Truman State Women, Drury Men Capture GLVC Conference Titles

GREATER LAKES VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 10, 2016 – February 13, 2016
• Crawfordsville Aquatics Center, Crawfordsville, IA
• Championships Central
• Full Results

The women of Truman State have made an outstanding turnaround after finishing 35th at last year’s NCAA Division II Championships. They took first place in the team standings this weekend at the powerhouse-packed Greater Lakes Valley Championships, overpowering last year’s DII runner-up Drury. This huge win marks their first GLVC Championship.

Junior Evyn Spencer led the way for the Bulldogs, winning a total of four gold medals and setting three individual/relay GLVC records. She should prove a strong force at 2016 Division II Championships this March; her 100 fly, 100 back, and 200 IM times from this weekend would have placed her in the championship finals of those events last year.

The men of Drury claimed the conference title on the men’s side, finishing 31 points ahead of second-place Missouri S&T. This marks their third-straight conference title and foreshadows a strong performance at NCAA Division II Championships. Last year, they missed the national title by just 16 points, finishing second to Queens University of Charlotte.

Although the men of Truman State finished fifth in the conference, Bulldog sophomore Will Shanel took the GLVC Men’s Swimmer of the Year title. He captured two gold medals and two GLVC records over the course of the meet, along with a silver medal finish in the 200 IM. With his times from this weekend, Shanel would have placed in the top eight at last year’s NCAA Division II Championships in the 400 IM, the 200 fly, and the 200 IM.

Drury’s Megan Oul started off the night by adding a gold medal to her individual silver and bronze from earlier in the week. She won the 1650 free in 17:10.98, outtouching Shannon Dague of Truman State after a close race. Dague finished in 17:11.51, followed by her teammate Jasmine Roghair in 17:17.51.

Alex Reinbrecht of Drury dominated the mile on the men’s side, winning the event by eight seconds in 15:33.31 and adding another conference championship to his 1000 gold. Joao Pedro Granato of William Jewell finished second in 15:41.36, followed by Danny Notarianni of Drury in 15:43.08.

Drury junior Wen Xu finished off her full sweep of the short distance free events with a conference record 49.07, adding this gold to this weekend’s earlier championships in the 50 free and 200 free. Xu also held the previous record, a 49.83 from last year. Her time fell just .15 off the event-winning time at DII Championships last year, a 48.92 from Queens’s Patricia Castro Ortega. Truman State took the second and third slots, with Nikki Sisson finishing second in 50.62 and Spencer hitting third in 51.63.

Missouri S&T senior Keith Sponsler took the same 50-100-200 free sweep, winning the 100 in 44.19. Drury’s Daniel Rzadkowski took second close behind in 44.39, followed by his teammate Rodrigo Caceres in 44.53.

Hannah Nicks won the 200 back for Truman State in 2:01.49, followed by Agnieszka Malecka of Indianapolis in 2:02.09. Truman State’s Grace Fodor rounded out the top three with 2:02.87.

A trio of freshman took the top slots in the men’s 200 back, with Rodrigo Codo Berti, this weekend’s 200 IM champion, setting a new conference record 1:45.80. The old record was a 1:46.88 set by Jordi Diez last year. Drury’s Ramiro Olivares also came in under the mark, finishing second in 1:46.46, and Lewis’s Mads Knoblauch finished third in 1:47.32.

Drury sophomore Zuzanna Chwadeczko took her third gold medal of the weekend in the 200 breast, coming up from a sixth-place prelims swim and finishing a close race with her teammate Sophia Nelson in 2:17.52. Nelson grabbed second in 2:17.96, and Indianapolis senior Michelle Mikaelsson finished third in 2:21.01.

Miguel Chavez came in nearly a second under his record from last year in the men’s 200 breast, winning the event in 1:56.99. Drury freshman Jesus Flores finished second in 1:58.47, followed by his classmate Andrea Bazzoli in 2:00.48.

The final event of the women’s meet, the 400 free relay, was a battle between Drury and Truman State. Although Drury’s Xu was able to pull off an astounding anchor leg 48.80 that outsplit everyone else in the field by over two seconds, consistency proved key for the Bulldogs. Spencer, Jamie Fitzpatrick, Alison Strickler, and Sisson took the top spot in 3:25.12, taking down Drury’s conference record 3:25.47 from last year. Drury took second in 3:25.43, followed by Indianapolis’s 3:30.12.

Drury failed to outswim their challengers on the men’s side too, finishing second to Missouri S&T. Missouri S&T men Eirik Nielsen, Jonathan Glaser, Morgan Meyer, and Sponsler took the top spot in 2:57.98, while Drury finished second in 2:58.36, and Lewis took third in 3:03.38.

Women – Team Rankings – Final

1. Truman State University: 946.5
2. Drury University: 910
3. University of Indianapolis: 603
4. William Jewell College: 419
5. Lewis University: 348
6. Bellarmine University: 215
7. Maryville University: 154
8. Quincy University: 145.5
9. University of Missouri – St. Louis: 108

Men – Team Rankings – Final

1. Drury University: 792.5
2. Missouri Univ of Science and T: 761.5
3. University of Indianapolis: 683
4. Lewis University: 401
5. Truman State University: 392
6. William Jewell College: 356
7. University of Missouri – St. Louis: 260
8. Bellarmine University: 144
9. Maryville University: 34