Cameron Gelwicks

Max Koch

Sophomore Cameron Gelwicks chased down Wabash College's Wyatt Tarter over the final 25 yards of the 400 medley relay to give The College of Wooster its first all-conference certificate of the 2017 North Coast Athletic Conference Championships and cap Thursday's action at Denison University's Trumbull Aquatics Center in Granville, Ohio. Both the men and women sit in fourth-place with 308 and 328 points respectively.

In Thursday's final event Wooster's quartet of senior Conner Gelwicks, sophomore Griffin Campbell, first-year Trey Schopen, and Cameron Gelwicks clocked in at 3:27.03, .04 of a second ahead of Wabash. Notable the third-place finish marked Wooster's second straight year earning all-conference honors in the 400 medley relay, and the two certificate are the only ones in program history for Wooster in the event in the NCAC era. Additionally, Wooster's all-conference showing in the 400 medley relay marked the first time the Scots' men have recorded all-conference swims in the same relay in back-to-back years since the 2010 and 2011 championships.

On the women's side, sophomore Emma Fikse turned in her second NCAA Div. III "B" cut and school record in as many nights, and joined W Association Hall-of-Famer Elizabeth Roesch as the only women in program history to break the five-minute barrier in the 500 freestyle. Fikse placed fifth in her first championship heat appearance with a time of 4:59.28, surpassing Roesch's 2004 clip of 4:59.96 in the process.

In the men's 500 freestyle both Cameron Gelwicks and Max Koch beat out Gelwicks' clip of 4:40.62 set at last year's conference championships, but Koch claimed the school record in the preliminary heats with a 4:37.36 while Gelwicks hit the deck at 4:40.16 in the morning session. In the finals, Koch clocked in at 4:38.28 and was backed up by Gelwicks' 4:40.70, which were good for 12th- and 13th-place respectively.

Not to be outdone was classmate Ryan Campbell who earned a spot in the 500 freestyle consolation final with a 4:42.46 in the preliminary heats, and cut that clip down to 4:41.90 in the finals to take 16th-place, while the time rates as the fourth-fastest on the program's top-10 list.

Sticking with the men, the quartet of sophomore Garrett Layde, Campbell, senior Aaron Brown, and sophomore Griffin Campbell delivered a stellar fourth-place effort at 1:24.11 in the 200 freestyle relay, with Layde's 50-yard leadoff split of 21.35 clocking in as the eighth-best in program history.

Individually, Layde hit the deck at 1:55.36 in the 200 individual medley to place 11th in the event, while the time rated as the third-fastest in program history. The sophomore had strong support in the event from classmate Michael Crookshanks, who earned a spot in the consolation final with a prelim swim of just over two minutes, and then cut that down to 1:59.78 in the nightcap for a 17th-place finish.

In the sprints, Griffin Campbell nearly cracked Wooster's top-10 list with a 21.49 in the preliminary heats before settling for a 21.44 in the consolation final to place 16th overall.

Other individual scoring efforts were turned in via first-year Eli Samuelson's 20th-place time of 2:01.59 in the 200 individual medley and Brown's 24th-place clip of 21.79 in the 50 freestyle.

Senior Aaron Salzman turned in an eighth-place score of 357.10 in the diving well in the 1-meter competition.

In relay action for the women, first-year Alison Hsu, sophomores Allison Clough, Kalla Sturonas, and Fikse teamed up to place fourth in the 400 medley relay at 4:00.91, just over a second out of an all-conference finish. At the start of the night, Fikse, first-year Megan Gross, and seniors Lissy de la Chapelle and Jamie Hibbs turned in a 1:39.91 to place fifth in the 200 freestyle relay.

Shifting to individual events, senior Anna McGlade finished 13th in the 500 freestyle at 5:07.23, while junior Maggie Layde wasn't far behind at 5:17.31, which put her 16th. Of note, sophomore Sarah Padrutt won the bonus heat with a 5:13.78, and shaved over seven seconds off of her prelim swim.

Three other swimmers placed in the consolation final with Sturonas' 15th-place effort of 2:15.90 in the 200 individual medley leading the way to pair with senior Rachel Mandel's 17th-place swim in the event (2:16.76), and classmate Jamie Hibbs' 25.17 18th-place 50 freestyle swim.

In bonus final action, de la Chapelle led a trio of Wooster swimmers in the 50 freestyle by coming in 20th (25.24) and first-year Caleigh Balon was 22nd in the 200 individual medley (2:27.88).

Friday's action features a preliminary session at 10 a.m. with finals action slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.