Results
Grantham, PA – The Messiah College Falcons had their work cut out for them Friday evening as they faced off against Susquehanna University in Fredricksen Natatorium. The women won four events and broke two school records, but couldn't overcome the powerful Crusaders falling 86-112, while the men experienced a similar result losing 66-121.
“Susquehanna is a tough team to beat,” head coach Nancy Luley said. “They are a powerful program, but we swam really well tonight and I'm proud of what we did.”
The Messiah women (2-7) dominated the opening 400-yard medley relay, but due to a false start, the “A” relay team of sophomores Katelynn Sagaser, Angela Klaczak, Molly Handley, and freshman Hanna Schaffer were disqualified. The “A” relay team from Susquehanna was also disqualified for the same reason, allowing the Crusaders' “B” team to take first place, while freshmen Krista Palmer, Amanda White, Christina Ashman, and sophomore Jean Cho took second place with a time of 4:47.77.
The early disqualification didn't faze the mighty Falcons as they went on to win three individual events -- 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, and 100-yard breaststroke – and rewrote the record books in two events.
Schaffer and Sagaser battled it out in the 50-yard freestyle to finish 1-2 with times of :25.74 and :25.97, respectively. Schaffer went on to place second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of :56.81, just slightly behind the Crusaders' Christie Savard (:56.46). Freshman Aubrey “Kruegette” Krueger finished under a minute with a time of :59.92 to earn third place.
Krueger swam her way to a MAC qualifying time of 2:12.90 in the 200-yard freestyle, yet classmates Cassie Forman and Ashman were a mere :00.02 from earning an invitation to championship weekend in their respective events, 1000-yard freestyle and 400-yard individual medley.
Sagaser took the top honor in the 100-yard backstroke, setting a new school record of 1:02.31. The previous record (1:04.48) was set by Ashley Bell on February 13, 2009 at the MAC championships.
In the 1000-yard freestyle, sophomore Aimee West's time of 12:16.15 shattered the previous school record -- 12:29.72 set by Stephanie Jury against Lycoming College on December 12, 2009 -- taking third place.
Klaczak's time of 1:14.72 earned her first place in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Handley swam a solid race in the 100-yard butterfly finishing second with a time of 1:05.31 behind Sam Meringolo (1:04.67) of Susquehanna.
The women finished the evening placing first and third in the 400-yard freestyle relay with the top time (4:00.68) going to sophomore Molly Handley, junior Ashley Bell, Forman, and Krueger. The third place time of 4:10.27 came from West, White, Palmer, and Ashman.
On the men's side, the Falcons (3-6) placed second in both relay events. Sophomore Spenser Warren, freshman Daniel Wingert, sophomore Tim Alarcon, and junior Matt Wells combined for a time of 3:54.26 in the opening 400-yard medley relay, while the 400-yard freestyle relay team consisted Alarcon, Wells, Wingert, and freshman Zach Krueger.
Despite finishing a step behind the Crusaders in the individual events, many prominent performances resulted.
Freshman Joe Hines placed third in both the 50-yard freestyle (:24.37) and 100-yard freestyle (:53.84), while Warren also earned third place finishes in two events – 100-yard butterfly (:59.62) and 100-yard backstroke (1:01.85).
In the 100-yard breaststroke, Wingert finished slightly behind Susquehanna's Colin Sullivan (1:01.20) with a time of 1:03.13 for second. Despite raucous support from his teammates, freshman Zach Schutte's time of 1:13.16 was just shy of clinching a MAC qualifying opportunity.
“We were short a few guys tonight because of injury and illness,” Luley said. “We are still without (Zach) McArdle and Malcolm (McDermond) because they are enjoying their cross-cultural experiences, but it was a good effort for us tonight.”
The Falcons will have little time to recuperate as they travel to King's College tomorrow (Saturday) to compete in their second full-format, tri-meet with Arcadia University. The meet is set to begin at 1 p.m.
