Records Fall on Day 1 of GMAC/MEC Championships
Canton, Ohio - The University of Findlay men's and women's swimming and diving team competed in day one of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC)/Mountain East Conference (MEC) championships on Wednesday, February 12. The women's team is currently in second place with 343 points overall, slightly trailing Hillsdale, who has 380 points. The men's team has a 90 point lead for first place, as they currently have 343 points total. In second place is Tiffin, who has 253 points total. Both the men's and the women's teams are seeking their third consecutive conference championship.
Women
Senior Hanna Cederholm saved her best 200 yard IM race for the conference championships as she broke the school record and meet record with a time of 2:04.16, earning herself a first place finish in the event, and also a provisional B mark in the event. The old school record was held by Kaley Holmstrom, who clocked in at 2:04.35 in 2014, and the old meet record was held by Cederholm herself, who swam a 2:04.48 in the event in 2018. Junior Ashton Klopp earned herself a silver medal as she finished the race with a time of 2:08.53.
The women's 200 yard medley relay 'A' team of junior Payton Zess, sophomore Kristina Coleman, junior Ashton Klopp, and freshman Rachel Poling finished the event in a time of 1:44.70, which easily earned them the gold medal in the event.
Sophomore Chris McFarland represented the Orange and Black well as she took bronze in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 24.13. Coleman got fifth place as she touched the wall in 24.25. And senior Katy Kouvaris earned a podium finish as she took eighth place in the event with a time of 24.55.
In the 1000 yard freestyle, senior Sydney Zimdars placed sixth, clocking in at 10:45.85. Right behind her was junior Sarah Miles, who placed seventh with a time of 10:48.87.
Men
Freshman Timothy Stollings earned himself a gold medal in the 50 yard freestyle, finishing the event in 20.64 seconds, which is good enough to meet the provisional B mark in the event and set a new meet record. Freshman Colin Martin and senior Adam Stretch took third and fourth place in the event with times of 21.20 and 21.27. Trent Williams earned himself a sixth place finish as he finished in 21.48 seconds. Alex Wisler clocked in at 22.12 to round out the top eight.
The men's 200 yard medley relay team consisting of freshman Jaeger Loran, Stretch, Wisler, and Williams captured themselves a conference championship in the event as they clocked in at an impressive time of 1:32.88.
The Oilers represented well in the 200 yard IM, as they had four of the top seven finishers. Three of them clocked in within one second of each other, as Loran took third place at 1:53.25, junior Paul Pavala earned himself fourth place with a time of 1:53.63, and junior Nathan Bourne took fifth place as he clocked in at 1:53.92. Sophomore Jared Toaz took seventh place in the event, dashing through the finish line at 1:56.06.
The Oilers will be back in action for day two of the G-MAC/MEC championships tomorrow on Thursday, February 13. The action is set to start at 10:00am.