PRESIDENTS’ ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (PAC) – MEN AND WOMEN
- Dates: Wednesday, February 12-Saturday, February 15, 2020
- Location: James E. Longnecker Pool – Grove City College
- Defending Champion: Westminster women; Grove City men
- Live Results: Available here
Courtesy: Presidents’ Athletic Conference
WOMEN
GROVE CITY, Pa. (pacathletics.org)–Grove City College owns a 32-point advantage over Westminster College after the conclusion of Thursday’s finals of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Swimming & Diving Championships.
Grove City grabbed the top spot in the team standings after the first seven contested events with 331 points. Westminster totaled 299 points.
Saint Vincent College sits in third place with 253 points. Chatham University is fourth (195) and is followed by Washington & Jefferson College in fifth (64) and Bethany College in sixth (26).
Grove City captured its league-best 16th PAC title in 2017-18. It was the program’s 10th-straight conference championship.
Westminster is looking for its sixth league title. The Titans claimed the PAC Championship last February.
Wednesday night, Grove City won the 800 free relay with a time of 7 minutes, 51.78 seconds. This was the first year the relay was contested on Wednesday after being previously held during Friday’s evening session. Members of the relay included freshman Sarah Gann (Council Bluffs, Iowa | Lewis Central), senior Britt Byer (Canonsburg, Pa. | Canon-McMillan), freshman Sydney Laughlin (Sykesville, Md. | Century) and senior Anne Shirley Dassow (Lookout Mountain, Tenn. | Chattanooga Christian).
Grove City opened Thursday evening’s championship finals with a victory in the 200 free relay, registering a time of 1:36.15. Freshman Rachael Wallace (Hopewell, Pa. | Hopewell), Byer, junior Denali Hutzelmann (Milford, Pa. | Delaware Valley) and Dassow made up the winning relay for the Wolverines.
Saint Vincent junior Marion D’Aurora (Leonardtown, Md. | St. Mary’s Ryken) claimed the conference title in the 500 free with a time of 5:15.06.
Chatham senior Mallory Marzolf (Cheswick, Pa. | Deer Lakes) claimed her third-straight PAC title in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.63.
Grove City senior Anne Shirley Dassow (Lookout Mountain, Tenn. | Chattanooga Christian) posted to her third-straight league title in the 50 free with a time of 24.26.
Westminster junior Zoe Cable (Brookville, Pa. Brookville) prevailed in the 11-dive, one-meter dive event, earning a winning score of 400.95 in the finals. Junior Kaitlyn Fast (Wooster, Ohio | Wooster) finished as the runner-up (399.80). Both Cable and Fast surpassed the NCAA Division III regional qualifying standard Thursday.
Grove City closed out the evening with a victory in the 400 medley relay, finishing with a winning time of 3:56.32. It was the fourth-straight year that Grove City won the event. Byer, Laughlin, Dassow and Wallace made up the Wolverines’ winning relay.
On Friday, preliminary heats for all swimming events will begin at 10 a.m. with event finals starting at 6 p.m.
MEN
GROVE CITY, Pa. (pacathletics.org)–Grove City College jumped out to a 31-point advantage over Westminster College to lead the six-team coalition after the conclusion of Thursday’s finals of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Swimming & Diving Championships.
Grove City copped the top spot in the team standings after first seven contested events with 364 points. Westminster finished with 333 points.
Saint Vincent College sits in third place with 243 points. Washington & Jefferson College is fourth (135) and is followed by Bethany College in fifth (36) and Chatham University in sixth (12).
Grove City is seeking its 20th league title after winning the PAC Championship in 2018-19. Last year was Grove City’s first league title since 2013-14.
Westminster has claimed nine PAC championships since joining the league in 2003. Westminster won five-straight PAC titles from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
Wednesday night, Westminster won the 800 free relay with a time of 6 minutes, 53.70 seconds. This was the first year the relay was contested on Wednesday after previously being held during Friday’s evening session. Members of the relay included junior Matt Kwalick (Sewickley, Pa. | Quaker Valley), sophomore Jake Musselman (Denver, Pa. | Cocalico), junior Blaine Sorrick (Mantua, Ohio | Crestwood) and senior Aaron Dunlany (Boardman, Ohio | Boardman). Westminster had won the event at the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 championships.
Westminster started Thursday’s evening session strong by claiming the title in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:24.81. It was the Titans’ second-straight year winning the event. Members of the relay included Kwalick, sophomore Trevor McCabe (Avon, N.Y. | Avon Central), Sorrick and Musselman.
Dunlany won the league title in the 500 free after posting a time of 4:46.03.
Grove City sophomore Luke Mason (Zeeland, Mich. | Holland Christian) won the 200 IM for the second year in a row, finishing with a time of 1:53.78.
Saint Vincent junior Zach Baum (Derry, Pa. | Derry) claimed the 50 free title with a time of 20.65.
Westminster claimed the top three spots in the 11-dive, three-meter event. Junior Connor May (Highlands Ranch, Colo. | Glacier Park) won the event for the third-straight year after recording a score of 568.50 in the finals. Sophomore Patrick Holton (Livonia, Mich. | Winston Churchill) was second (517.25) and sophomore Austin Shaw (Gibsonia, Pa. | Pine-Richland) finished third (494.45). All three divers surpassed the qualifying standard for this year’s NCAA Division III regional championships.
Grove City closed out the night with a victory in the 400 medley relay. Junior Jason Alexander (), senior Ben Slate (Pfafftown, N.C. | Homeschooled), senior Joshua Wakefield (Palmyra, Pa. | Palmyra) and Mason registered a time of 3:28.11. It was the Wolverines’ third-straight year claiming the relay title.
On Friday, preliminary heats for all swimming events will begin at 10 a.m. with event finals starting at 6 p.m.