Black Bears Break Three Records on Day Three of the America East Championships
6/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
BOSTON, Mass. - The University of Maine swimming and diving teams had solid showing on day three of competition at the America East Championships on Saturday. Three records fell at the hands of Jeremy Bender (St. Paul, Minn.), Meaghann Fisher (Carmel, Ind.) and Jennifer Trodden (Reading, Mass.). Bender broke the 400 IM school-record in the finals Saturday evening while Fisher set a new mark in the 100 butterfly event. Trodden set a new school mark in the 100 breaststroke.
The top 16 times in each preliminary event qualified for the finals that started at 6 p.m. The finals were broken down into two brackets: the top eight times swam in the "A" finals and the second eight raced in the "B" finals.
In the women's finals, the Black Bears were led by Fisher who sent a new school-record in the 100 butterfly, touching the wall at 57.75, bettering her record setting time from the preliminary round, to take home 11th place overall. Trodden also picked up a school-record, winning her second consolation race in as many days as she took home ninth place overall in the 100 yard breaststroke event with a record time of 1:05.98. Caitlin Shelley (Charlottesville, Va.) also had a strong showing in the 100 yard breaststroke race, placing 11th with a time of 1:06.95. Shelley was followed up by senior Megan McLean (Walpole, Mass.) who placed 12th at 1:07.07. Sara Knight represented the Black Bears in the 100 yard backstroke, placing 15th with a time of 1:00.66. The Black Bear women finished up the night with a seventh place finish in the 400 yard medley relay with a time of 3:59.74. Knight, Trodden, Fisher and Kara Dubiel (Carefree, Ariz.) swam the event for Maine.
Bender led the men's side of the pool for the Black Bears, breaking his own school-record in the 400 IM that he previously set in the morning preliminaries. Bender finished sixth overall in the 400 IM event with a Maine record time of 4:07.56. His time beat the old mark which was set by Don Winant in 1978. Michael Capossela (Riverside, Conn.) and Zachary Hamer (Andover, Mass.) both competed in the 'B' final of the 400 IM, placing 11th and 15th, respectively, with times of 4:13.20 and Hamer coming in at 4:20.53. Andrew Mackeil (Biddeford, Maine) was the lone participant in the 100 yard fly for the Black Bears, placing second in the 'B' final and tenth overall with a time of 51.59. Ryan Wonsor (Killington, Vt.) swam the 200 yard freestyle for the Black Bears, placing 16th with a time of 1:45.70. The next event up for the men was the 100 yard breaststroke which was swam by Brian Landry (Yorktown, Va.) and Hamer, who finished neck and neck with each other for the 14th and 15th spots with times of 1:00.82 and 1:01.29, respectively. Four Maine swimmers took part in the 100 yard backstroke event with senior Kevin Staples (Mt. Derset Island, Maine) finishing in 12th at 54.76. Jamison Young (Richboro, Pa.) took 14th in the event with a time of 55.04. Young was followed up by MacKeil and William York (S. Portland, Maine) who finished 15th and 16th with times of 57.56 and 59.33, respectively. The Black Bear 400 yard medley relay team of Young, Landry, MacKeil and Wonsor finished up day three of competition with a fifth place showing, with Wonsor touching the wall for the Black Bears at 3:36.55.
After three days of competition, the Black Bear men's swimming and diving team sits in fifth place with 144 points while the women's team is in seventh with 146 points. The Black Bears return to Boston University's Aquatic Center tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. for the last round of preliminary races before the day four finals begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. Please check back to GoBlackBears.com for all your day four America East Swimming and Diving Championship results and recaps.
PRELIMINARIES
The Black Bears qualified 16 total swimmers on day three of the America East Championships and had another record setting preliminary round as Bender set the school-record in the 400 yard IM with a time of 4:07.93, placing him seventh overall.
On the women's side, Fisher qualified in the 100 fly with a time of 58.06 which was good enough to seed her in the 12th spot overall. McLean had a great run in the 100 yard breaststroke event, placing ninth with a time of 1:06.88. Trodden and Shelley also set themselves up for the `B' finals in the 100 breaststroke, placing 15th and 16th respectively. Dana Wright (Twin Falls, Idaho) was named an alternate for the 100 yard breaststroke finals, placing 18th with a time of 1:09.31. Knight qualified for the 100 yard backstroke finals with a time of 1:00.91, placing her in 16th.
Along with Bender's blistering time in the 400 IM, Hamer and Capossela also set marks that qualified them for the finals. Capossela placed 12th, touching the wall at 4:14.51 while Hamer finished 15th in 4:21.25. MacKeil was the lone qualifier for the Black Bears in the 100 yard fly with a time of 52.18, placing him tenth. Wonsor set himself up for the 200 yard freestyle finals with a 14th place qualifying finish in 1:44.91. Landry had a solid run in the 100 breaststroke race, finishing 11th with a time of 1:00.61 while Hamer placed 15th in the same event at 1:01.45. The Black Bears finished up the morning preliminaries with Young, Staples, MacKeil and York finishing 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th, respectively in the 100 yard backstroke event.
