Oilers Men Dominate, Win Fifth Consecutive Conference Crown | Women Finish Runner-Up
Canton, Ohio – The University of Findlay swimming and diving teams wrapped up the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) / Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship on Saturday, Feb. 19 at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio. After four days of competition, the Findlay men's swimming and diving team captured its' fifth consecutive title, cementing the Oilers as the current juggernaut in the sport. Findlay's men dominated this week, scoring 1955.5 points, more than 900 points clear of Ashland who finished runner-up. The Oilers finished as the runner-up in the women's competition as Hillsdale College took the title, their third consecutive conference crown after Findlay won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.
The Oilers took home some individual hardware as well. On the men's side, junior Tim Stollings picked up his third consecutive Men's Swimmer of the Meet award after another flawless week in the pool. Teammate Camilo Marrugo earned Men's Freshman of the Meet, making him the third consecutive freshman from Findlay to take home the award. Coach Andrew Makepeace picked up his fifth straight Coach of the Year award on the men's side to round out what was a standout week.
On the women's side, freshman Addi Fleischman picked up Diver of the Meet honors after winning in both the 3 meter and 1 meter competitions. Fleischman is the third Findlay female to earn the Diver of the Meet honor.
Men
Marrugo, who will be a force at this meet for years to come, picked up yet another event championship in the 100 yard freestyle, winning the race with a 44.53 which set a new meet record and met the NCAA 'B' standard in the event. Findlay's freestylers continued to rack up points as sophomore Dags Bregis took second with a 45.05 and freshman Angel Margaritov was third with a 45.11, both of which also met the NCAA 'B' standard.
Bregis, sophomore Adam Hornak, Margaritov, and freshman Joe Kroeger later teamed up to win in the 400 yard freestyle relay, taking top spot with a time of 3:01.61.
Senior Paul Pavala picked up his fifth event championship of his career and his second in the 200 yard backstroke, taking first in the race with a time of 1:49.64. Pavala, who set the meet record in the event back in 2018, was the fastest in the race by almost five seconds, barely missing out on the NCAA 'B' standard. Freshman Tyler Thomas, who was the fastest in the prelims of the event, was the runner-up in the finals, clocking in with a 1:54.89.
Rounding out an incredible week in the pool, sophomore Daniel Garcia won the 200 yard breaststroke for the second consecutive season, winning the event with a meet, pool, and school record time of 1:58.03. Garcia finished ahead of teammate Marko Priednieks who was the runner-up with a 2:01.78.
In the men's 1650 yard freestyle, freshman Rafael Lozano earned a bronze finish, taking third by completing the race in a time of 16:10.75.
Women
Freshman Miller Berg earned a gold finish on Saturday as she put together a great race in the 200 yard backstroke. Berg swam the event in a time of 2:03.35 to secure the event title.
The Oilers 400 yard freestyle relay team of freshman Sasha Melnyk, sophomore Cecilia Langle, junior Megan Irwin, and freshman Macy May took runner-up with a time of 3:33.36.
Senior Erin Butler earned a runner-up finish in the 200 yard breaststroke, finishing the race in a time of 2:23.15, less than a second shy of the winner from Ashland.
In the 100 yard freestyle, sophomore Cecilia Langle picked up some more points for Findlay as she took third place in the race with a time of 52.88. Right behind was freshman Macy May who finished fourth with a 52.94.
Freshman Abbie Kmet took a fifth place finish in the 1650 yard freestyle as she completed the race in 18:03.97.
Completing a standout week on the diving board, Addi Fleischman made her presence felt. On Thursday, Fleishman took first place in the 3-meter competition, scoring a 401.75 in the finals. She later went on to win the 1-meter competition on Friday, outlasting her competition by winning with a score of 389.75.