Hannah Langer

Trey Schopen

Junior Cameron Gelwicks broke a second school-record in as many nights, while classmate Emma Fikse qualified for the "A" final of the 500 freestyle to lead the way during Thursday's action at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships contested at Denison University's Trumbull Aquatics Center in Granville, Ohio.

At the conclusion of the second night of action, The College of Wooster's women's team is tied for third-place with DePauw University at 355.5 points, while the men's team sits in sixth-place at 254 points. Denison University leads the field in both standings with 651.5 points on the men's side, and 695 points in the women's results.

In the morning prelims session, Gelwicks re-took ownership of Wooster's record in the 500 free with a time of 4:36.90. The freestyle specialist originally broke the College's record in the event at the 2016 NCAC Championships with a 4:42.98, a mark that topped the second-to-last 37-year-old school record help by former national champion and W Association Hall of Famer Stan McDonald. Fellow junior Max Koch surpassed Gelwicks' time at last year's championships with a 4:37.36, but Gelwicks lowered that by :00.46.

During Thursday's finals, Gelwicks led a trio of Wooster swimmers to the wall in the consolation final as his 4:37.04 placed him 11th in the event. Classmates Ryan Campbell and Max Koch finished 15th and 18th respectively at 4:40.87 and 4:43.47, with Campbell's time marking a career-best, and the third-best time in program history.

Fikse, who made her made her fourth championship heat start in the evening session, qualified eighth in the 500 free at 5:09.65, and turned in a similar time of 5:09.70 in the "A" final, a mark good for ninth-place.

Fikse had plenty of support in the event as a trio of Fighting Scots placed in the consolation final. Senior Sarah Padrutt led the threesome with an 11th-place time of 5:09.31, a near-:05 improvement from her prelim swim earlier in the day. In fact, Padrutt's time ranks as the seventh-fastest in program history, and she's now on the program's prestigious top-10 list in three different events.

Behind Padrutt, first-year Kera Sells' 5:17.39 was good for 15th-place, and classmate Lexi Riley-DiPaolo was right behind with a 5:17.88.

A pair of fifth-place men's relays headlined the quartet contested on the evening. The all-junior 200 free relay consisting of Gelwicks, Garrett Layde, Griffin Campbell, and Ryan Campbell clocked in at 1:24.22, :01.44 out of an all-conference spot. Griffin Campbell, Layde, and Gelwicks all closed out the session on the Scots' 400 medley relay, where they were joined by sophomore Trey Schopen for the backstroke leg. Schopen opened the relay with a career-best 53.29 split in the 100 back, and he lowered his own eighth-best time in program history in the process. Wooster went on to finish at 3:28.62.

On the women's side, the Scots placed sixth in both of Thursday's relay events with first-year Hannah Langer leading the way in the session-closing 400 medley relay. The backstroke specialist had the Scots out to a quick start with a 59.38 leg, the sixth-best time in program history. Langer was joined on the relay by classmate Brooke Brown, junior Kalla Sturonas, and Fikse, and the quartet clocked in at 4:00.01. Earlier in the meet, Brown, Fikse and Riley-DiPaolo were joined by senior Maggie Layde for the 200 free relay, and the Scots' "A" relay strung together a 1:38.69.

Sticking with the women, sophomore Alison Hsu led a quartet of Scot placers in the consolation final of the 200 individual medley. Hsu's 2:13.81 placed her 11th, and that effort was quickly backed up by sophomore Avery Pearson's 13th-place clip of 2:15.37. Of note, the Scots occupied all the odd placements in the consolation final with Brown's 2:15.75 and Langer's 2:16.60 netting the first-years 15th- and 17th-place respectively.

Noteworthy, first-year Larissa Lamarca won the bonus heat of the IM event with a time of 2:15.61.

Maggie Layde tied for 16th in the 50 free, and her time in the finals (24.95) was nearly identical to the one turned in during the morning's prelim session (21.45).

In the diving well, sophomore Cleo Potter picked up 17 key points on the one-meter board thanks to a 13th-place score of 240.60.

The men's 50 free featured a similar story line to Layde's from Griffin Campbell, who also placed 16th. Campbell came in a whisker ahead of his prelim time of 21.45 in the finals (21.46).

Wooster's other consolation placement came from Garrett Layde, whose 1:56.07 in the 200 IM was good for a 12th-place finish.

Friday's action is set to commence with the prelim session at 10 a.m., while the evening's finals are slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.