Day 2 Photo Gallery
2008 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship Page
Feb. 22, 2008
Annapolis, Md. - The second day of competition at the 2008 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship meet is in the history books, as things now get a little bit interesting on the eve of the final day of competition. The Navy men continued to lead throughout the course of the second day, while the Colgate women moved ahead of Navy with one day to go.
The men's and women's 200yd Medley Relay got things started in the evening session, as teams began jockeying for position in the overall standing from the start. The Colgate women continued their early dominance of the relay races here at the 2008 meet, as they won for the second-straight relay race. The team of Beverly Walker, Kacy Reams, Kate Murphy and Emily Murphy finished the race in a time of 1:45.20, just ahead of Bucknell's time of 1:45.89. Finishing third in the race was the home team from Navy, in a time of 1:46.77.
The men's 200yd Medley Relay race featured a bit of déjà vu as well, as the Bucknell Bison won their second-consecutive relay. The Bison exploded in the third and fourth stroke disciplines to swim away with the title in a time of 1:31.18, just 0.04 seconds off the pool record. The team from Navy ended the race in second place with a time of 1:32.63, while Army closed to finish third in a time of 1:33.71.
The second set of races for the evening took place in the men's and women's 400yd Individual Medley. On the women's side, it was a sweet repeat for Navy's Kelly Zahalka, who won the event in the 2007. Zahalka, who was named the 2007 Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet, won this year's event in a time of 4:23.92. It was a close race at the beginning between Zahalka and top-seeded Caren Guyett of Colgate, but Zahalka began to distance herself after each turn in the second-half of the race. Guyett, only a freshman, came in second with a time of 4:25.93, while Bucknell's Lauren Russell gained third-place points in a time of 4:32.31.
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In the men's 400yd Individual Medley, a look at the pool may have caused some second-guessing. With the top seeds normally swimming in the inside lanes, it was Navy's Billy Vey who ran away with the title from Lane One. Vey, who was the top seed heading into the morning prelims, finished seventh in the prelim race to earn the outside lane. The junior put away any doubts with his performance in the final, however, as he closed to finish in a time of 3:59.53. Finishing in second and third place were a pair of Healy's from Colgate, as Trevor finished second in a time of 4:01.43 and Devon finished third in a time of 4:01.64.
After 15 events, Navy continued to lead in both the men's and women's standings. The men continued to have some breathing room as their total of 317 was almost 70 points ahead of Bucknell (250 points). Army sat in third with a total of 210 points. The women were in a tighter race, however, as the Mids had tallied 308.5 points to that point, while Bucknell (285.5) and Colgate (257) were close behind.
The next sets of competitors were in the 100yd Butterfly event, as the women and men both thrilled the crowd with some outstanding performances. The women's event featured four Colgate competitors in the top-four seeded positions, and the Raiders almost followed suit in the finals as they posted a 1-2-3-5 finish. It was freshman Erin McGraw who finished first in a time of 55.75, which is a new Patriot League and Patriot League Championship meet record. Teammate Lisa Marchi notched a second-place finish in a time of 56.76, while Kate Murphy was third in a time of 57.18.
The Raiders were able to pull off a sweep of the 100yd Fly as Zack Whitman put together a solid race in the finals to secure the title. The senior finished in a time of 50.63 seconds, less than a tenth of a second ahead of Navy's Andrew Hetzner, who finished second in a time of 50.71 seconds. Ending the race in third place was Bucknell's Grant Steadman in a time of 50.78 seconds.
It was a record-setting day in the women's 200yd Freestyle, as Navy's Tara Chapmon set and broke her own record during the course of the prelims and finals on Friday. In the morning prelims, Chapmon swam a time of 1:49.33 which at the time was a Patriot League and Patriot League Championship meet record. In the evening's final session, Chapmon one-upped herself, setting a new Patriot League and Patriot League Championship meet record time of 1:48.82. As soon as Chapmon hit the pool at the start of the finals race, it was over for the competition, as she put together one of the most complete races of the 2008 meet. Finishing second to Chapmon was teammate Allison Ranzau in a time of 1:49.50, while Colgate's Lisa Marchi was third in 1:52.09.
The men's 200yd Freestyle had one of the more raucous cheering exhibitions of any of the previous races, as the Lehigh contingent at Lejeune Hall cheered on Dan Johnson to an individual victory in the race. Johnson, who was seeded fifth after the morning's prelims, swam an outstanding race and held off two competitors from Navy to win the title. He finished the race in a time of 1:39.69, while Navy's Nathan Durham (1:40.46) and Alex Buck (1:41.34) finished in second and third, respectively.
Through 18 events at the 2008 meet, it was still Navy on top of the standings in both the men's and women's competition. The men's standings had Navy in first with 350 points, Bucknell in second with 284 points and Colgate in third with 217 points. On the women's side, the race was much closer, as Navy held the top spot with 367.5 points, Colgate was on their heels with 362 points and Bucknell held the third position with 333.5 points.
The next event on the evening schedule was the men's and women's 100yd Breast. In the women's race, similarly to the 100yd Fly, Colgate held the top-three seeded positions headed into the finals. For the second time on Friday evening, the Colgate women finished a race 1-2-3 to secure some valuable team points. Finishing in the first position was junior Emily Murphy, who posted a time of 1:04.29, which was over a second ahead of the second-place finisher, teammate Caitie Curran (1:05.31). Senior Kacy Reams took third with a mark of 1:05.69.
The men's race featured a familiar face in the driver's seat, as Army senior Jake Mentele continued his success at the Patriot League Championship meets. Mentele finished the 100yd Breast in a time of 55.89 seconds to earn the individual title in the event. Finishing in second was Bucknell's Joe Metcalf in a time of 56.76 seconds, while third place went to Army's James McLaughlin in a time of 56.91 seconds.
After 21 events the meet standings took on a little bit of a different feel on the women's side. Navy had led through the first 19 events, but thanks to the 1-2-3 finish in the 100yd Breast, Colgate supplanted the Mids atop the standings with a total of 432 points. Navy was second with 367.5 points and Bucknell remained in third with 349.5 points. The men's standings remained unchanged with Navy in first (444), Bucknell in second (343) and Army in third (297).
In the final individual swimming events of the night, it was a Bucknell sweep that stole the show in the 100yd Backstroke final. In the women's race, Courtney Warren separated herself from the field over the final two laps to claim the individual title with a time of 57.07 seconds. Finishing in second was Colgate's Beverly Walker in 57.31 seconds, while Navy's Thuy Mi-Dinh was third with a time of 58.36 seconds.
The men's race featured top-seed Mark Kawczenski of Bucknell, who did not disappoint in the final. The junior bested his prelim time by almost one and a half seconds to finish in a first-place time of 49.99 seconds. American's Matt Pelletier came in second with a time of 51.27 seconds, while Navy's Ryan Ward slid into third place with a time of 51.88 seconds.
Navy's Jon Galinski led a trio of Mids who secured a 1-2-3 finish in the men's 1m diving event. Galinski totaled 325.20 points to secure the individual title. Finishing second for Navy was freshman Olaf Olson with a score of 304.75, while teammate Clayton Niekras scored a mark of 282.65 for third place.
Once again the nightcap featured a pair of highly-contested relays, with Friday night's version being the 800yd Free Relay. In the women's race, it looked as if it was going to be Navy and everyone else, and while Colgate made it close for a few laps, that in fact was the case. Tara Chapmon, who solidified her case as the favorite for swimmer of the meet after her performance on Saturday, swam a beautiful final leg of the relay to give Navy the title. The Mids ended Colgate's bid for a third-consecutive relay victory by finishing in a Patriot League and Patriot League Championship meet record time of 7:26.69. Colgate earned second place in a time of 7:30.72, while American recorded a time of 7:45.00 to secure third place in the race.
The men's 800yd Freestyle Relay concluded the second evening session, and also helped Navy build upon their already increasing lead. The Mids finished the race in first place in a time of 6:43.82, while Army was second in 6:47.62 and Bucknell was third with a time of 6:51.24.
For the complete results from today's prelims and finals, as well as a schedule of the final day of competition, please visit the 2008 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship page by clicking on the link below. For the complete team standings, as well as a list of all of Friday's winners, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
2008 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship Page
Evening Session #2 - Champions
Women's 200yd Medley Relay - Colgate (Walker, Reams, Murphy, Murphy) - 1:45.20
Men's 200yd Medley Relay: Bucknell (Kawczenski, Bennett, Steadman, Peterman) - 1:31.18
Women's 400yd IM: Kelly Zahalka, Navy - 4:23.92
Men's 400yd IM: Billy Vey, Navy - 3:59.53
Women's 100yd Fly: Erin McGraw, Colgate - 55.75 **
Men's 100yd Fly: Zack Whitman, Colgate - 50.63
Women's 200yd Free: Tara Chapmon, Navy - 1:48.82 **
Men's 200yd Free: Dan Johnson, Lehigh - 1:39.69
Women's 100yd Breast: Emily Murphy, Colgate - 1:04.29
Men's 100yd Breast: Jake Mentele, Army - 55.89
Women's 100yd Back: Courtney Warren, Bucknell - 57.07
Men's 100yd Back: Matt Kawczenski, Bucknell - 49.99
Men's 1m Diving: Jonathan Galinski, Navy - 325.20
Women's 800yd Free Relay: Navy (Ranzau, Lowd, Zahalka, Chapmon) - 7:26.69 **
Men's 800yd Free Relay: Navy (Durham, Helms, Buck, Hetzner) - 6:43.82
** - Patriot League and Patriot League Championship Record
Team Standings - After Day Two
Men
1. Navy 565
2. Bucknell 444
3. Army 391
4. Colgate 227
Lehigh 227
6. American 203
7. Lafayette 140
8. Holy Cross 98
Women
1. Colgate 489
2. Navy 444.5
3. Bucknell 412.5
4. Lafayette 254
5. Lehigh 223
6. Army 205
7. American 196
8. Holy Cross 115
