Webster, N.Y. – The Ithaca men's swimming & diving team took the overall lead in the team standings, met four NCAA provisional qualifying marks and established three school records during the second day of competition at the four-day UNYSCSA and Empire 8 championship meet, held at the Webster Aquatic Center. Ithaca has 726 points in the team standings, seven points more than second-place Stevens. The Ducks held a 50-point advantage following the opening day of the meet.
Freshman Taylor Van Cott (Bethlehem/Delmar) won the state and conference title in the 100-yard butterfly in a school-record time of 51.13 seconds. He was joined in the event finals by freshman Connor White (Fox Lane/Pound Ridge), whose time of 51.67 seconds was good for third place and stands second in Ithaca history behind Van Cott's mark.
Junior Jeff Rapp (Liverpool/Liverpool) won the 400-yard individual medley in 4:06.53, another Ithaca record and that time also met the NCAA B qualifying standard. Freshman Cheffy Thomas (Carmel/Carmel, Ind.) placed fourth in the finals of the 400 IM with a time of 4:15.64.
Ithaca's 400-yard medley relay team of White, sophomore Jake Lichter (Weston/Weston, Mass.), Van Cott and junior Antoine Connors (Spartanburg/Spartanburg, S.C.) made an NCAA B cut and set a school record by placing second with a time of 3:26.37, bettering the previous record mark by more than three seconds.
The Bombers placed three among the top-eight finishers in the finals on the 1-meter board and two Ithaca divers met NCAA qualifying marks. Junior Derek Rand (Amity/Orange, Conn.) finished third with an NCAA-level score of 434.40 points and sophomore Martin Brown (McLean/McLean, Va.) also hit the NCAA mark and finished fourth with a total of 432.80. Senior Mike Glicini (Dallas/Dallas, Pa.) was eighth in the event finals with a score of 370.80.
Connors finished fourth in the finals of the 200-yard freestyle in 1:43.09 and sophomore Chris Cadwell (C.W. Baker/Baldwinsville) followed in fifth with a time of 1:43.41.
The Bombers also finished second in the finals of the 200-yard freestyle relay as the quartet of Connors, sophomore Jake Robbins (Fairport/Fairport), Cadwell and freshman Zack Kundel (Bethlehem/Glenmont) finished in 1:24.33, the second-fastest time in Ithaca history.
Friday's preliminary events begin at 10 a.m., followed by event finals at 6:30 p.m.
Day 2 Preliminaries | Day 2 Finals