Feb. 19, 2008

CLEVELAND, OH - The Wright State swimming and diving program will head to Cleveland this week to compete in the 2008 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted by Cleveland State University.

The Raiders men's squad will enter the 2008 championships as the defending team champion. This years team has posted a 7-3 record in dual meets this season, including a 5-0 mark against their league counterparts. As a team, the Raiders combined to break four WSU Natatorium pool records and one school record during the season.

Scott Lang, who was named the 2007 Horizon League Championship Male Swimmer of the Meet, broke the first pool record for WSU. The senior won the 500 yd. Freestyle event against Cleveland State on January 19. Warren Thompson was then a part of three pool records in the Raiders final home meet against Xavier. Thompson bested his own mark in the 200 Fly and then also set the pool standard in the 100 Fly. Later in the meet he teamed with LeRoux Pelser, Zach Fisher and T.J. Collins to break the pool mark in the 200 yd Freestyle event.

Thompson, a native of Bocksburg, South Africa, also posted the Raiders only school record of the season at the Miami Invitational. The senior bested his own school record in the 200 Fly event to post the Raiders only individual victory of the meet.

In 2007, the Raiders claimed the title behind seven event victories, including three from Lang. Lang posted individual crowns in the 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle events, Thompson won the 100 Fly, Aaron Eckstein posted a victory in the 200 Backstroke and Will Ehresman claimed the 200 Freestyle title. Head coach Sion Brinn claimed the Horizon League Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season.

On the women's side in 2007, WSU will be looking to snap a three-year break from the top of the podium and claim their sixth conference title since 1997. The Raiders finished third in the 2007 championships, but will head into the 2008 edition with the top time in seven of the 19 events.

This season the Raiders women's squad posted an 8-3 record in dual meets and a 6-0 mark against Horizon League opponents. WSU has set a trio of pool records and three school records during the regular season. WSU set a pair of pool relay records, besting the 200 and 400 Medley Relay marks, and broke the school record in the 800 Freestyle Relay at the Miami Invitational.

Individually, WSU has set two school records and one pool record during the season. Krystyna Wieczerzak and Jessica Weidert each set a new school standard in an event at the Miami Invitational on December 1. Wieczerzak claimed the school mark in the 200 Backstroke event and Weidert bettered the previous mark in the 200 Breaststroke event, set by Kelly Leaman in 1994. Then against Xavier on senior night, Weidert broke her own WSU pool record in the 200 Breaststroke, besting her previous mark by more than one second.

WSU will return one of three multi-event winners from 2007 on the women's side of the competition. Catalina Martinez posted victories in the 1000 and 1650 Freestyle events at the 2007 league summit. WSU will also return their other two event winners from last season in Kelsey Cooper and Mabel Fernandez. Cooper won the 100 Backstroke and Fernandez captured the 500 Free at the 2007 championships.

The Swimming and Diving Championships will start on Wednesday, February 20 in Cleveland and conclude on Saturday, February 23. Live coverage of the finals can be seen on the Horizon League Network on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings beginning at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Access to the live events and highlights can be accessed by logging onto www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv. Daily results can also be found on the Horizon League website (www.horizonleague.org) and Cleveland State's website (http://csuvikings.cstv.com/).

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