GWU Places Second in Women's 400 Medley Relay to Spark Runnin' Bulldogs on Day One of the Wingate Fall Frenzy
November 23, 2013 | Swimming
Charlotte, N.C. - Gardner-Webb got a second place showing from the quartet of Kaylee McCallan, Charity Byrum, Giorgie Graves, and Faith Kempf as well as top 3 individual performances from Graves and Nathan Lile, and the Runnin' Bulldogs each earned a top 5 team standing, respectively, after day one of the 2013 Wingate Fall Frenzy.
GWU's women's swim team accumulated 406 points and a 3rd place team standing. On the men's side, Gardner-Webb tallied 247 points and currently stands in 5th place.
In the finals sessions' opening event, the women's 200 free relay, Gardner-Webb kicked off the night with a 3rd place showing from Maria Seward (24.64), Byrum (23.81), Adel Kiss (24.04), and Kempf (23.79). The quartet teamed up to finish with a time of 1:36.28 and start the night on a high for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Anna Springer (25.10), Caroline Andrews (24.31), Christina Clayton (24.14), and Jenna Ballinger (24.88) combined to finish in 1:38.43, tying for sixth place in the event.
Gardner-Webb followed with a 6th place finish in the men's 200 free relay. Nathan Lile (21.52), Hal McKay (21.55), Tate Warden (21.27), and Cole Hickey (21.09) sprinted to a time of 1:25.43 and pick up key points early in the meet.
GWU tacked on points in the event, adding a 12th place finish from the quartet of Andrew Linzie (22.03), Phil Leonard (22.15), Nicholas Dyer (21.25), and Brandon Searle (21.26), who finished in 1:26.69
In Friday night's first individual event, the women's 500 free, Graves (Riverview, Fla.) held on to her No. 2 seed by racing to a season best time of 5:00.86 and second place finish. Sophomore Madi Dinsmore (New Ipswich, N.H.), seeded sixth entering finals after racing to a season best time of 5:06.20 in prelims, placed 8th (5:09.51 finals) in the event for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Ballinger (Lexington, Kent.) moved up in finals to finish 18th place finish for GWU, posting her fastest time of the season at 5:15.99.
Sophomore Luke Denman (Greenville, S.C.) paced GWU in the men's 500 free, scoring valuable points for the Runnin' Bulldog men with a fourth place finish in a season best time of 4:37.66.
Fellow sophomore Tate Warden (Charleston, W.Va.) won the consolation heat to place ninth in the event, turning in a season best time of 4:40.64 in the process. Another sophomore, Andy Watts (Sarasota, Fla., added a 15th place showing in the event after finishing in 4:47.13 during finals. Watts turned in a season best time of 4:46.02 during prelims of the event.
GWU put three into the top 8 of the women's 200 IM, the most of any team in the event, led by April Niccolai's 5th place finish. Niccolai (Naperville, Ill.) turned in a season best time in finals at 2:08.22, as did Byrum (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Kiss (Székesfehérvár, Hungary), who finished in 2:08.28 and 2:08.61, respectively.
A heat earlier, Kempf, a senior from Sterling, Kan., won the consolation heat out of lane eight to place ninth in the event thanks to a season best time of 2:08.37.
In the men's 200 IM, Lile, a sophomore from Waynesville, N.C., raced to a third place finish in a season best 1:53.87. Lile, who came in to finals seeded eighth, recorded the fastest 50 free split (26.4) in the event to race from seventh all the way to third place.
Sophomore Ryan Palmer (Wrentham, Mass.) also finaled for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the event, placing 24th after racing to a time of 2:00.44 Friday night. The sophomore achieved a season best 1:59.78 clocking during morning prelims.
Freshman Maria Seward (Winston-Salem, N.C.) led GWU in the finals heat of the women's 50 free, placing 10th (24.72). Seward, turned in a season best time of 24.55 in prelims, was followed by Springer's 11th place finish (24.80) and Andrews' 12th place showing (24.81). Both Springer (24.77) and Andrews (24.62) achieved season best times in prelims of the event.
Clayton (Brentwood, Tenn.) won the consolation heat in turning in the fastest time of the day for the Runnin' Bulldogs, placing 9th with a time of 24.34, her fastest performance of the season.
Three Runnin' Bulldogs finaled in the men's 50 free. McKay led the squad out of the 'B' final, placing 13th with a time of 21.58 in finals. McKay raced to a season best time of 21.51 in prelims.
Dyer (Chesapeke, Va.) and Hickey (Charlotte, N.C.) placed 21st and 22nd in the event, finishing the 50 free in 21.83 and 21.87, respectively. Both Hickey (21.74) and Dyer (21.82) achieved season bests during prelims.
A charge from Byrum, who recorded the fastest 100 breast split (1:04.71) in the event, led GWU's 'A' women's 400 medley relay team comprised of McCallan (58.40), Byrum, Graves (56.33), and Kempf (52.40) race to a second place finish, getting fast splits for a combined time of 3:51.84.
Fueled by Niccolai's 58.03 100 back split, second best in the event, GWU's 'B' team comprised of Springer (1:06.78), Adel Kiss (58.84), and Ballinger (54.26) tied for 6th place (3:57.91) in the event.
GWU closed the night with by finishing 11th in the men's 400 medley relay. Connor Bos led off in a personal best 51.64, and was followed by Leonard (1:01.0), Searle (51.01), and Warden (46.47) for a combined time of 3:29.98.
GWU's Taft Kallam (52.61), Josh Hanson (1:01.87), Meyers (52.90), and Dyer (47.22) swam to a 13th place finish and a time of 3:34.60 in the event.
Saturday, day two of the three-day Wingate Fall Frenzy, begins tomorrow morning with prelims and ends with evening finals with the Runnin' Bulldogs looking for more breakthrough performances.
| Day One Results - 2013 Wingate Fall Frenzy |
