Air Force vs. Army

WEST POINT, New York, November 1. EARNING first-place points in eight of 12 events, the Air Force men's swimming and diving team knocked off service-academy rival Army, 61-57, in a relay meet Friday evening at Crandall Pool.

The Falcons, who exhibitioned the final two events, recorded the fastest time in seven of the 10 relays. Air Force also won both diving events, with the duo of juniors Kyle Van Valkenburg (Tucson, Ariz.) and David Arlington (Eagle River, Alaska) combining for a score of 515.62 at 1-meter and 528.15 at 3-meters.

Air Force and Army traded wins for the first four events, with the Falcons registering the top-two finishes in the 300 butterfly relay and first place in the 300 breaststroke relay, while the Black Knights took first in the 300 backstroke relay and 800 freestyle relay. Bryan Avery (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii), Chris Morin (Jr., Crown Point, Ind.) and Nick Dixon (Sr., Canton, Mich.) combined for a winning time in the 300 fly relay, while Justin Day (Sr., Peyton, Colo.), Josh Hammervold (So., Sugar Land, Texas) and Layne Wilson (Sr., Austin, Texas) teamed up to win the 300 breaststroke.

The Falcons went on to win the next five relays–the 400 medley relay, 200 free relay, 1500 free relay, 300 medley relay and the exhibitioned 400 free relay–before the Black Knights closed out the meet with an outright win in the 800 free relay.

Recording a mark of 3:27.37 to win the 400 medley relay were Kai Yamashiro (Sr., Kaneohe, Hawaii), Day, Benjamin Gunn (So., Gainesville, Ga.) and Avery. In the 200 free relay, the team of Robert Dawson (So., Colorado Springs, Colo.), Morin, Wilson and Karl Mohrmann (So., Lake Forest, Ill.) clocked a winning time of 1:26.28.

The group of Tom Hansen (So., Berkeley Heights, N.J.), Corydon Butler (Fr., Williamsburg, Va.) and Eric Robinson (So., Lakewood, Colo.) finished first in the 1500 free relay, while Gunn, Avery and Hammervold won the 300 medley relay. Meanwhile, touching first in the 400 free relay was the team of Dawson, Robinson, Morin and Butler with a season-best time of 3:11.45.

The Falcons return to action next weekend, Nov. 7-8, at the UCI/Lincoln Aquatics Shootout, hosted by UC Irvine.

Special thanks to Air Force for contributing this report.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use