Gardner-Webb Swimming Moves Up on Record-Breaking Day Two of CCSA Championships
February 21, 2014 | Swimming
Knoxville, Tenn. - Four Runnin' Bulldogs achieved All-Conference status with a 3rd place finish in the men's 200 free relay, GWU achieved a 4th place finish in the women's 200 medley relay, and three more Gardner-Webb swimming records were re-written on day two of the four-day CCSA Championship meet.
Nathan Lile, Cole Hickey, Brandon Searle, and Matt Anderson teamed up to take 3rd place in the men's 200 free relay, shattering the school record in the process, but the record-breaking night was set up by fast swims for the Runnin' Bulldogs in Thursday's opening event, the 500 freestyle.
Giorgie Graves turned in a personal best performance in the women's 500 free. The sophomore from Riverview, Fla. led the Runnin' Bulldogs with a 10th place finish in the event behind a lifetime best time of 4:54.89 in finals.
Gardner-Webb put two in the Top 8 of the men's 500 free and saw another school record re-written. Tate Warden (Charleston, W.Va.) raced to a 6th place finish with a time of 4:33.40 in finals. Fellow sophomore Andy Watts (Sarasota, Fla.) closed fast for a personal best time of 4:34.16 Thursday night, good for 7th place in the event.
During prelims, Warden achieved a school record-setting time of 4:32.28, marking the third school record of the 2014 CCSA Championships already for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Sophomore Luke Denman (Greenville, S.C.) added an 11th place showing in a strong 500 freestyle for Gardner-Webb. Denman raced to a season best time of 4:35.56 in finals of the event.
Faith Kempf turned in a Top 8 performance in the women's 200 I.M., placing 8th (2:07.05) during finals of the event. The senior from Sterling, Kansas achieved a personal best time of 2:05.51 in prelims of the 200 I.M.
Three Gardner-Webb swimmers qualified for the consolation final, led by junior Charity Byrum (Winston-Salem, N.C.), who used a strong back half of her race to record a season best time of 2:04.59. Freshman Adél Kiss (Székesfehérvár, Hungary) dropped a personal best time of 2:05.29 to place 11th, and sophomore April Niccolai (Naperville, Illinois) took 16th with a finals time of 2:09.39. Niccolai raced to a season best time of 2:08.11 in prelims of the event.
In the men's 200 I.M., senior Jordan Denmark (Raleigh, N.C.) picked up a 4th place finish, achieving a season best time of 1:50.17. Denmark's was joined in the Top 8 by fellow Runnin' Bulldog Brandon Searle, who took 8th with a finals time of 1:53.14. The junior from Melbourne, Fla. raced to a personal best of 1:52.43 in prelims of the event.
Phil Leonard closed fast to secure a season best time out of the consolation heat, finishing 15th with a time of 1:54.86.
Mary O'Doherty (Charlotte, N.C.) added another Top 8 performance in the women's 50 free. The junior sprinted to a time of 23.33 to take 8th in finals of the event, equaling her personal best time achieved Thursday morning during prelims of the event.
The second record of the day went down in a wild men's 50 free. Senior Cole Hickey (Charlotte, N.C.) rewrote his own school record in finals when he touched the wall at 20.66, achieving a 6th place finish in the event. The sprint specialist continued a record-breaking Championship meet that started when he split 19.64 anchoring the men's 200 medley relay on Wednesday night.
Sophomore Nathan Lile (Waynesville, N.C.) also raced to a personal best performance Thursday night, recording a time of 20.76 to win the consolation heat of the men's 50 free. Senior Matt Anderson (Fortaleza, Brazil) took 13th with a personal best time of 20.94, freshman Hal McKay (Birmingham, Ala.) achieved a personal best time of 21.05 to take 14th, freshman Nicholas Dyer (Chesapeake, Va.) sprinted to a 15th place showing with a finals time of 21.28, and junior Joe MacGregor (Brooksville, Fla.) rounded out the consolation final with a 16th place finish and finals time of 21.33.
Both Dyer and MacGregor raced to personal best times in prelims, making it all lifetime bests for the GWU finalists in the 50 free. The duo touched at 21.22 and 21.28, respectively, in prelims of the event.
GWU raced to a 4th place finish in the women's 200 free relay, getting fast swims from O'Doherty (23.70), Byrum (23.46), Graves (23.67), and Kempf (23.66) to finish the night on a high note. The quartet combined to finish with a time of 1:34.49.
Lile, Hickey, Searle, and Anderson teamed up for an All-Conference performance in the men's 200 free relay. The quartet closed Thursday's finals session by breaking two more school records en route to a 3rd place finish in the event with a combined time of 1:21.24.
Lile improved on his 50 free final time to lead off in 20.62, resetting Hickey's school record achieved approximately an hour earlier.
Hickey swam the second leg, turning in a 20.04 split to keep the Runnin' Bulldogs right in the thick of the race.
Searle dove in third and sprinted to the fastest 50 free split of his career (20.45) to set up a dramatic finish.
Anderson, the "Brazilian Bomber," anchored, holding off a fast leg from Brandon Kegley of Davidson (4th place in the event) with a split time of 20.13, the fastest of his career.
GWU turns its attention to Friday's prelims session, starting tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Fans can follow all the action from the 2014 CCSA Championship meet by accessing the live results and live video links located above.
| Day Two Results |
