Story by Samantha Williams
WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's swimming team's five seniors made their final swims in the Wilmington Natatorium against John Carroll University (JCU) on Saturday afternoon. The Fighitn' Quakers were unable to surpass JCU, the final score 116-84.
Ben Ball, David Bellus, Cody Nash, Andrew Stewart, and Alex Tillapaugh were honored before the meet began and played a factor in the score of the meet.
Stewart led the senior contingent and the team by earning two, individual first-place finishes. He blew the competition away in the 50-meter freestyle, coasting to the wall in 23.70, an in-season best and one of the top times in the league to-date. His 53.01 in the 100-meter was also impressive. Stewart also swam a leg on the team's winning 200-meter freestyle relay. He was joined by Nash, Tillapaugh, and Lawrence Daya. The quartet completed the event in 1:42.07.
Nash's top finish came in the 100-meter breaststroke, where he was able to claim first-place with a time of 1:10.41. He also competed in the 200-meter freestyle where his time of 2:06.78 earned second-place.
Tillapaugh hit the wall second in the 100-meter butterfly (1:04.68) and third in the 50-meter freestyle (25.66).
In a close 800-meter freestyle, Bellus earned second with a time of 9:28.82, just barely out of reach of first-place. He then earned fourth in the 100-meter butterfly (1:06.58).
Ball earned two, fifth-place finishes; one in the 800-meter freestyle (10:50.88) and one in the 400-meter freestyle (5:13.81). Ball was also a member of the second-place 'B' 200-meter freestyle relay. He joined with Ian Darras, Samuel Shanes, and Brody Morris to complete the race in 1:57.22.
Notable finishes outside of the senior class included: Frederick Rankin's second-place in both the 200-meter individual medley (2:30.40) and the 100-meter breaststroke (1:12.14), Darras' third-place finish in the 200-meter individual medley (2:32.32), and Jared Shoemaker's third-place 100-meter breaststroke (1:23.58).
"We had a lot of good swims today," said Wilmington Head Swimming Coach Trip Breen. "But today was more about honoring and celebrating our seniors for their leadership and dedication to this team. Andrew Stewart had a phenomenal meet, winning two events. We're looking to the next phase of our season now and are excited to start resting and getting ready for Ohio Athletic Conference Championships."
Wilmington heads to Akron, Ohio on February 15 to open the three-day Ohio Athletic Conference Championship meet.
