Athletics News

LANCASTER, Pa. - Swarthmore sophomore Anne Miller earned a return trip the Division III NCAA Championships, setting Centennial Championship meet record in the 200 butterfly as both Garnet swim teams finished second at the 2008 Centennial Swim Championships held in the Kunkel Aquatic Center on the campus of Franklin & Marshall College this weekend.

The Swarthmore women completed the weekend with 581.5 points, 24 medals and three new school records, trailing Gettysburg who collected 913 points to repeat as team champion (10th overall). The Garnet men finished second for the second year in a row, posting 612.5 points, 24 medals and two school records. Franklin & Marshall won its sixth team championship with 866 points.

Miller (Buffalo, N.Y. / Buffalo Seminary) continued on her path to becoming the most-decorated swimmer in Swarthmore’s illustrious program. The sophomore (pictured right) automatically qualified for the Division III NCAA meet with a time of 2:05.57 in the 200-butterfly final. She won the gold for the second consecutive year, becoming the fourth Swarthmore woman to repeat as Centennial Champion and the first to accomplish the feat in two separate events (she repeated in the 100 fly on Saturday). Her 200-fly time also set a new Centennial Championship meet record, breaking the mark (2:06.79) she set in 2007. Miller, along with senior Jennie Lewis (Darien, Conn. / Darien), also posted NCAA provisional-qualifying times in the 100 fly preliminaries and finals (57.72) on Saturday night.

The Swarthmore women proved to be the master’s of swimming most grueling stroke, sweeping all three medals in the 200 fly—sophomore Casey Osborn (Albany, Calif. / Albany) collected the silver (2:10.16) by out-touching Lewis, who took home her fourth medal of the championship (a bronze) with a time of 2:10.90.

Junior Allie Jordan (Niskayuna, N.Y. / Niskayuna) continued her stellar championship, claiming her fourth medal (third silver) of the meet in the women’s 200 backstroke. Jordan (left), who set two school records earlier in the weekend, overcame a daunting lane-one placement in the final, posting a time of 2:10.02.

The top swimmers on the men’s side posted strong performances again on Sunday. Junior captain Doug Gilchrist-Scott (Canton, Ohio / Hoover) set another school-record in the 100-freestyle preliminaries and then picked up a bronze in the finals. Gilchrist-Scott had set the 50-free record earlier in the meet and totaled six medals for the championships..

Freshman Sterling Satterfield (right) (Durham, N.C. / Charles E. Jordan) came through with his fifth medal—first silver—with a time of 2:08.87 in the 200 breaststroke.

The Garnet men’s distance swimmers also proved their mettle again on Sunday evening, as junior Stephen Shymon (San Diego, Calif. / Univ. of San Diego) picked up his second silver medal of the meet by swimming a time of 16:41.25 in the 1650 freestyle. Senior Andrew Frampton (Silver Spring, Mary. / Gonzaga HS) followed Shymon (left) home for the bronze with a time of 16:46.87.

The Swarthmore men’s 400 freestyle relay capped the championship with a bronze-medal performance as sophomore Michael Ahn (Cupertino, Calif. / Monta Vista), Frampton, senior John Heagy (Coraopolis, Pa. / Sewickley Academy), and Gilchrist-Scott posted a time of 3:14.24.

Miller is set to make her second appearance at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, held at Miami University (Ohio) on March 13-15. The sophomore had the best finish ever for a Swarthmore swimmer (sixth in the 200 fly) at last season’s national meet, earning All-America status in both the 100 and 200 fly events. Lewis will have to wait to see if her 100-fly time is fast enough to qualify—this would be her first visit to the national meet. Click here for more information about the 2008 Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

2008 Centennial Conference Championship Results (click here)

MEN

1. F&M 866
2. Swarthmore 612.5
3. Gettysburg 526
4. Dickinson 484
5. Washington 390.5
6. McDaniel 277
7. Ursinus 224

WOMEN

1. Gettysburg 913
2. Swarthmore 581.5
3. Washington 512.5
4. Dickinson 461.5
5. F&M 430.5
6. Ursinus 266
7. McDaniel 176
8. Bryn Mawr 174

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 12:05 am and is filed under Home, Men's Swimming, Women's Swimming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.