 total points.
After suffering a DQ in the "A" finals of the 200-medley relay, the women's team kicked off night three action with freshman Abigail Dunasky finishing sixth overall in the "B" finals of the women's 400 IM with a season-best time of 4:55.50. Two Tigers competed in the championship heats of the women's 100 fly, led by junior Marita Banta-Long finishing eighth in the "B" finals with a season-best mark in the event of 1:00.53, while freshman Sophia Spriggs finished seventh in the "C" finals with another season-best time of 1:04.28. Junior Claire Bergefurd touched first in the "C" finals of the women's 200 free with a season-best time of 2:04.15, while freshman Emma Menjivar finished fourth overall in the "C" finals with another season-best mark of 2:07.67. In the women's 100 breast championship heats, Gibson finished fifth overall in the "B" finals with a season-best time of 1:08.05, while sophomore Breann Webb checked in at eighth in the "C" finals with a season-best clocking of 1:17.78. Freshman Jessica Crowder represented the Tigers in the "C" finals of the women's 100 back, placing fifth overall with a season-best time of 1:05.58.
The men's squad opened Friday night's action with a ninth-place finish in the 200-medley relay after posting a season-best time of 1:39.07 in the event. Freshman Anthony Petruzzi represented Wittenberg in the "B" finals of the men's 400 IM race, finishing seventh overall in the semifinal heat with a season-best time of 4:21.61. A pair of Tigers duked it out in the "C" finals of the men's 100 fly, with sophomore Trey Gregory finishing third in 52.57, and junior Bradley Barren placing sixth in a time of 54.02 seconds. Wittenberg also added a pair of top-nine finsihes in the "C" finals of the men's 200 free as the junior duo of Nick Angeli and Drew Suffoletta finished eighth (1:50.75) and ninth (1:51.33), respectively, both with season-best times. Hongell posted Wittenberg's top individual event finish of the night in the "B" finals of the 100 breast as he went below one-minute in the event for the first time this season, touching third overall in 58.90 seconds. In the final swimming event on Friday night, Wittenberg had a pair of finishers in the "C" finals of the men's 100 back, with sophomore Connor Flanagan finishing fifth in a season-best time of 57.47, and freshman Conrad Casey placing ninth overall with a time of 1:01.09.
The 2019 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships conclude tomorrow, Saturday, February 16th, at Denison University. Preliminary events start at 9:30 a.m., with the final session beginning at 6:00 p.m. In addition, there will also be afternoon heats of the 1,650 freestyle events between the prelim and finals sessions.