FULL RESULTS
Thanks in part to a record-setting performance by senior
Jacob Davis, the Saint Vincent men's swimming team finished third among five teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by Grove City College.
Davis saved his best effort for the final day of the competition, when he set a new school, pool and conference record in the 100 Freestyle, winning by more than 2 full seconds in 44.16. The time makes him a provisional qualifier for the NCAA National Championships.
The team started competition with a second place finish in the 200 Freestyle Relay, timed in 1:25.43, less than two-tenths of a second behind Westminster College. SVC was represented by
Zach Baum,
Danny Whirlow,
John Martin, and
Jacob Davis.
The first individual event of the meet was the 500 Free, and
Kevin Martin was the top Bearcat finisher, taking 5th place in the final in 4:53.02.
Benon Brewer finished 9th, winning the "B" final in 5:02.36.
In the 200 IM, Baum finished fourth in the final (1:54.93), while teammate
John Martin was sixth (1:58.60).
Michael Marinchak won the "B" split in 2:01.92.
Davis, the 2018 champion in the 50 Free, successfully defended his title, with a time of 20.64. Whirlow finished second in the "B" split, 10th overall, in 22.06.
The next day, the Bearcats opened competition with a third place finish in the 200 Medley Relay, as Davis,
John Martin, Baum and Whirlow finished with a time of 1:33.35, just over a quarter of a second out of first in a highly competitive race.
The highest finishing Bearcat in the 400 IM was
Kevin Martin, who captured third place in 4:15.69.
Andrew Rectenwald finished 8th, in 4:26.96, while Jonathan Ligus was eleventh overall, third in the "B" event, in 4:58.30.
In the 100 Fly,
Zach Baum earned top honors, winning in 49.00, setting a new pool and conference record. He won by nearly two full seconds.
Ethan Yant won the "B" race, in 53.73, while Whirlow was second (54.88).
Going into the 200 Free, the pool and conference record was 1:39.66 set ten years ago. By the end of the event, a new standard had been set, as
Jacob Davis touched the wall in 1:39.60. Davis had won the event in 2018 in 1:39.88.
SVC placed four competitors in the top eight in the 100 Breaststroke.
John Martin finished second in 59.22, while Marinchak was third, in 59.47.
Peter Becker (59.80) was sixth, one spot ahead of
Justin Newman (1:01.61).
In the "B" final of the 100 Backstroke,
Ashton King finished second (tenth overall) in 58.23.
The day's final event was the 800 Free Relay, and SVC's team of Whirlow, Yant, Rectenwald and
Kevin Martin finished third, in 7:22.63.
In addition to the win by Davis on the meet's final day,
Kevin Martin earned a third place finish in the 1650 Free, timed in 17:04.93. Teammate
Benon Brewer finished sixth, in 17:37.90, while
Josh Ligus was 11th in 18:53.63. In the 200 Back, King was SVC's top performer, finishing 10th in 2:08.35. Also in the 100 Free, Whirlow earned points for an 8th place finish, timed in 48.62.
John Martin captured third place in the 200 Breaststroke, with a time of 2:09.81. Marinchak finished sixth (2:13.48) and Becker was eighth (2:16.80).
In the 200 Fly, Baum touched the wall in 1:56.73, good for third place, with Rectenwald capturing 7th in 2:02.29.
The team wrapped up the weekend with a victory in the 400 Free Replay, as Baum, Whirlow,
John Martin, and Davis won in 3:07.01, holding off Westminster and Grove City by less than a second.
Grove City won the team event with 948 points, while Westminster was second (864) and Saint Vincent completed the top three with 619 points.
