Wayne State Still in First After Third Day of GLIAC Championships

ASHLAND, Ohio, February 23. THE Wayne State men's swimming and diving team built upon an already-impressive lead on Friday at the GLIAC Championship, setting two conference records and two school records along the way. The Wayne State women's swimming and diving team also ended the third day of competition on Friday at the GLIAC Championship with a 73.5 point lead.

On the men's side, the Warriors (614) lead second-place Grand Valley State (429.5) by a 184.5 point margin heading into the final day of competition at Ashland University. Indianapolis is in third place (407.5), followed by the host Eagles (398), Lewis (326), Gannon (230), and Findlay (113).

On the women's side, the Warriors have 488.5 points, followed by Grand Valley State (415) and Indianapolis (401). Host school Ashland is in fourth with 388.5 points, and Gannon (225), Hillsdale (201), Lewis (188.5), Northern Michigan (170.5), and Findlay (92) round out the field.

Jared Troyer (Portage, Mich./Central), who entered the conference meet with five NCAA "B" qualifiers, earned a long-awaited "A" cut in the 400 individual medley, winning the event in 4:03.94. A.J. Erard (Troy, Mich./Royal Oak Shrine) came in third (4:09.90), while David Fontecchio (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams) and Greg Scully (Livonia, Mich./Churchill) placed 12th (4:40.16) and 14th (4:56.47), respectively, in the "B" final.

Bruno Blanco (Rio de Janiero, Brazil) successfully defended his conference title in the 100 butterfly, setting a GLIAC record and earning an NCAA "A" cut with a time of 49.65.

In the 200 freestyle, Sebastian Rzepa (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley) finished third (1:42.65) and made an NCAA "B" cut while Justin Shields (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) and Tiago Oliveira (Raul Soares, Brazil) rounded out the "A" final in seventh (1:46.61) and eighth (1:57.69). Alex Davidson (Napoleon, Mich./Jackson) won the "B" final (ninth overall) in 1:45.51.

Setting new school and GLIAC records, Christer Tour (Farsta, Sweden) won the 100 breaststroke in 56.69, also earning a national "A" qualifier. Per Bergstrom's (Fagersta, Sweden) time of 59.66 was good for sixth place.

Luiz Pacheco's (Curitiba, Brazil) second-place time of 51.47 earned him an NCAA "B" cut in the 100 backstroke. Cauli Bedran (Rio de Janiero, Brazil) turned in a fourth-place time of 52.21, and Scully rounded out the "B" final with a time of 58.98.

The second-place 800 freestyle relay team of Troyer, Rsepa, Matt Leix (Flint, Mich./Southwestern), and Oliveira qualified for nationals and set a new WSU record of 6:50.82.

In the final event of the evening, Chris Totten (Garden City, Mich.) won the one-meter diving competition (390.60), and Cayce Bolt (Royal Oak, Mich./Warren Mott) finished fourth (367.55).

Elaina Hogle (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood) finished second in the "A" final of the 400 individual medley (4:31.81), while Whitney Baker (Trenton, Mich.) came in eighth (4:54.63). In the "B" final, Tiffanie Laforet (Tecumseh, Ont./St. Anne's) placed 11th in 4:51.42.

Laura Leix (Flint, Mich./Southwestern) took fourth (59.00) in the 100 butterfly, and Elena Crowley (Detroit, Mich./Mercy) turned in a 10th-place time of 1:01.50.

In the 200 freestyle, Ashley St. Andrew (Grand Rapids, Mich./Jenison) and Haintso Rakouth (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage) finished second (1:55.81) and eighth (2:03.21), respectively, and in the 100 breaststroke Jodi Scott (Windsor, Ont./Riverside S.S.) came in seventh (1:08.22) and Amber Staudacher (Rockford, Mich.) in 11th (1:09.08).

Wayne State had three swimmers in the 100 backstroke, led by Katie Harrigan (Portage, Mich./Northern) who finished second in 59.49. Erin Hill (Holt, Mich.) placed fourth (1:01.01) and Julie Danaher (Allen Park, Mich.) came in seventh (1:02.73). In the "B" final, Jenny Howe (Wyandotte, Mich./Riverview) finished in 11th place (1:01.70).

In the final event of the evening, the Warrior quartet of St. Andrew, Rakouth, Hogle, and Danaher came in second place (7:48.42) in the 800 freestyle relay.

The GLIAC Championship will conclude tomorrow, Feb. 24, beginning with the preliminary events at 10:30 a.m. and culminating with the finals at 6:00 p.m.

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