Results
Williamsport, PA — If football is a game of inches, competitive swimming is a game of seconds.
More specifically, tenths or hundredths of a second.
Saturday's Commonwealth Conference duel between Messiah College and Lycoming College came down to the final men's event, the 200-yard freestyle relay — and less than six tenths (:00.55) of a second to decide the evening's winner. Despite a tremendous effort from junior anchor Zachary McArdle, the relay was touched out by Lycoming (2-3, 2-2), which resulted in the Falcons dropping a heartbreaking battle 96.5-108.5. On the women's side, Messiah finished on the losing end, 81-119, at Lycoming's Lamade Gym Pool.
“It was a tough one for us,” Messiah head coach Nancy Luley said. “We swam really well and were on such a roll, but the men were just touched out. I am very proud of everyone.”
The Messiah men (2-5, 1-2) won six events on the day, nabbing multiple event wins from sophomore Spenser Warren and McArdle.
The Falcons started the afternoon off well, winning the 200-yard medley relay. Warren, freshmen Daniel Wingert, Zachary Krueger and Joseph Hines combined for a time of 1:47.35 to take the top honor.
In the 50-yard freestyle, McArdle led the way with a time of :22.95, while sophomore Brandon Baker (:25.09) and Krueger (:25.14) earned fourth and sixth place finishes, respectively.
Sophomore Tim Alarcon got out to a great start in the 200-yard individual medley, fell behind slightly in the backstroke portion, but turned it on during the breaststroke and freestyle to win the event with a time of 2:11.33. Wingert grabbed two additional points with his fourth-place finish at 2:13.15.
“Tim's freestyle split was the best and really fast for him,” Luley said. “The next four swimmers were within a second of each other. This was a pretty race to watch.”
In the 100-yard butterfly, the Falcons started off in the incorrect lanes, but ended up going 1-3-4 with Warren dominating the event and finishing with a time of :58.53.
The 100-yard freestyle proved to be another nail-biter as the top three swimmers finished within mere tenths of a second of each other. First place went to Lycoming junior Derek Lupia at :53.00. Warrior freshman Zack Brower took second with a time of :53.21, while Hines came in third for the Falcons at :53.38. Junior Matthew Wells and Alarcon were close behind for fourth and fifth, respectively.
With only a two event rest time, Warren turned in another outstanding performance to win the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:01.14, while freshman Evan Jewell finished at 1:08.09 for fourth.
McArdle captured his second individual win on the day in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:22.93. Freshman Reid Hartzell's time of 5:35.82 earned him a third-place finish.
The last individual event, 100-yard breaststroke, proved to be another epic battle as the difference between first and second came down to less than a quarter of a second. Lycoming junior Joseph Andrie started off well to lead at the split, but Wingert came on strong and was barely touched out in the end to take second with a time of 1:03.71. Andrie's winning time was 1:03.57.
Entering the final event, Messiah trailed the Warriors by a meager seven points. The overall winner came down to the aforementioned 200-yard freestyle relay.
The Messiah quad of junior Matthew Wells, freshman Kevin Myers, Alarcon and McArdle were poised to take the top spot, but they had to get past the speed of Lycoming freshmen CJ Arhontakis, Christian Baxter, Zack Brower and junior Derek Lupia.
Despite their best efforts, the Falcons fell behind early and were unable to overtake Lycoming. With a time of 1:34.41, Messiah was touched out by the slightest of margins, as Lycoming took first place in 1:33.86.
“We had things lined up well, but I knew it was going to come down to the 200 freestyle relay.” Luley said. “[Zachary] McArdle made up a lot of ground and had a very fast split at :22.24, but we were just touched out. With those two late touch outs, Lycoming got the best of us.”
On the women's side, Messiah finished second and fourth in the opening 200-yard medley relay. Sophomores Kristen Listor, Angela Klaczak, Aimee West and freshman Christina Ashman took the second position with a time of 2:04.44, while the fourth-place time of 2:06.60 went to sophomore Jade Barnshaw, freshman Amanda White, sophomore Jean Cho, and senior Emily Westerberg.
Sophomore Aimee West posted two third-place finishes on the day in both the 200-yard individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle.
Other notable accomplishments came from freshman Hanna Schaffer, as she missed first place by only :00.13 in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing second with a time of :25.95. Junior Ashley Bell's time of :27.76 earned her a third-place finish, while Listor finished fifth at :28.23.
The Falcons finished 2-4-5 in the 100-yard freestyle as Schaffer grabbed an additional second-place finish with a time of :57.65. Freshman Cassie Forman came in fourth at 1:01.44, while the fifth-place time of 1:04.40 went to freshman Krista Palmer.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Listor swam her way to a MAC qualifying time of 1:09.89 — her best time of the season — and earned a third-place finish.
Klaczak put together a nice swim in the 100-yard breaststroke to take third place with a time of 1:14.82, while White and Westerberg finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Despite being mathematically unable to win the meet, the Falcons were determined to finish the day with a solid performance in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Ashman, sophomore Molly Handley, Bell and Schaffer dominated their final race, taking the top prize with a time of 1:48.44.
As the semester comes to an end and the Falcons enjoy their winter recess, Luley put things into perspective and now sets her sights on January.
“We are going to work hard over Christmas break,” Luley said. “We will be ready and looking for more MAC cuts when we come back in January. I am looking forward to getting in our pool and hosting our first true 'home' meet with FDU-Florham.”
Messiah returns to Fredricksen Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 8 to host FDU-Florham. Meet time is set for 1 p.m.
