Emily McClellan stole the show on Friday night at the horizon league Championships. After having a stellar 50 breast split on the medley relay Wednesday night, a fast swim was surely expected out of McClellan in the 100; she didn’t disappoint. In terms of the team race, Oakland took control, winning seven events on the night.
400 IM
The women of Oakland started the night off hot, going 1-2 in the 400 IM. Patricia Achan and Emily Ludema hit the wall in 4:19.47 and 4:21.54, respectively. Veronica Gibson rounded out the top three with a time of 4:23.98. Swimming in for spots 4-6 were Natalie Neuwirth (4:26.50), Megan Hunter (4:26.80), and Kristin Zablocki (4:29.18). Kendra Rottier placed seventh in a time of 4:30.07 while Stella Pasalidou grabbed eighth place with a 4:30.74.
Oakland’s second win of the night came on the men’s side of things. Jorden Merrilees cruised to victory, winning by four seconds in a time of 3:48.51. His win scored him new championship and meet records. Coming in behind him was Willem Poelmans with a 3:52.35 for second and Nic Calverson came in third with a 3:56.10. Cleveland picked up fourth and fifth place with Gage Alleman (3:57.53) and Justin Kermack (3:57.58). Connor Huff and Mitchell Alters were the last two swimmers under four minutes, with times of 3:58.34 and 3:59.36. Christian Grobe grabbed eighth place with a 4:03.74.
100 Fly
Julia Vela picked up another title for Oakland, winning the hundred fly in a time of 55.34. Finishing close behind was Danel Voorhees in 55.50 for second, Melanie Waszak for third in a 55.82, and Alex Johansson was fourth in a 55.90. Spots 5-7 was a tight race, with the three swimmers finishing sighing .15 of each other. Sierra Townsend grabbed fifth with a 56.36, Emily Hayhow finished sixth in a time of 56.48, and Haley Lucas touched in a 56.51 for seventh. Janna Check‘s 57.39 got her eighth place.
The men’s 100 fly featured another new championship and meet record. Alex Lewis flew to the win by over a second, touching in a time of 47.08. The close part of the race was the fight for sports 2-5, finishing within .37 of each other. Mario Rusnak touched in a 48.09 for second, Mike Lucchesi was third in a 48.19, Tuomas Kiviluoma finished fourth with a 48.25, and Kei Ishimaru grabbed fifth in a 48.25. There was tie for sixth place with both Sebastian Ostrowski and Cole Hackney going 49.25. Lucas Osgood finished eighth with a 49.48.
200 Free
Diana Diel got Milwaukee’s first individual title on the night with her win in the 200 free. Diel was the only swimmer under the 1:50 mark, swimming to victory in 1:49.25. Rowan Elbadry sealed up second place with a 1:50.06 while Nikki Flynn finished third in a 1:51.00. There was a three way tie for fourth place with Parker Wolf, Claire Walters, and Rachel Weiland all going 1:51.54. Anna Yontz just missed the tie, going a 1:51.98, grabbing seventh. Christine Kopacko wrapped up the A final, picking up eighth with a 1:53.22.
Oakland scored another individual title in the men’s 200 free with Zach Johnson touching in with a 1:39.22. Finishing only .30 behind him, Adam Ingledew scored second with a 1:39.52. Oakland’s Matya Keresztes grabbed third place points with a 1:40.73. Bentley Demuth cracked the 1:41 barrier, swimming to fourth place in a 1:40.97. The rest of the field featured a slew of 1:41s: Jeremiah Morren fifth in 1:41.46, Tim Halverson sixth with a 1:41.49, Vinvent Errichiello picked up seventh with a 1:41.73, and Robert Tolson rounded out the top eight with a 1:41.80.
100 Breast
Superstar Emily McClellan scored Milwaukee’s second individual win, dominating the field by four seconds in the 100 breast. She scored an NCAA “A” cut, a new championship record, and a new meet record with her time of 58.44; also good for third in the nation. The rest of the field fell behind, with second place finisher Takara Martin touching in a 1:02.18. Third and fourth place went to Melissa VanderMeulen (1:02.96) and Monica Pinkus (1:02.97). Rachel White was fifth with a 1:03.03, Madisen Tretter finished sixth in 1:03.48, and Lindsey Verhulst grabbed seventh in 1:03.58. Kayla Fearrin finished out the field with a 1:05.19.
Greenbay’s Ryan Korslin also picked up a dominating win in the men’s race, winning by .81. Korslin led the entire way, finishing first in a 53.32. Nathan Grant grabbed second (54.33) and Clement Quilliec was able to stay under the 55 mark for third in a 54.98. Hrafn Traustason dropped a second from his prelims swim, touching in fourth with a time of 55.27. Kile Aukerman was the last swimmer under 56, grabbing fifth in a 55.59. Collin Morgan(56.29), Csongor Bajnoczki (56.50), and Frederick Jenny (56.54) rounded out the top eight.
100 Back
Karin Tomeckova of Oakland tied the Horizon League championship record in the 100 back with a 54.40. Ashley Dow and Becky Yokosh finished second and third with times of 55.12 and 55.36. The rest of the field dropped back to 57s with Kristin Zabloicki (57.01) grabbing fourth, Anne Jacobsen fifth in 57.10, Kristin Hayhow (57.44) touching in sixth, Emily Gomez (57.48) picking up seventh, and Erika Pliner (57.61) closing out the top eight.
Another Horizon League and championship record went down when Grant Harding touched in at 47.63, a full eight tenths in front of the field. Aleksander Danielewski finsihed second with a 48.43 while Al Shillito close behind with a 48.68. Fourth place was locked up with a 49.55 out of Sebastian Ostrowski. John Ferrara was the last swimmer under 50, finishing fifth with a 49.57. Peter Errichiello (50.08), John Kangas (50.26), and Evan Hill (51.61) rounded out the top heat.
Men’s 1-Meter
The men’s one meter allowed for a break in the swimming action but continued the excitement. The finish for first and second place was only decided by a two point margin. Danny Roberts sealed the deal, winning with a score of 333.20 points. KJ Heger grabbed second with 331.15 while Stephen Schillero scored third place with a score of 317.35.
800 Free Relay
The women of Milwaukee topped the night off with a victory in the 800 free relay as well as another Horizon League and meet record. The squad of Natalie Johnson (1:50.89), Anna Yonts (1:52.26), Diana Diel (1:49.36), and McClellan (1:48.77) touched in a winning time of 7:21.28, shaving two seconds off the previous record. Greenbay finished second in a 7:25.76 while Oakland picked up third with a time of 7:26.86.
The men of Oakland crushed the field as well as the old Horizon League/meet record, winning in a time of 6:32.35. Amr El Sayed led off in a 1:37.93 while Tuoma Kiviluoma (1:38.34), Zach Johnson (1:40.16), and Jorden Merrilees (1:35.92) finished off the last three legs. Milwaukee finished second, a whole nine seconds behind, in 6:41.59 while Green Bay was third with a 6:43.22.
Action continues tomorrow with the prelims of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breaststroke, and 200 fly. Prelims begin at 10 AM.