Blue Grass Mountain Conference Championships: Day Two

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, February 18. THE Wingate University men’s and women’s swimming teams are both in first place after the first full day of the 2010 BGMC Championships at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center (MCAC) pool in downtown Charlotte. Eighteen student-athletes earned All-Blue Grass Mountain Conference honors Thursday.

The two-time defending BGMC champions, the Wingate men have 279 points through 14 events. The University of Tampa is second with 206 points, while BGMC newcomer Johns Hopkins (Md.) University is third with 190. The women’s leader board looks familiar to the men’s, as the Bulldogs top the charts with 245 points. The Tampa Spartans are eight points back in second (237), while the JHU Blue Jays are third with 209 points.

For the men, Wingate senior All-American Mason Norman (Duluth, Ga.) earned an individual BGMC title and helped the Bulldog 200 Free Relay team touch first to open the day. Norman won the 50 Freestyle with a NCAA Division II “A” Cut time of 20.01. Earlier, Norman swam a scorching 19.72 anchor leg as Wingate posted an “A” Cut in the 200 Free Relay with a victorious time of 1:22.20.

All-Americans Gus Chagas (sr., Recife, Brazil) and Dwight Richardson (jr., Newport News, Va.) joined Norman on the 200 Free Relay team, along with freshman newcomer Spencer Waganaar (Satellite Beach, Fla.). Richardson was fourth in the 50 Freestyle with a “B” Cut time of 20.93, while Waganaar was eighth in the 200 Individual Medley (1:55.95, “B” Cut).

Norman and his mates finished the day with a third-place in the 400 Medley Relay. Chagas, sophomore All-American Lee Sousa (Cornelius, N.C.) and freshman Rory Julyan (Cape Town, South Africa) joined Norman on the 400 Medley Relay quartet.

In the 500 Freestyle, senior Gui Veiga (Vinton, Va.) and freshman Cole Dutton (Surfside Beach, S.C.) were third and fifth, respectively. Both Bulldogs earned “B” Cuts, with Veiga touching in 4:37.82. Dutton posted a time of 4:38.18. Dutton won the 1000 Freestyle Wednesday night.

Two Bulldogs recorded “A” Cuts in the 200 Individual Medley. Junior Marcello Machado (Recife, Brazil) finished third with a time of 1:52.17. Senior Kyle Corcoran (Kent, Wash.) placed fourth with a time of 1:52.57. Wingate senior Kevin Hennessy (Yorktown, Va.) won the 200 IM Bonus race with a time of 1:57.69.

For the women, the Wingate 400 Medley Relay missed an NCAA Division II “A” Cut by 0.22 seconds in last year’s BGMC championships. The 2010 group decided to make a statement, as the Bulldogs earned an “A” Cut with a time of 3:54.26. The second-place finish capped a solid day for the Wingate women.

The 2010 All-BGMC 400 Medley Relay team includes senior Samantha Vencl (Wickliffe, Ohio), junior All-Americans Nicole Moody (Grovetown, Ga.) and Cheryl Vaccaro (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore Malin Kersmark (Malin-Bjarred, Sweden). Vencl earned a “B” Cut in the 200 Individual Medley, finishing fourth with a time of 2:09.57. Bulldog junior Sarah Supcoe (Charleston, W.Va.) was sixth in the same race, also posting a “B” Cut with a time of 2:10.96.

Moody was fourth in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 24.59. Bulldog senior Rebecca Gerbert (South Euclid, Ohio) won the 50 Free Bonus race with a time of 24.96. Earlier in the day, three Wingate swimmers earned All-BGMC honors in the grueling 500 Freestyle.

Bulldog freshman Paige Schmidt (Clearwater, Fla.) followed her 1000 Freestyle victory Wednesday with a second-place finish in the 500 Freestyle. Her silver medal time was 5:05.06. Classmate Elly Speer (Sydney, Australia) was third at 5:06.29, while junior Kelsey Trabue (South Lyon, Mich.) was fifth at 5:09.07. All three times earn the Bulldog trio NCAA Division II “B” Cuts.

The 2010 BGMC event runs through Saturday at the MCAC. On Friday, preliminaries start at 10 a.m. and championship finals begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 per session.

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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