Full Results (Day 1) (PDF)
Thursday Prelim Heat Sheet (PDF)
G-MAC/MEC S&D Championship Page
CANTON, Ohio – Ten programs combined from two leagues gave it their all in the pool to kick off the inaugural Great Midwest Athletic Conference/Mountain East Conference Swimming & Diving Championships on Wednesday.
A total of nine events crowned the first-ever combined conference champions as Findlay represented the Great Midwest with seven titles while Fairmont State and Notre Dame (OH), each won one for the Mountain East.
C.T. Branin Natatorium was buzzing with excitement from the student-athletes, fans and parents, in attendance as new records were being formed with each event going final.
Findlay’s men and women carried the banner on the first day of competition to lead all teams in the scoring. The Oilers men won three titles (1000 free, 200 IM, 200 medley relay) while the UF women claimed four awards (50 free, 200 IM, 200 medley relay, 3-meter dive).
Preliminaries were finished throughout the morning in all of the above events as 24 individuals qualified for as many as three different heats in the finals.
Findlay’s diving NCAA qualifier Hannah May put her name in the history books as the first overall individual G-MAC/MEC champion, scoring a 7 and 7.5 in her final attempt off the board to send a roar of approval through the building.
Findlay’s former CollegeSwimming.com National Athlete of the Week Amanda Stiegal won the 50 free with an NCAA B-cut time of 23.76, just one hundredth of a second faster than her top run in the prelims.
UF’s Hanna Cederholm was the only duplicate winner on the day as she showcased medals from both the 200 IM and as a member of the 200-medley relay. She also had a B-cut time by over a second after touching the wall in 2:04.48.
Cederholm worked with teammates Kathryn Samuelson, Katy Kouvaris and Lauren Blancard, for the relay win. The quartet had an R-provisional cut time.
UF’s Ben Rath, whose cheering section in the bleachers had a sign that said “Fear The Rath,” outpaced the competition in the grueling 1000 freestyle, a race that features 40 laps. Rath held off some fierce competition, including Davis & Elkins’ Pedro Gaspar, who was runner-up by less than eight seconds.
Another event won by Findlay with some big names was the 200 IM by Mark Billeaud in a time of 1:52.63. He scored 32 points to the Oilers team scoring by holding off teammates Nathan Bourne, Parker Bull and Trae Gulgin, who finished second third and fourth, respectively.
Findlay’s women’s team accounted for 493 points on day one. Hillsdale is second with 301 while host Malone is third at 198.5. D&E, Alderson Broaddus and Ursuline, are sixth, seventh and 10th, respectively.
The Oilers men have a commanding lead going into day two with 407 points. Malone is second with 260 while Davis & Elkins is tied with Fairmont State for fourth and Alderson Broaddus comes in at eighth.
Day two of the G-MAC/MEC Championships starts tomorrow morning with more preliminary action at 10 AM ET with the 400 IM, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle. The meet is being streamed online at both the Great Midwest Digital Network and on Mountain East TV.