GWU Men's Swimming's Nine Top Three Finishes Highlight Saturday's Effort at the Virginia Tech Sprint Invite
October 20, 2012 | Swimming
Christiansburg, Va. - Swimming a day after its comeback win at the VMI Relay Meet, Gardner-Webb men's swimming put up a number of impressive performances at Saturday's Virginia Tech Sprint Invite.
The Runnin' Bulldog men finished with a 2nd place team finish, with host Virginia Tech taking 1st place and VMI finishing 3rd.
Gardner-Webb opened the meet with a 3rd place finish in the 400 medley relay. Junior Jordan Denmark (Raleigh, N.C.) led off in 52.61, senior Drew Ellwanger (Newborn, Ga.) swam the breaststroke leg in 58.27, freshman Tate Warden (Charleston, W.V.) recorded a fly split time of 53.59, and fellow freshman Joe MacGregor (Brooksville, Fla.) anchored in 48.44 for a combined time of 3:32.91 in the event.
Freshman Luke Denman (Greenville, S.C.) led GWU in the next event, the 1000 free, finishing 4th with a time of 10:01.34. Junior Sam Wilson (New Bern, N.C.) took 6th in the event for GWU with a time of 10:22.77.
MacGregor led the Runnin' Bulldog men in the 50 free, recording the first of two top 10 finishes with a 6th place effort in 22.34. Junior Matt Anderson (Fortaleza, Brazil) got the other top 10 showing, taking 8th with a time of 22.57.
In the 200 free, freshman Nathan Lile (Waynesville, N.C.) continued the stellar start to his career, racing home for a 3rd place finish in a collegiate best 1:43.48. Warden added an 8th place finish at 1:46.77 for GWU.
Sophomore Brandon Searle (Melbourne, Fla.) had a stellar day for the Runnin' Bulldogs, led by a 4th place finish in the 50 back. Searle's time of 25.14 was followed by Denmark's 5th place time at 25.32.
Ellwanger sprinted to a 2nd place finish in the 50 breast, recording a team-best time of 26.67 in the event. Fellow senior Mitch Turner (Acworth, Ga.) added a 7th place showing in the 50 breast after finishing with a time of 29.44.
The Runnin' Bulldogs put three in the top 8 of the meet's next event, the 200 fly. Junior Cody Meyers (Mobile, Ala.) led with a 5th place effort, recording a time of 2:00.00, and senior Tyler Nuss (Hamitlon, Ohio) followed closely in 6th at 2:01.26. Warden added an 8th place finish with a time of 2:04.57.
Gardner-Webb raced to a 3rd place finish in the 200 free relay. MacGregor, Anderson, Phil Leonard (Greenville, S.C.), and Warden teamed up for a 1:29.56 finish, with Warden's 22.08 anchor split representing the fastest of the event for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
In the next event, the 200 medley relay, Lile led off in the meet's second fastest backstroke split at 25.23, Ellwanger swam the breaststroke leg in 26.74, Searle raced a 23.14 fly split, and Warden anchored in 22.02 to give GWU a 3rd place finish and a time of 1:37.13 in the event.
Lile turned around for a 2nd place finish in the 500 free, leading GWU in the event with a time of 4:45.86. Denmarn added a 5th place showing, touching the wall at 4:52.60 for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
MacGregor led GWU in the following event, the 100 free, as the junior recorded a time of 48.78 to finish 5th. Senior John Kempf (Charlotte, N.C.) added a 10th place showing, recording a time of 52.93.
Gardner-Webb showed another team strength in the 200 back, putting three swimmers in the top 6 of the event. Denmark led the charge with a 3rd place finish (1:56.23), and was followed by Kallam in 5th (2:02.72) and Meyers in 6th (2:05.49).
Four Runnin' Bulldogs cracked the top 8 in the 200 breast. GWU's depth was displayed in the event, as Ellwanger (5th, 2:15.12), Leonard (6th, 2:20.93), Palmer (7th, 2:24.24), and Turner (8th, 2:26.14) closed fast in the event for GWU.
In the 100 I.M., Denmark led the way, finishing 4th with a time of 53.69. Lile followed in 5th with a time of 54.00, and Palmer, another GWU freshmen, took 7th after finishing in 57.24.
Searle and Anderson sprinted to 3rd and 4th place finishes in the 50 fly, recording times of 23.66 and 24.12 respectively for GWU.
A 4th place finish from Lile led Gardner-Webb in the 400 I.M., as the freshman raced to a time of 4:10.80. Denmark followed in 5th, recording a time of 4:17.98 in the event, and Meyers took 6th in 4:23.70 for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Gardner-Webb closed the meet with 3rd and 4th place showings in the 400 free relay, led by the quartet of Leonard, MacGregor, Searle, and Turner's combined time of 3:19.59, with Searle's split time of 48.73 representing the fastest for GWU in the event.
Wilson, junior Will Payne (Pendleton, Ind.), Ellwanger, and Nuss combined to add a 4th place finish with a time of 3:22.75 in the event to close Saturday's competition.
Gardner-Webb's men's swim team returns to the pool for the the Wingate Quad Meet in Charlotte, N.C. Friday, Nov. 2 through Saturday, Nov. 3. Friday's session is slated for a 6:00 p.m. start time, with Saturday's day of competition scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. opening.
