Miller, Cantwell Earn Swimmer of the Meet Honors in Middle Atlantic Conference

WILKES-BARRE, Pennsylvania, February 14. IN a year of parity within the Middle Atlantic Conference, Elizabethtown sophomore Chris Miller and Albright junior Rachel Cantwell both won the David B. Eavenson award for swimmer of the meet for both the men and the women, respectively.

Miller, a sophomore transfer from Widener who won the rookie of the year award last year, won the Eavenson award because of his victories in the 500 freestyle (4:47.49), the 100 backstroke in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 52.52 and the 200 backstroke in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:53.78. Miller's 200 backstroke eclipsed the mark formerly held by Albright's Eric Daney, who swam a 1:54.22 time in 2003.

Miller said that he had never swum the 200 backstroke tapered before.

"Going into the meet, making the NCAA B cut in the 100 back was my main goal," said Miller. "On Saturday with that under my belt, I was content. I was very excited with my unexpected performance [in the 200 backstroke]."

Miller swam the 100 backstroke, the 500 freestyle and the 1650 freestyle in the 2006 championship meet. He earned a gold medal in each.

In all of her career as an Albright swimmer, Cantwell has never mounted the podium on any place lower than first. She continued her trend by winning the 200 IM (2:11.05), the 100 breaststroke (1:08.44), and the 200 breaststroke in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:26.64. She also competed in four first-place Lion relays.

Women's Results
In the women's competition, Albright cruised to a final score of 734 points. Scranton placed second with 648 points, and Widener placed third with 379.5 points. Albright's women swept all five relay events, and they won 11 of 13 individual events.

Freshman Sammy Kelly of Albright took home the rookie of the meet honor for the women. She conquered both backstroke events, winning the 100 (1:01.06) and the 200 (2:12.65).

Erin Jagielski, an Albright senior, joined Cantwell in winning three individual events. Jagielski took top honors in the 50 freestyle (25.00), the 100 freestyle (54.05) and the 200 freestyle (1:56.83).

Scranton junior Erin O'Connor, last year's female recipient of the rookie of the year award, recorded two victories in both the 400 IM (4:46.02) and the 500 freestyle (5:16.39). Albright sophomore Jess Williams denied O'Connor's chance at being a triple-winner, touching her out in the 200 butterfly by .22 seconds.

Men's Results
Much more parity occurred in the men's competition, which had three triple winners from three different teams. Widener, however, won the team title outright with 761 points. Albright, whose roster has only 10 men, placed second with 501 points. Susquehanna finished third with 439.

Freshman Matt Slomiany from Widener earned the rookie of the meet honor. Slomiany's sole victory came from a dominant performance in the 1650, where he crushed the field (16:48.68). Slomiany took second in the 500 freestyle (4:49.31) and second in the 400 IM (4:16.60). His 400 IM record set a new school record for Widener. Jonathan Kruper set the former record in 2003 with a time of 4:19.50.

Last year's recipient of the Eavenson swimmer of the meet award, Widener junior Kevin Carson, won three events. Carson cruised to victories in the 200 IM (1:58.06), the 100 butterfly (52.37) and the 200 butterfly (1:56.97). He also competed as a member of four champion relays.

Susquehanna junior Jeff Fornadley also won three events. Fornadley won the 50 freestyle (21.91), the 100 freestyle (47.66), and the 200 freestyle (1:46.67). Fornadley's 100 freestyle time reset his own school record that he set at the 2006 championship. Known for his comeback theatrics, he anchored four school record-setting Susquehanna relays. His 100 freestyle split in the 400 freestyle relay (46.48) proved to be the fastest 100 split of the meet.

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