Conner Gelwicks

Holly Hickman

The College of Wooster's men's and women's swimming and diving teams improved one spot in the standings on Friday, both moving up to sixth-place, as the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships continued at the Trumbull Aquatics Center on the campus of Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

The Fighting Scot men (441), which are just a few points behind fifth-place Wittenberg University (444.5), were especially impressive in relay action. In the men's first event of the evening, the 200 medley relay, Brian Maddock, Evan Hagedorn, James Love, and Aaron Brown just missed all-conference honors with a fourth-place finish in 1:34.62.

Later, the Scots added fifth-place points in the 800 freestyle relay, as Zackary Pool, Conner Gelwicks, Maddock, and Frayne Poeting teamed up for a time of 7:10.22.

Wooster had several strong individual performances as well, highlighted by Hagedorn touching the wall seventh in the 100 breaststroke in 58.54 – the second-fastest time in program history. Also adding points in that event were Poeting in 16th (1:00.76), Andrew Pfeuffer in 19th (1:02.78), and newcomer Luke Mierzejewski in 22nd (1:02.78).

The 100 backstroke was another event that Wooster excelled at, with six different swimmers scoring points. Leading the way was Gelwicks with eighth-place in the championship finals in 51.36. Earlier during the prelims, Gelwicks touched the wall a bit quicker in 51.27, which was an NCAA Div. III "B" cut time, and just one hundredth of a second off the school record (51.26).

Also contributing points in the 100 back were Maddock (52.20) and Pool (55.27), taking 13th- and 17th-place, respectively, in the consolation finals. Rounding out the group was Ben Hopper in 21st (56.70), Matthew Pech in 22nd (56.72), and Avery Wilson in 27th (57.57).

The men occupied four spots in the 100 butterfly, with Maddock's 16th-place (52.42) effort in the consolation finals pacing the group. The "bonus" heat featured Love in 22nd (52.40), Pool in 24th (53.10), and Travis Burgess in 27th (54.25).

Finally, Gelwicks scored in his third event of the day, the 200 freestyle, with a 17th-place finish in 1:43.67, while Michael Sokolich got on the board via 20th-place in the 400 IM (4:35.21).

The women's team (507.5) also made some noise in relay action, as Holly Hickman, Alexandra Desotelle, Morgan Hughes, and Jamie Hibbs opened tonight's competition with a sixth-place showing in the 200 medley (1:50.02), and then later on, 800 freestylers Anna McGlade, Caitlin Shea, Sarah Padrutt, and Hughes did one better with a fifth-place finish in 7:57.44.

Of the above relay contributors, Desotelle stood out individually with an appearance in the championship finals of the 100 breaststroke, where she placed ninth in a time of 1:08.61. Erin Drake and Kaitlyn Fries weren't too far off Desotelle's pace, as they touched 12th (1:08.90) and 14th (1:09.60), respectively.

Another Scot that reached a championship final was Theresa Spadola in the one-meter diving event. She scored 288.15 points, which was good for ninth-place.

Wooster made an impact in the 100 butterfly, highlighted by Hughes, who took 11th in 58.78. Also adding team points in the event were Hibbs in 17th (1:01.86), Hanna Mascari in 20th (1:02.40), and Molly Laubernds in 22nd (1:04.65).

Another fruitful event was the 400 IM, where Colleen Kill (4:43.91) and Sarah Litt (4:47.82) finished back-to-back during the consolation finals, earning 16th- and 17th-place points, respectively, while Lena Smith's 21st (4:51.38) and Theresa Dunne's 25th (4:57.49) were also valuable.

Hickman paced a group of three Scots in the 100 backstroke with her 14th-place time of 1:01.86, with Laubernds adding a 19th (1:03.15) and Lissy de la Chapelle a 24th (1:05.74). Also, there were three scorers in the 200 freestyle, with McGlade taking 17th in the consolation finals in 1:56.43, and in the "bonus" heat, Shea was 23rd in 2:001.19 and Padrutt was 25th in 2:00.42.

Wooster will look to close out this year's NCAC Championships strong during tomorrow's final day of competition.