Cleveland State Leads After Two Days of the Swimming and Diving Championships

Thursday Final Results

The Cleveland State men’s and women’s swim teams are in the lead after two days of the 2013 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships at UIC’s Flames Natatorium.

The Vikings were in second in the men’s race after the first day of competition, trailing Milwaukee by five points, but after a strong day in the pool CSU and UWM switched with the Vikings now in front of Milwaukee by 23 points with two days left in the meet.

UIC is third with 256 points, Green Bay (189) has a narrow lead over Wright State (183) for fourth. Valparaiso rounds out the field in sixth.

On the women’s side, Cleveland State remained in the lead after two days, but the top-four teams in the standings are separated by just 41 points. The Vikings (276) lead second-place Green Bay (260) by 16. Milwaukee is in third (251) with UIC in fourth at 235. Wright State stands in fifth place with 182 points, Youngstown State is sixth with 124 and Valparaiso is seventh with 89 points.

Green Bay’s Willem Poelmans set the men’s 200 individual medley record, winning in a time of 1:49.06. Milwaukee’s Emily McClellan, last year’s Swimmer of the Meet, repeated in the women’s 200 IM with a winning time of 2:00.49.

UIC’s Melanie Waszak won the 500 free, defeating last year’s champion Kendra Rottier of Green Bay. John Vigar of Wright State won the men’s 500 free (4:29.81) as he out-touched teammate Pawel Grzebala by .74 seconds.

Milwaukee’s K.J. Heger opened the men’s diving events by winning the 1-meter dive with a score of 339.70. He bested second-place finisher Connor Howard of UIC by almost 26 points.

In the sprints, Alex Johnansson of Cleveland State won the women’s 50 free with a time of :23.27. Johansson’s teammate Alice Sommerville finished in second, .03 seconds behind.

UIC’s Mike Reed won the men’s 50 free race with a time of :20.22. His margin of victory was also by .03 seconds, as CSU’s Berry Thompson finished in second.

In the lone relay race of the night, the 400 medley relays, UIC’s womens and Cleveland State’s men won. UIC swam away from second-place Milwaukee, winning by almost two seconds with a time of 3:41.63. Cleveland State jumped to the lead in the men’s race and never looked back, winning in a time of 3:15.24, over 3.5 seconds ahead of the second-place Milwaukee team.

Live results for the meet can be found at http://www.uicflames.com/livestats/c-swim/index.htm.

2013 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Winners (Day Two)
Women 500 Free: Melanie Waszak, UIC – 4:52.95
Men 500 Free: John Vigar, Wright State – 4:29.81
Women 200 IM: Emily McClellan, Milwaukee – 2:00.49
Men 200 IM: Willem Poelmans, Green Bay – 1:49.06 (Championship and League Record)
Women 50 Free: Alex Johansson, Cleveland State - :23.27
Men 50 Free: Mike Reed, UIC - :20.22
Men’s 1-meter Diving: K.J. Heger, Milwaukee – 339.70
Women 400 Medley Relay: UIC – 3:41.63 
Men 400 Medley Relay: Cleveland State – 3:15.24 Men’s Standings (Through Second Day)
1. Cleveland State 317
2. Milwaukee 294
3. UIC 256
4. Green Bay 189
5. Wright State 183
6. Valparaiso 80

Women’s Standings (Through Second Day)
1. Cleveland State 276
2. Green Bay 260
3. Milwaukee 251
4. UIC 235
5. Wright State 182
6. Youngstown State 124
7. Valparaiso 89