Results
Grantham, PA – After nearly three full months of being “on the road” for both practices and competition, the Messiah College men's and women's swim teams competed in their first true home meet Saturday. The Falcons christened the newly refurbished Fredricksen Natatorium by winning 21 of 22 events while breaking four school records on the women's side to claim a pair of commanding wins over FDU-Florham.
Saturday's duel marked the first competition of the New Year for Messiah and FDU-Florham, as both teams hadn't competed since early December because of Winter Break. Despite a 27-day hiatus from competition, the Falcons were beyond excited to break-in their “new” pool and the results certainly mirrored their enthusiasm as the Messiah women dominated FDU-Florham 154-39 while the men handed the Devils their seventh-straight loss 145-24.
“Today was a lot of fun,” head coach Nancy Luley said. “We did well and swam different events. We got some MAC cuts and broke some records. It doesn't get much better than that.”
The Messiah women had a tremendous day breaking four school records en route to winning 10 of 11 events. The Falcons (2-6) also welcomed two transfer students to the women's side, sophomore Katelynn Sagaser and freshman Aubrey Krueger.
“Katelynn and Aubrey are welcome additions for us,” Luley said. “Katelynn earned NCAA “B” cuts at Clarion (University) and is best at backstroke. Aubrey came to us from Towson (University), but didn't swim there. She's Zach's little sister and we're excited to have her here with us.”
Sagaser took little time to make an impact for the Falcons, rewriting the record books for all three events in which she competed. Sophomores Angela Klaczak and Molly Handley and freshman Hanna Schaffer joined forces with Sagaser in the opening event – 200-yard medley relay – to shatter the first record of the day with a time of 1:57.10.
In the 200-yard individual medley, sophomore Aimee West and freshman Krista Palmer finished 2-3 with times of 2:32.69 and 2:38.00 respectively, behind Sagaser's record time of 2:20.97.
Sagaser rounded out her epic debut performance in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:03.15, while Handley's time of 1:07.53 earned her third place.
Schaffer joined in on the record breaking in her second individual win of the day, the 100-yard freestyle, with a time of :56.32. Classmate Cassie Forman took second at 1:00.61. Schaffer earned her other individual event win in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:08.87.
In the 1000-yard freestyle, the men's and women's events were combined due to only two swimmers competing per side. Freshman Daniel Wingert – a natural breaststroker - volunteered to swim for the Falcon men with the intent to help pace classmate Julie Price. His efforts paid off as Price won her side with a time of 12:40.78 and Wingert's time of 11:35.67 earned him a MAC cut and first place.
Other notable performances came from junior Ashley Bell and Klaczak in the 100-yard backstroke. Bell took the top spot with a time of 1:09.15, while Klaczak's time of 1:11.15 earned her a second place finish.
Klaczak went on to win the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:15.42, while West (1:18.43) narrowly beat freshman Amanda White (1:18.97) for second.
In her first collegiate swim, Krueger earned a MAC cut by finishing fourth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of :27.68. Bell and Handley took second and third, respectively, while the Devils' (1-8) Tara Gililes won the event in :26.86.
The Falcons swept the 500-yard freestyle as Palmer (6:15.57), Price (6:20.46), and sophomore Josie Smith (6:31.80) went 1-2-3, respectively.
The women concluded their winning ways in the 200-yard freestyle relay as freshman Christina Ashman, Bell, Krueger, and Forman combined for a top-notch time of 1:50.76.
On the men's side, the Falcons won 11 of 11 events against a short-sided FDU-Florham (0-7) squad. In the opening 200-yard medley relay, the Falcons went uncontested as junior Matthew Wells, freshmen Reid Hartzell and Zach Krueger, and junior Bradley Culwell combined for a winning time of 1:52.74.
Messiah (3-5) swept the 200-yard freestyle with freshman Joe Hines (2:00.24), sophomore Tim Alarcon (2:00.57), and Hartzell (2:02.71) finishing 1-2-3, respectively.
Freshman Kevin Myers earned a MAC cut in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of :24.30. Second place went to Krueger (:24.97) with freshman Brandon Baker's time of :25.01 earned him a third place finish.
Krueger went on to swim a personal best time of 1:01.02 in the 100-yard butterfly to take the event over the Devils' David Padilla (1:06.82).
Sophomore Spenser Warren had a great day going two for two in individual events, earning his first win in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:15.81. Second place went to FDU-Florham's Daniel Herskowitz (2:21.84), while freshman Matt Barker's time of 2:39.56 earned him third place. Warren's time of 1:00.21 earned him another win in the 100-yard backstroke, while Wingert swam the event “for fun” and produced a MAC qualifying time of 1:04.12 for second place.
The Falcons continued their dominance in the 100-yard freestyle with Alarcon (:53.07), Wells (:53.46), and Baker (:56.78) finishing 1-2-3, respectively.
Culwell took home the top prize in the 500-yard freestyle over the Devils' Corey Esposito (6:45.77). Hartzell and freshman Zach Schutte battled it out in the 100-yard breaststroke with Hartzell's time of 1:09.81 earning first place.
In the final event of the day – 200-yard freestyle relay – it was all Messiah as FDU-Florham's limited numbers prevented them from competing. Wingert, Wells, Myers, and Hines united for a first place time of 1:37.71, while Alarcon, Baker, Warren, and Schutte's time of 1:39.91 was good enough for second.
“Although FDU had a small team, this was a great day for us,” Luley said. “We swam a lot of people in events they're not used to. To have them swim their signature events and not be competitive is counter-productive, so we switched them up to take the pressure off. It was a lot of fun and we swam well overall.”
The Falcons are back in action Friday as they host Susquehanna University at 5 p.m. in Fredricksen Natatorium.
