YORK, Pa. -
Avery Barley made it a perfect three for three in individual events at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships this weekend, winning the 200 Back in a time of 1:50.42 on Sunday. As a result, Barley was named the MAC Rookie of the Year after previously winning the 100 Fly (49.61) and the 100 Back (49.80). In all three of those events, Barley set new program records, also earning an NCAA 'B' Cut in the 100 Back.
As a team the Falcons finished the four-day event in fifth place, earning 839 team points. The Stevens Ducks won the men's Championships with a MAC-record 1,519.5 points. The Albright Lions (1,171 points), Arcadia Knights (973), and Widener Pride (881) also finished ahead of the Falcons in second, third, and fourth, respectively.
As mentioned, Barley picked up his third win of the weekend on Sunday in the 200 Back. He won the event in a time of 1:50.42, just 0.33 seconds ahead of Stevens' Ali Kolenovic, who finished in second at 1:50.75. Barley's time was a new program record and more than five seconds faster than his best time in the event this season (1:55.85).
Eli McCabe also competed in the 200 Back, finishing in 19th place with a time of 2:06.82.
While Barley's victory in the 200 Back was the only All-Conference honor the Falcons would pick up on Sunday, Messiah was well represented in both the 1650 Free and 100 Free. In both events, Messiah had three swimmers earn top-25 finishes. In the Championship's longest race,
Mason Kennedy finished in ninth place with a time of 16:59.42.
Coby Bracken (18:18.44) and
Eli McCabe (18:42.14) also competed in the event, finishing in 19th and 23rd place, respectively.
Daniel Logan led the way in the 100 Free, finishing 11th in the event with a time of 48.46. Just behind Logan were teammates
Tyler Wilkinson (48.55) and
Andrew Leeper (48.87) in 13th and 18th place, respectively.
The Falcons also picked up a pair of top-25 finishes in the 200 Breast with
Isaac McCabe finishing 13th with a time of 2:14 and
Jake Valentine taking 23rd in 2:25.08.
Messiah's 400 Free Relay team of Barley, Logan, Leeper, and Wilkinson took fourth in the event with a time of 3:10.26, five seconds behind the winning time of 3:05.28 turned in by the Stevens Ducks.
As noted, Messiah finished the weekend in fifth place with 839 points. Messiah has placed in the top-five at the MAC Championships in each of their 12 years as a program.
Avery Barley was named the MAC Rookie of the Year after winning three events and picking up three other All-Conference honors on relays. Barley becomes the fourth MAC Rookie of the Year in program history, and second-straight after
Tyler Wilkinson won the honor last season. Barley is also the first swimmer to earn three individual golds at a MAC Championship in program history. As a team, Messiah had never won three individual golds at a single MAC Championships, prior to Barley's performance this weekend.
All-Conference Honors
Event # - Event Title - Swimmer - Time - Honor - Other Notes
7 - 200 Medley Relay -
Avery Barley,
Isaac McCabe,
Ridge Hagar,
Andrew Leeper - 1:34.93 - Third Team - Messiah Record
9 - 200 Free Relay -
Avery Barley,
Andrew Leeper,
Ridge Hagar,
Tyler Wilkinson - 1:24.98 - Second Team - Messiah Record
13 - 100 Fly - Avery Barley - 49.61 - First Team - Messiah Record
21 - 100 Back - Avery Barley - 49.80 - First Team - NCAA 'B' Cut, MAC Record, Messiah Record
25 - 800 Free Relay -
Daniel Logan,
Ridge Hagar,
Tyler Wilkinson,
Avery Barley - 6:56.38 - Third Team - Messiah Record
31 - 200 Back - Avery Barley - 1:50.42 - First Team - Messiah Record
