AKRON – For the second day in a row, the Wilmington College swim team broke seven school records during the Ohio Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at Akron University.
"We had some incredible swims today," said head coach Trip Breen. "Across the board, we have swimmers dropping times from the prelims to the finals. It's a testament to the hard work they have put in leading up to the championships."
The men's team ends the second day of competition in fourth place with 279 points, trailing third place John Carroll by 22 points. Ohio Northern is running away with the meet with 658 points with Mount Union following with 477 points.
On the women's side, the Quakers are in fifth place with 204 points. Ohio Northern leads the way with 570 points, followed by John Carroll (455), Mount Union (451), Transylvania (266), Wilmington, and Defiance (92).
In the morning prelims, junior Mikey Spraul (Cincinnati, OH/Princeton) set a new OAC record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 51.78. However, the record didn't stand long as it was broken by a Mount Union swimmer in the finals.
In that 100 backstroke final, Spraul and Mount Union's Rob Brocious were neck and neck the whole race, but Brocious edging out Spraul. Both swimmers record NCAA "B" Cut times with Spraul earning all-conference recognition by finishing second with a time of 51.37. It was the third and fourth time Spraul established new school mark this weekend.
Sophomore Mason Harris (Westerville, OH/Central) broke the school record in the 200 freestyle twice. In the morning prelims, Harris covered the200 meters in 1:49.39, and went 1:46.26 in the finals.
Leading off the 800 freestyle relay, senior Julie Creech (Dayton, OH/Centerville) set her second school record of the meet, establishing a new 200 meter mark with the time of 1:00.81. The 800 relay team of Creech, junior Liz Miller (Lebanon, OH/Lebanon), senior Melissa Amerman (Stow, OH/Munroe Falls) and Emily Ashbacher (Defiance, OH/Ayersville) set the record at 8:23.63.
The men's 200 medley relay team of Spraul, Harris, junior Alex Fout (Westerville, OH/Westerville) and sophomore Corbin Hellwarth (Celina, OH/Parkway) covered the distance in 1:37.07 for a school record.
