Ohio State Invite: Day One

COLUMBUS, Ohio, December 5. OHIO State put together a strong team performance and leads its own invitational with 444 points after the first day of competition. Minnesota is second with 242 points and West Virginia is third with 127. The 11-team field includes six schools with swimming and diving teams and an additional five diving-only schools.

"It was a good night…it was a very good night," Ohio State coach Bill Wadley said. "It was very exciting to see kids like Justin Farra break a school record at this time of the year.

"Stefan Sigrist had an outstanding lifetime best in the 500 freestyle. And to win both relays with the times we had, at this time of the year, is really terrific to watch."

Buckeye relays took first and fifth in the 200 freestyle relay to open the meet, helping the home team build a quick 22-point lead after the first event. Leading the way was the first-place team of Jason Schnur, Joel Elber, Lincoln Fahrbach and Andrew Olson in a time of 1:19.62.

No surprise, really, that this relay went this fast. Schnur and Fahrbach were each coming off all-time fastest swims in the 50 free in the morning session.

Sigrist then shaved nearly six seconds off his all-time best time by winning the 500 freestyle in 4:20.36, a record time for the event at the five-year-old Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invite. George Markovic, Stephen Sakaris, Mark Neiman and Luke Stirton followed in third-through-sixth place, respectively to give Ohio State a 164-94 lead after the second final of the evening.

An odd, but good, thing happened next. Ohio State qualified seven of the eight swimmers for the final of the 200 individual medley. Farra set a new school record with a time of 1:45.66 to lead a one-through-six Buckeye sweep with all six swimmers hitting an NCAA "B" qualifying standard. Behind Farra: Phil Seleskie, Austin Mudd, Markus Sievers, Olson and Niksa Roki. Freshman Tim Phillips was eighth.

"I had to tell the guys no peeking," Wadley said of the 200 IM final. "I didn't want them looking at their teammates in the race because I didn't want to see them fall into the same pecking order. I told them I wanted to see some racing and a different order at the end."

The 125-point 200 IM gave the Buckeyes in impressive 178-point lead after just three events.

In the next race, Fahrbach and Schnur were third and fourth, respectively, in the 50 freestyle, with Minnesota's Michael Richards stopping the Buckeye win streak with a first-place time of 20.14.

The Buckeyes' 400 medley relay team of Andrew Elliott, Sam Pelkey, Phillips and Joel Elber then raced to nearly a three-second win to close the evening with a time of 3:12.96.

Ryan Jefferson placed third on the 1-meter springboard with 364.25 points to lead the Ohio State divers.

Ohio State is in second place after the first day of the 2009 Ohio State Invitational with 203 points. Minnesota, the 2009 Big Ten Conference runner-up, leads the six-team field with 365 points.

"Overall I think this was a solid first day for the team," Ohio State coach Bill Dorenkott said. "I was more pleased with our preliminary swims in the morning, but we did what we needed to do in terms of racing in the evening. I wouldn't say that our times were fast, but we didn't back down."

After its 200 freestyle relay teams took third and seventh, respectively, to open the meet, Ohio State pulled into second place – and stayed there – after five swimmers scored in the 200 individual medley. Katelyn Brix led the way with a third-place time of 2:01.77, an NCAA "B" cut, and she was followed by fifth- and sixth-place efforts from Jill Lockhart and Angela Severn, respectively.

"Katelyn was better technically tonight and her 200 IM was a nice swim," Dorenkott said. "Actually, all three of the swimmers, including Jill and Angela, had real nice IM swims."

Megan Detro was the next-highest placing swimmer – after Brix's third – when she finished fourth in the 50 freestyle in 23.32. Samantha Cheverton also swam in a championship final, taking sixth in the 500 freestyle in 4:47.11.

"Detro was just off the school record in the 50 free with her prelim time of 23.27," Dorenkott said. "I was very pleased with her effort.

"And I also felt that Catherine Eitel's breaststroke leg on our 'A' 400 medley relay team was a terrific swim."

Also scoring points in individual events for the Buckeyes was Haley Mitchell, Anita Beck and Natalie Nichols (500 freestyle), and Lisa Narum and Shannon Draves (200 individual medley).

Divers Bianca Alvarez and Chelsea Davis finished third and fourth, respectively, on the three-meter springboard.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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