Oilers Crowned G-MAC Conference Champions Second Year in a Row
Canton, Ohio – The University of Findlay men's and women's swimming and diving teams were crowned Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) and Mountain East Conference (MEC) Champions on Saturday, Feb. 16 for the second year in a row. The men finished with 1550 total points, over 300 points ahead of the second place finisher. The women finished with 1935.5 points, also over 300 points ahead of the runner up.
Chris McFarland was awarded the Freshman of the Meet. She took first place in the 100 yard backstroke final, beating the meet record with a 'B cut' time of 56.23. In the 100 yard freestyle, McFarland came in third with another 'B cut' time of 52.08. She also took the conference champion title home for the 100 yard backstroke with a new meet record 'B cut' time of 56.23.
The Oilers started out the night with a second and third place honorable mention all-conference finish in the women's 1000 yard freestyle by Sydney Zimdars and Taylor Christensen. Zimdars hit the wall for second in 10:38.03 and Christensen came right behind her in 10:38.33. Later in the night Zimdars went on to win the 1650 yard freestyle final with a time of 17:46.45
Hanna Cederholm took the conference champion title in the 200 IM final with a 'B cut' time of 2:05.33. She also took second place in the 100 yard breaststroke final with a 'B cut' time of 1:03.51. Another conference title came for Cederholm in the 200 yard breaststroke final, where she swam a 'B cut' time of 2:18.87.
In the men's 200 yard IM final, Nathan Bourne finished second, hitting the wall at 1:54.18 while teammate Nathan Landetto came in close behind to secure third with a time of 1:55.26. Their second and third place finishes earned them honorable mention all-conference honors.
Amanda Stiegal was crowned a conference champion in the 50 yard freestyle final, tying the meet record with a 'B cut' time of 23.72. She also came in second place in the 100 yard freestyle final with a 'B cut' time of 51.80.
Both the men and women crushed the 200 yard medley relay finals with first place finishes. The women set new meet record with a time of 1:43.25 and a relay team consisting of McFarland, Cederholm, Katy Kouvaris, and Stiegal. The men swam a 1:32.66 to secure gold with a team of Trae Gulgin, Isaac Stretch, Conner Whitaker, and Trent Williams.
Tyler Adkins took second in the men's 3 meter diving with a final score of 371.55. He also took second in the 1 meter diving with a score of 365.60.
Another relay win for the Oilers came in the women's 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:35.02 and team consisting of Stiegal, McFarland, Cederholm, and Kendra Polewski. The men also struck gold in their 200 yard freestyle relay with a finishing time of 1:24.93 and a team consisting of Williams, Stretch, Nathan Bourne, and Whitaker.
Ashton Klopp took third in the 400 yard IM, earning an honorable mention all-conference honor with a time of 4:41.96.
Paul Pavala secured a third place finish in the men's 400 yard IM final with a time of 4:08.14, earning honorable mention all-conference honors. He also took second in the 200 yard butterfly final with a time of 1:53.20. Pavala finally claimed a conference champion title in the 200 yard backstroke later in the night with a new meet record of 1:50.47.
Two Oilers placed in the women's 100 yard butterfly final; Katy Kouvaris taking first with a new meet record of 56.07 and McFarland coming in close behind for a second place finish of 56.15.
Conner Whitaker took third in the men's 100 yard butterfly, touching the wall at 50.97 for an honorable mention all-conference honor.
Polewski took second place in the women's 200 yard freestyle final with a 'B cut' time of 1:53.20 and also earning an honorable mention all-conference honor.
In the women's 400 yard medley final, the Oilers came in second place with a finishing time of 3:53.63. The relay team consisted of Payton Zess, Julia Snell, Ashton Klopp, and Jenna Dasher. The men also took second place in the 400 yard medley final with a time of 3:23.56 and a relay team of Gulgin, Stretch, Whitaker, and Mark Billeaud.
Polewski took third in the 500 yard freestyle final, coming in at 5:10.92. Trae Gulgin claimed second in the men's 100 yard backstroke final with a finishing time of 50.79.
In the men's 100 yard breaststroke, Isaac Stretch took home a second place finish in a time of 56.84.
Kouvaris was named a conference champion in the women's 200 yard butterfly with a first place meet record time of 2:05.55.
Snell, Sarah Miles, Christensen, and Murphy Vance claimed the second place spot in the women's 800 yard freestyle relay final with a time of 7:49.93. The men took home the conference champion title in the same event with a first place time of 6:57.58. The relay team consisted of Williams, Billeaud, Tyler Endecott, and Tucker Stocker.
Payton Zess and Sarah Miles came in second and third place in the women's 200 yard final with finishing times of 2:06.60 and 2:07.18 respectively.
To finish out the night, the women claimed the 400 yard freestyle relay champion title with a time of 3:32.18. The team consisted of Stiegal, Dasher, Kouvaris, and Olivia Wile. The men ended the night with a second place finish in the 400 yard freestyle race, beating the meet record with a time of 3:05.75. The team consisted of Billeaud, Stretch, Bourne, and Williams.
The Oilers will now prepare for the Kenyon Fast Chance which will take place in Gambier, Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 10:00am.