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| Conner Gelwicks |
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| Kalla Sturonas |
The College of Wooster combined for four championship heat swims – two courtesy of Conner Gelwicks – and two school records, including breaking one of the oldest in program history, and the Fighting Scots' women's team moved up to fourth-place while the men solidified their fifth-place spot on Friday at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, being held at Denison University's Trumbull Aquatic Center in Granville, Ohio.
Wooster's women's squad showcased its depth with 17 different individual swimmers contributing points to the team score, as it climbed one spot in the standings during the second full day of competition. The Scots now have 648 points, more than 100 clear of the fifth-place team and are only behind national powers Kenyon College (1322), Denison (1177), and DePauw University (790.5).
Leading the way on Friday were Sarah Litt and Kalla Sturonas. Litt, a senior, qualified for her second career NCAC championship final, coming in the 400 IM, in which she placed ninth with a 4:38.36 – the sixth-fastest time in team annals. Sturonas, competing in her first NCAC meet, had a breakthrough in the 100 butterfly, as she was one of two first-years to qualify for the championship and touched eighth overall in 58.49 – fifth-best at Wooster.
The Scots also scored significant points with a series of wins in consolation heats, with Maggie Layde earning 10th in the 100 fly (58.90), Lena Smith in the 400 IM (4:44.08), and Alexandra Desotelle in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.47). Desotelle's time elevated her to the fifth-fastest performer in school history, and she hit the wall moments before teammate Erin Drake, who took 11th-place (1:07.93).
Abby Blinka also was in that 100 breast race, notching 13th (1:09.01), and others in consolation finals were Emma Fikse and Anna McGlade in the 200 freestyle as they came in 13th (1:55.34) and 16th (1:55.85), respectively, as well as Allison Clough in the 100 backstroke as she hit 18th (1:03.63) following a strong morning swim of 1:02.66.
Wooster also had success in the bonus heats, accumulating three more victories – Theresa Dunne in the 400 IM (4:56.84), Molly Laubernds in the 100 back (1:02.74), and Rachel Mandel in the 100 breast (1:11.48). Notable, Jillian Saccogna nearly won another, settling for 20th in the 100 fly (1:00.98) bonus.
Gelwicks, who qualified for a pair of championship finals, paced the Scots' men's team, which remained in fifth-place. Now with 605 points, Wooster is positioned to make a run at fourth-place Wabash College (636.5) while well ahead of the five below them in the standings. Denison (1392.5) leads Kenyon (1223.5), followed by DePauw (786).
In his specialty, Gelwicks finished fourth in the 100 back via a 51.10 time, and the junior standout was just shy of his own school record during the prelims (50.94). A few events prior, he placed eighth overall in the 100 fly, becoming the second-fastest performer in team history in the process with nearly identical prelims (50.81) and finals (50.82) marks.
Cameron Gelwicks, a freshman, broke his older brother's school record in the 200 free during the morning session at 1:42.60 and ended up 15th overall (1:42.94). Ryan Campbell was also part of that consolation heat, adding an 18th-place in 1:44.55 – the fifth-fastest by a Scot.
The Gelwicks brothers joined up with Campbell and Max Koch to break a 20-year old Wooster record, as their fourth-place time of 6:56.38 in the 800 free relay was about three seconds faster than the 1996 quartet of Kris Marr, Ben Chalot, Dan Parker, and Andrew Wunderley (6:59.87).
Zackary Pool contributed strong efforts in the 100 back and 100 fly, producing 13th- (54.28) and 14th-place (52.09) swims, respectively. One spot ahead of him in the consolation of the 100 fly, and thus 13th overall, was Garrett Layde (51.88).
Andrew Pfeuffer, Griffin Campbell, and Frayne Poeting tallied some key points in the consolation finals of the 100 breast, as the teammates came in close together with respective swims of 14th (1:00.39), 15th (1:00.87), and 16th (1:00.88).
In the middle of another consolation was Michael Crookshanks, who touched 14th in the 400 IM (4:23.01), while Michael Sokolich nearly won the bonus heat in that event, taking 20th-place (4:28.72). In other bonus final action, Matthew Pech led a pair of Wooster swimmers in the 100 back by coming in 21st (56.13) and Avery Wilson did the same in the 100 fly by placing 22nd (53.57).
Not to be overlooked, diver Aaron Salzman put together a strong performance on the one-meter board with a 383.50 score netting him sixth-place.
The NCAC Championships will conclude on Saturday.