Gardner-Webb Re-Writes Record Book At Davidson Invitational
November 18, 2007 | Swimming
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb men's swim team had a successful meet at the Davidson Invitational this weekend, finishing third out of five teams, four of which the Bulldogs will see again at the CCSA Championships. GWU garnered 554.5 points while Old Dominion won the meet with 953 points.
The first event of the competition for the Bulldogs was the 1,650 free. Rookie Abram Miller shattered the school record with a time of 16:51.91, earning him a third-place finish. Teammate Adam Suggs bested his top performance of the year by touching the wall in 16:51.04 to garner fourth place. Michael Roka was seventh with his best time of the year, finishing in 17:16.40.
GWU's only other event in day one was in the 800 free relay, where head coach Mike Simpson's team was disqualified.
On the second day, the quartet of Patrick Elerding, Denaj Seymour, George Partin and Steven Caudill earned a fourth-place finish in a school-record time of 1:27.63.
In the very next event, Caudill established another school record with his second-place time of 1:56.74 in the 200 fly. Teammate Abram Miller was eighth in 2:00.42.
However, Caudill was not the only one to establish a new benchmark for the Bulldogs. Partin swam the 200 free in 1:45.17 in the finals, earning a fourth-place finish. The mark was a school record. Kyle Hooley also reached the finals, finishing seventh. Hooley had a time of 1:49.14.
Elerding claimed his second school record of the meet with a third-place time of 59.86 in the 100 breast. Seymour placed fifth in 1:01.94 while Jay Winn and Casey Brutus were sixth and eighth, respectively. Winn had a time of 1:02.68 while Brutus touched in 1:03.05.
Hooley was the lone GWU competitor in the 100 back finals where he took eighth in 54.55.
In the 400 IM, Caudill continued his torrid streak of school records by capturing a sixth-place finish in a school-best time of 4:16.99. Miller took eighth with a time of 4:24.90.
Seymour bested the school record that he held in the 50 free with his ninth-place preliminary time of 22.28. He was 12th in the finals after finishing in 22.34.
The foursome of Hooley, Elerding, Caudill and Seymour established yet another school record, this one coming in the 400-medley relay. The group garnered a time of 3:37.65 to place fourth.
In the 200 medley relay, the quartet of Hooley, Elerding, Seymour and Partin notched a school-record time of 1:36.75. The group took fourth in the event.
Middleton was just off his school-record time in the 200 back. He finished in a time of 2:02.51 for an eighth-place time.
One of the biggest times that turned heads for GWU was Miller's time in the 500 free. He garnered a personal-best time and a school-record time of 4:48.73 for fourth. The time was over 12 seconds faster than the school record that he held. Roka was eighth in 5:02.85.
Elerding posted a school-best time of 52.12 for a third-place finish in the 100 fly.
Craig South also garnered a school-record mark, with his coming in the 200 breast. South took third in a personal-best time of 2:13.33. Two other Bulldogs - Winn and Brutus – also reached the finals. Winn was sixth in 2:18.20 while Brutus was eighth in 2:21.23.
Partin's fifth-place time of 48.36 would have been good for a school record. However, he had set the mark higher earlier in the day with a time of 47.67 in the preliminary round.
Caudill added to the school-record day for head coach Mike Simpson's team. His time of 1:59.93 earned him a fifth-place finish. It also bested his personal-best time by nearly half a second.
It was fitting that GWU once again established a school record in the final event of the meet. Elerding, Partin, Hooley and Caudill's time of 3:14.90 in the 400 free was nearly four seconds faster than the previous school record.
The Bulldogs have off until a Jan. 5 tri-meet at Georgia Southern. GWU will take on FAMU and Georgia Southern at noon.
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