Stevens Men’s Swimming Wins Empire 8 Title
Empire 8 Day 4 Results
Team Scores
ITHACA, N.Y. (February 23, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s swimming team won the Empire 8 title for the second time in the program’s history Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y. The Ducks finished with a team total of 876.5 points.
Behind Stevens was Ithaca College with 760 points and Hartwick College with 682 points. The Ducks had previously won the 2009-10 conference title back and had finished the last two years in second place.
Sophomore Wesley Elford took first place in the mile swim, earning a B-cut with a 15:50.50. Hartwick's Luke Grunewald had a NCAA "B" cut time of 15:59.55, while Kenny Kleso was behind him in third with a NCAA "B" cut time of 16:00.05.
Hartwick senior Lydon Schultz notched an A-cut time winning the 100-freestyle and set a championship record with is time of 44.79 in the prelims. Teammate Brad Ranson trailed him in second with a time of 46.11.
Ravi Sun broke the Stevens school-record and got an NCAA B-cut with a 1:50.44 in winning the 200-yard backstroke. Craig O’Dell and Shawn Hanak followed in second and third with B-cuts (1:51.14, 1:51.41).
Junior Simas Jarasunas continued a remarkable run at the championships with the fastest time in NCAA Division III this year in the 200-yard breaststroke. The junior clocked a 2:01.55, re-breaking the record he set in the prelims and notching his second NCAA A-cut of the championships.
Ithaca College men's divers Matt Morrison and Martin Brown placed first and second on the 3-meter board. Morrison totaled a facility, team and championship-meet record in the finals of the 3-meter diving with a score of 584.55 and Brown was second with a total of 565.70. Both scores far exceeded the NCAA qualifying standard and both divers will participate in next weekend's NCAA diving regionals at Ithaca.
To close the meet and add emphasis to the already-clinched title for Stevens, Tommy Wolinski, Tyler Hessler, Bryon Held and Shawn Hanak turned in a 3:02.52 to win the 400-yard freestyle relay. The time was good for a new championship-record, an NCAA B-cut and new school-record.