Day Three of the CAA Swimming Championship

By Connect2Mason Reporter Alex Rogge

During the third day of the 2009 CAA Swimming and Diving Championship, the Mason team again placed high on the scoreboard throughout the competition events. It started with the Men 400 Individual Medley prelims, during which Ross Redcay placed fourth with a time of 4:06.16. Then Preston Wolter took first place in his heat and first place overall, with his time of 3:52.99.

In the Women 100 Butterfly, Michelle Lozach placed second with a time of 59.26. In the next heat, Brittany Vocke placed third with a time of 59.11.

In the Women 200 Freestyle, Millie Wannamaker placed third with a time of 1:56.17. In the Women 100 Freestyle, Caitlin Impink placed third with a time of 1:50.60.

In the Women 200 Freestyle, Claire Weems took first place for her heat and sixth place overall, with her time of 1:50.11. The Men put Mason back at the top of the scoreboard during their 200 Freestyle. Spencer Roe took first place with a time of 1:43.19. Then Zac Hamlin placed third with a time of 1:43.42. Max Tyburski placed fourth in his heat of the 200 Freestyle, with a time of 1:42.24. In the next heat, Steven Benecki placed fifth with a time of 1:41.02.

In the Women 100 Breaststroke, Mary Beth Cheslock placed third with her time of 1:05.14. Then Ashley Danner placed first overall with her time of 1:00.33.

In the Men 100 Breaststroke, Damian Rodino placed third in his heat and eighth overall with his time of 57.76. In the Women 100 Breastroke, Allie Smith placed third with a time of 58.13. Then Nicole Harmon took first place in her heat and third overall with a time of 56.60.

In the Men 100 Backstroke, Hans Johnsen placed fourth with a time of 51.64.

Mason Women were represented in the diving prelims by Charlotte Edwards, Lisa Faulkner, Kristen Meier, Ali Murphy, and Blythe Shoemaker. These Mason divers chased Drexel's Kate Hynes for the lead diver position on the scoreboard, but Hynes would take back her position in the finals.

Starting the finals with the Men 400 Individual Medley, Ross Redcay placed third with a time of 4:04.97. In the next heat, Preston Wolter took first place overall with his time of 3:49.73.

In the Men 100 Butterfly, Tag Ogren placed second with a time of 49.75.

In the Women 200 Free Relay, the Mason team placed second with a time of 1:32.46.

In the Men 200 Freestyle, Steven Benecki took first place with a time of 1:41.15.

In the Women 100 Breastroke, Mary Beth Cheslock took first place with a time of 1:04.29. Then Ashley Danner put a record-winning time of 59.78 on the board, placing her ahead of her competitors by a good two seconds and more.

In the Women 100 Backstroke, Nicole Harmon placed second in her heat and second overall with her time of 56.39.

In the Women 1-mtr Diving, Kristen Meier and Lisa Faulkner continued to chase Kate Hynes. Their scores were going up above the 8.0 range, quickly adding to their award points. Both Meier and Faulkner held onto the lead diver's position occasionally, but Hynes continued to drive higher and took the lead in the end. Faulkner placed third with a score of 299.45. Meier ended with a score of 299.50, second to Hynes with her score of 363.35.

The third day of competition ended with the 400 Medley Relay, and the Mason Women were back at the top of the scoreboard again. A team of Nicole Harmon, Ashley Danner, Caitlin Impink, and Mary Beth Cheslock returned a finishing time of 3:43.21 to take first place, along with a CAA Top Performance Record award and a CAA Meet Record award. In the Men 400 Medley Relay, Mason placed seventh with a time of 3:24.93.

The combined scores at the end of the day had Mason Women at 370.0 points, trailing Towson at 471.0 and William&Mary close behind in third at 367.0. Mason Men ended in fifth place, trailing Delaware at 319.0. UNCW still held a significant lead at 469.0.