Results
Grantham, PA - Messiah College hosted a dual with Misericordia on Saturday, with the competition serving as their final tune-up before the MAC Championships in two weekends. The men's team was clipped by just two points (103-101) while the women won for the second straight year by the exact same score (117-87).
"This was a solid team effort today," head coach
Nancy Luley said. "This was an exciting way to end our regular season."
Both the women and men came up short in the opening 400 medley relay, finishing second and third, but picked up individual wins in the 1000 freestyle.Â
Lauren Clune (11:22.79) and
Aaron Eckman (10:35.72) earned first place nods with fellow teammates picking up points by finishing third and fourth.
The women pulled ahead by winning the next three events.Â
Tara Freeman had a solid swim in the 200 freestyle. Her time of 1:59.85 was best, while
Anna McArdle (2:04.25) and
Caitlin Magaw (2:07.73) finished 3-4, respectively. In the 50 freestyle, the Falcons finished at the 1-3-5 spots with
Hanna Schaffer taking first at :25.74.Â
Emily Reale won the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:54.29.
Hanna Schaffer went on to win the 100 freestyle (:56.66), while Lauran Penwell's time of :57.03 earned her a second place finish.
The Falcons had strong showings in the 100 backstroke and 500 freestyle, also.Â
Caitlin Magaw (1:03.71) and
Katie Reiter (1:05.61) finished second and third, respectively, in the 100 back.Â
Lauren Clune led through most of the 500 free, but Misericordia's Dana Hallam came from behind to win with a time of 5:33.17. Clune finished at 5:33.70.
Gaby Brubaker extended the Falcons' advantage with a second place finish (1:13.25) in the 100 breaststroke and was joined by
Anna McArdle (1:13.89) who missed a third place finish by the slightest of margins – four hundredths of a second (:00.04).
The women rounded out their impressive win by capturing the 200 freestyle relay.Â
Anna McArdle,
Emily Reale,
Tara Freeman, and
Hanna Schaffer combined for the top finish at 1:43.05.Â
Lauren Clune,
Lydia Ellsworth, Gaby Brubaker, and
Cassie Forman finished third with a time of 1:47.02.
On the men's side, the battle was ever so close throughout the duration of the dual and came down the final two events.
Going into the 50 freestyle the score was tied 27-27.Â
Nate Brown rose to the occasion to take the event with a time of :22.19.Â
Ryan Shields (:23.48) and
Phil Rodo (:23.62) were close behind to finish 4-5, respectively.Â
The Cougars regained a 48-44 advantage in the 400 individual medley by finishing 1-3-4, but the Falcons snatched it back with wins in the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle.Â
Nick Wieder (:55.79) claimed the first place finish in the 100 fly, while
Nate Brown picked up his second individual victory in the 100 free with a time of :49.42.Â
Daniel Jessen,
Reid Hartzell, and
Mark Wagner extended Messiah's advantage by taking 1
st, 4
th, and 5
th in the 100 backstroke with Jessen's time of :56.27 being best.
The Falcons lost ground in the 500 freestyle and pulled to an 84-84 tie going into the 100 breaststroke.Â
Daniel Wingert (1:03.55) and
Adam Zech (1:06.47) finished second and fourth, respectively, in the 100 breast and gained six much-needed points for the team; yet the overall victor would be determined by the final 200 freestyle relay.
The event seemed split into two separate races, the battle between the two fastest teams and then the battle for third and fourth and more importantly, the final two points. Â Despite trailing through the first three swimmers,
Nate Brown swam the best 50 yards of the day at :21.31 to give the Falcons the win (1:30.40) and 11 points. Misericordia earned 4 points with their second place finish at 1:30.66 and evened the score 101-101. The third place finish was an all-out brawl as the lead seemed to change with each swimmer. In the end, the Cougars narrowly won the event with a time of 1:37.42. The Falcons were ever so close at 1:37.91. Misericordia took the final two points and the 103-101 victory.
The Falcons will use the next two weeks to prepare for the MAC Championships, which will take place February 13-16 at the Graham Aquatic Center in York, Pa.
