The 2015 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships hit the midway point on Thursday at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center at Brown Deer, Wis., as four League marks were set in the pool.
Defending champion Oakland leapt from fifth place to first in the women’s race on the second day of the championship. The Golden Grizzlies took first through fourth and sixth place in the 200-yard individual medley to help jumpstart their comeback. Patricia Aschan led the contingent of Golden Grizzlies in the individual medley, winning with a time of NCAA B-cut time of 2:01.45.
The Oakland women also won the 400 medley relay and have now won two of the three relay races at the championship.
The Milwaukee men had only one win on Thursday night as K.J. Heger won the three-meter diving competition, but Heger’s win plus UWM’s depth helped give the Panthers a 14-point lead over Oakland after two days of competition.
Heger won the three-meter diving event for the third consecutive year and is the first diver to win the three-meter title three straight years since Xavier’s David Shay accomplished the feat from 1987-89.
UIC’s Brie Hines opened the evening with a championship record swim in the 500-yard freestyle. The freshman swimmer set the championship mark with a time of 4:50.67 as she defeated defending champion Natalie Johnson of Milwaukee.
Oakland’s Jordan Meerilees repeated as the 500-yard freestyle winner and broke his League and Championship mark in the progress. The Australian swimmer was the class of the field as he won by over 12 seconds in a time of 4:17.o5.
The final record set on Thursday was by Wright State freshman Mitchell Stover as he won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:46.72.
In the sprint portion of the evening, Milwaukee’s Anna Yontz repeated as the 50-yard freestyle champion as she won with a time of :23.08. Oakland’s Jeremiah Morren won the men’s race in a time of :20.17
Live video of all four days of the Horizon League Championships can be found here: http://www.horizonleague.org/live/12353
Thursday, February 26 Results
Women’s 500-Yard Freestyle: Brie Hines, UIC – 4:50.67*
Men’s 500-Yard Freestyle: Jordan Meerilees, Oakland – 4:17.05**
Women’s 200-Yard Individual Medley: Patricia Aschan, Oakland – 2:01.45
Men’s 200-Yard Individual Medley: Mitchell Stover, Wright State – 1:46.72**
Women’s 50-Yard Freestyle: Anna Yontz, Milwaukee – :23.08
Men’s 50-Yard Freestyle: Jeremiah Morren, Oakland – :20.17
Women’s 400-Yard Medley Relay: Oakland (Rietveld, Martin, Aschan, Morren) – 3:42.66
Men’s 400-Yard Medley Relay: Oakland (Danielewski, Schihl, Rusnak, Meerilees) – 3:14.35
Men’s 3-meter Diving: K.J. Heger, Milwaukee – 379.85
*-HL Championship Record
**-HL Championship & League Record
Other Records Set
Men’s 100-Yard Backstroke: Philipp Sikatzki of Cleveland State opened the 400-Medley Relay with a HL Championship & League Record of 46.98 in the 100-yard backstroke.
Women’s Team Scores – Through Thursday
1. Oakland – 297
2. Milwaukee – 234
3. Green Bay – 227
4. UIC – 175
5. Youngstown State – 166
6. Wright State – 146
7. Cleveland State – 110
8. Valparaiso – 85
Men’s Team Scores – Through Thursday
1. Milwaukee – 292
2. Oakland – 278
3. Cleveland State – 207
4. Green Bay – 201
5. Wright State – 198
6. UIC – 170
7. Valparaiso – 49
