Rebecca Searcy
The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams
turned in solid finishes at the North Coast Athletic Conference
championships Feb. 10-12 in Canton, Ohio. The Tiger women placed
fourth for the fifth straight year, behind Kenyon, Denison and
Wooster, three of the top 10 teams in the nation. The Tiger men
placed a deceiving sixth, just 30 points out of fourth place, in a
meet that featured several of the top teams nationally and dozens
of NCAA Division III qualifying times in both the men's and women's
competitions.
The meet highlight for the Red & White was clearly provided by
junior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby
County), who placed in the top five in three individual
events and earned provisional qualifying times each time, including
an NCAA "A" Cut time of 17:26 in the 1650-yard freestyle, good for
third place and All-NCAC honors.
Junior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington,
Ohio/Wilmington) turned in the first All-NCAC finish of
her career by taking third place in the 100 backstroke in an NCAA
"B" Cut time of 59.54. She also placed sixth in the 200 back.
Sophomore Jen Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley
Friends) was also outstanding in both backstroke events,
placing sixth in the 100 and seventh in the 200. It's an indication
of the phenomenal depth in the NCAC field that Mulligan was one of
six individuals to earn NCAA "B" Cuts in the 100 back.
Also of note individually was freshman Lindsay Smith (Mount
Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon), who turned in strong
performances in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 butterfly. She
turned in a pair of 10th place finishes in the freestyle
events.
In the women's relays, the Tigers were consistent but also unable
to break through for an All-NCAC finish. Yeakley, junior
Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville),
Mulligan and Smith placed fifth in the 400 medley relay, sophomore
Shantel Sechrist (Saltsburg, Pa./Saltsburg),
Conner, Mulligan and Smith placed fifth in the 200 medley relay,
Searcy, sophomore Hillary Clark (Ann Arbor,
Mich./Pioneer), freshman Kaitlin Clark (Wakeman,
Ohio/Firelands) and Yeakley came in fourth in the 800 free
relay, and Kaitlin Clark, Searcy, Yeakley and Smith took fifth in
the 400 free relay.
Rounding things out for the women was freshman Courtney
Roth (Gurnee, Ill./Lake Forest), who placed fourth in the
3-meter diving competition and seventh in the 1-meter.
On the men's side, the team's points leader was freshman
Ryan Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon), who
finished 10th in the 400 IM and fifth in the 1650 free, the latter
being the best individual finish for a Tiger men's swimmer. The
best individual finish overall came from sophomore Cody
Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden), who placed third in the
3-meter diving event and sixth in the 1-meter event. It was the
second straight year he has earned All-NCAC honors.
Sophomore Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake
Central) turned in several outstanding finishes, including
a pair of 12th places in the 50 and 100 free. In addition, senior
Jonathan Newcomer (Valencia, Pa./Mars Area) place
11th in the 100 back and 18th in the 200 back, and freshman
Nick Pierson (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central)
placed 12th in the 400 IM.
One top-five relay finish was turned in by Newcomer, sophomore
Ben Weible (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood), senior
Blake Troxel (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) and junior
Dan McGuire (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) in the 200
medley relay.
Several swimmers will take one last shot at qualifying for the
national meet this weekend at at the Case Western Reserve Veale
Invitational. Searcy is the only Tiger swimmer assured of a spot in
the national meet, while Yeakley and Mulligan are provisionally
qualified and likely will have to improve upon their times at Case
Western.
Next: 3/10-12 @ NCAA Championships Holland, Mich. (Men)
3/17-19 @ NCAA Championships Holland, Mich. (Women)