Summit League Championships, Day Four

ROCHESTER, Michigan, February 18. THE Oakland men's and women's swimming and diving teams captured their record 13th-straight Summit League Swimming and Diving titles, Saturday, Feb. 18 at the OU Aquatic Center.

The OU women tallied 1,041 points to claim the league title, while South Dakota State finished second with 662 points and South Dakota collected 544 points in third. IUPUI (492 points), Eastern Illinois (280 points) and Western Illinois (186) rounded out the women's standings.

On the men's side, OU claimed first with 1,040 points followed by SDSU in second with 640.5 points and USD in third with 413 points. IUPUI (385.5 points), Eastern Illinois (359 points) and Western Illinois (313 points) finished fourth, fifth and sixth.

The Golden Grizzlies claimed five of the eight individual awards. On the women's side, OU's Vanessza Balogh garnered the women's Swimmer of the Championship, while IUPUI's Chen Ni was named Diver of the Championship and SDSU's Morgan McLain earned Newcomer of the Championship. OU head coach Pete Hovland was named the women's Coach of the Year.

For the men, OU's Amr el Sayed collected Swimmer of the Championship and Mario Rusnak was named the Newcomer of the Championship. Western Illinois' Doug Ogilvie earned the Diver of the Championship. Hovland and South Dakota State head coach Brad Erickson shared the honor of men's Coach of the Year.

OU's Balogh won her third event of the championships as she defended her title in the 1,650 Free touching the wall first at 16:40.98. Balogh was followed by teammate Julieanne Stears in second at 16:58.16 and South Dakota State's Andrea Budahl in third at 16:58.18.

In the men's 1,650 Free, Oakland's El Sayed captured his second event crown of the championships with a league-record and NCAA 'B' cut time of 15:25.79. El Sayed broke the league record set at last year's championship by over three seconds. OU teammates Tim Montague (15:42.21) and Nick Evans (15:46.91) finished second and third, respectively.

In the women's 200 Back, Golden Grizzly Alyssa Busch finished in first-place with at time of 2:00.44, her second event title of the championships. South Dakota State's McLain was runner-up with a time of 2:01.54 and OU's Kyra Rietveld ended in third at 2:03.14.

Oakland's men swept the 200 Back with Anders Jensen finishing first with a time of 1:43.16, while teammates Grant Harding (1:44.66) and Tobias Hansen (1:47.42) took second and third, respectively. Both Jensen and Harding posted NCAA 'B' cut times.

OU's Alyssa Vela captured her second-straight title in the 100 Free with a time of 50.50. USD's Elizabeth Hoffman was the runner-up with a time of 51.60 and SDSU's Kaylin Caron took third in 52.26.

Oakland's men swept the top-three finishes in the 100 Free as Ben Vavra took first with a winning time of 45.05 edging out Zach Johnson (45.06) in second 45.06 and Matyas Keresztes (45.10) in third.

In the 200 Breast, OU's Johanna Gustafsson defended her title and became a two-time champion with a time of 2:20.14. Teammate Jennifer Larsen finished second with a time of 2:20.98, while EIU's Kelli Dicanio took third finishing in 2:22.53.

OU's Scott Yarbrough defended his title in the 200 Breast with a first-place finish and NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:59.77, his second event title of the championships. Teammates Joe Rodgers was the runner-up with a time of 2:00.07 and Adam Cone took third in 2:03.49.

Oakland's Sandra Czerska won the women's 200 Fly with a league-record and NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:59.09, her second consecutive title in the event and three event win at the championships. OU's Emily Ludema finished second with a time of 2:03.32 and SDSU's Emma Wright finished third in 2:05.93.

In the men's 200 Fly, South Dakota State's Chris Schreier defended his title and touched the wall first in 1:48.72. OU's Rusnak (1:49.59) took second and Alex Aceino (1:50.82) came in third.

In the women's three-meter dive, Oakland's Tricia Grant won her first career title with a score of 292.35 points. IUPUI's Ni finished second with 287.70 points and OU's Marcella Barretta took third with 267.10 points.

In the final women's event, OU won the 400 Free Relay with a league-record and NCAA 'B' cut time of 3:23.89. The Golden Grizzly squad consisted of Vela, Czerska, Balogh and Gustafsson. SDSU's relay team finished second in 3:28.82 and USD's team took third in 3:29.56.

On the men's side, the OU relay team of Harding, Johnson, Keresztes and Vavra finished first in the 400 Free Relay with an NCAA 'B' cut time of 2:58.02. SDSU's relay squad came in second with a time of 3:04.15 and USD's relay team finished third in 3:05.64.

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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