Oilers Continue Strong Performance at GMAC/MEC Championships
Canton, OH - The University of Findlay men's and women's swimming and diving teams completed day three of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and Mountain East Conference Championships on Friday, February 16.
Both teams hold a hefty lead on the competition after day three, with the women leading with a score of 1,465 points, over 400 points ahead of second place, and the men with 1,393 points, over 450 points ahead of second.
The Oilers began their scoring by taking the top two spots in women's one meter diving. Alicia Solis won gold with a total score of 415.45 and Hannah May took silver with a total of 413.70.
The swimmers began their finals with the 500 freestyle race. The women went first, and the Oilers were able to snag the silver and bronze medals with a 5:07.08 finish from Emma Barnes and a 5:08.64 finish from Sydney Zimdars.
Ben Rath took gold for the men's 500 yard free, setting a new school record with a time of 4:34.30. This time just edges out the previous record of 4:34.34 set by Janko Radmanovic in 2015.
Next up was the 100 yard backstroke, and the Oiler women took gold and silver thanks to Kathryn Samuelson and Sarah Miles. Samuelson finished at a B-cut time of 56.32 and Miles finished at 58.18.
The men obtained a first and third place finish during the 100 yard backstroke. Trae Gulgin received the gold with a time of 51.78 and Mark Billeaud took bronze with a 52.68 finish.
Findlay saw a third and fourth place finish in the women's 100 yard breaststroke. Hanna Cederholm grabbed the bronze with a B-cut time of 1:03.55 and Julia Snell took fourth with a B-cut time of 1:03.55 seconds.
Isaac Stretch won the 100 yard breastroke for the men by finishing ahead of the field at 57.58 seconds. Parker Bull also took bronze during the race, coming in at 58.27.
The women's 200 yard butterfly had first and third place finishers from the Oilers, with a strong performance from Katy Kouvaris winning the gold at 2:05.59 as well as Ashton Klopp taking bronze at 2:09.77.
The men saw a dominant display from Janko Radmanovic in the 200 yard fly, with him finishing almost half a pool's length ahead of the field at a B-cut time of 1:48.21. The Oilers also grabbed the silver medal during the race thanks to Conner Whitaker and his 1:54.24 finish.
Following the individual events, the Oilers competed in the 800 freestyle relay races. The women were again standing at the top of the podium, finishing first with at time of 7:41.09. The team was composed of Barnes, Kouvaris, Miles, and Amanda Stiegal.
The men's relay blew the rest of the field out of the water. Their team finished at 6:46.59, almost a full pool's length ahead of the second place finisher. The team made up of Radmanovic, Rath, Billeaud, and Trent Williams set a new school record during the race.
The Oilers will head into the fourth and final day of the first GMAC/MEC Championships tomorrow, February 17. With prelims in the morning, diving finals will begin at 1:45 PM and swimming finals will start at 6:00 PM.