GWU Takes the Lead on Day Two at Wingate Fall Frenzy
November 20, 2011 | Swimming
Charlotte, N.C. - Gardner-Webb won four events, earning victories in three individual events as well as the 200 medley relay to vault into first place overall with one day of competition remaining at the Wingate Fall Frenzy.
GWU jumped College of Charleston in the women's team standings after trailing 103-72 after day one. Gardner-Webb is first with 575 points followed by Charleston (490) and Queens (314).
The Runnin' Bulldogs opened the night with a bang, taking 1st and 3rd in the 200 medley relay. The quartet of Kaylee McCallan, Charity Byrum, Mary O'Doherty, and Elizabeth Charter pulled away for the win in a time of 1:46.33. Laurenn Singleton, Kiah Bellows, Hillary Leonard, and Anna Springer combined to finish in 1:50.47 to take 3rd.
Freshman Jenna Ballinger helped to keep GWU's momentum rolling with a win in the 200 FR, outracing the field to finish in 1:52.78. Liz Van Halsema took 5th for the Runnin' Bulldogs with a time of 1:57.93.
Kaylee McCallan made it three wins in a row for the Runnin' Bulldogs as the freshman from Oviedo, Fla. touched first in a time of 58.19. Ballinger finished fourth, touching in at 59.25.
The next event saw four Runnin' Bulldogs finish in the top eight. In the 400 IM, CJay Wiley grabbed second place, finishing in 4:32.63. Bellows and Van Halsema followed in 4:36.78 and 4:37.26 to take third and fourth place respectively. Lyndsey Roka took seventh for the GWU in a time of 4:40.31.
Three Gardner-Webb ladies recorded top eight finishes in the 50 FR. Freshman Mary O'Doherty led the way for GWU with a time of 24.64, good enough for fifth place overall. Leonard finished sixth for the Runnin' Bulldogs (24.90), followed immediately by Charter in seven (24.91).
GWU got its fourth win and its third in an individual event on the night when Charity Byrum pulled away to win the 200 BR in a time of 2:20.04. Byrum was joined in the top eight by Bellows and Jessica Robinson, who took third (2:24.39) and fifth (2:27.65) respectively. Michelle Palacio finished eighth in 2:31.70 for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Gardner-Webb continued its strong night by placing three in the top eight of three 100 fly. Singleton led the way with a third place finish in a time of 58.43. Leonard recorded her second top eight finish individual finish of the night in the race, taking sixth in 58.97. O'Doherty also recorded her second top eight finish on the day, taking seventh for the Runnin' Bulldogs (59.17), as did Charter with an eighth place finish in 59.19.
GWU finished the night with a second place finish in the 400 FR relay, with Ballinger, Byrum, Van Halsema, and Charter combining to record a time of 3:31.20. GWU also took fourth in the event behind the quartet of Leonard, Springer, Singleton, and Shelley, who combined to finish in 3:36.10.
Action will resume tomorrow morning with prelims set to begin at 10 am. Sunday's finals session is slated to start at 5 pm. Results will be available following the session at Wingate's official athletic website http://www.wingatebulldogs.com/custompages/swimming/Fall%20Frenzy/index.htm.
