Giorgie Graves, Men's 400 Medley Relay Earn All-Conference Honors as More Records Fall on Day Three of CCSA Championships
February 22, 2014 | Swimming
Knoxville, Tenn. - Giorgie Graves raced to a 3rd place 100 fly finish in school-record time, Nathan Lile rewrote his own 200 free record with a Top 8 performance, and GWU placed 3rd in a breathtaking finish to the men's 400 medley relay on day three of the 2014 CCSA Championship meet.
Gardner-Webb got a big boost from Graves, earned All-CCSA status individually for the first time this season and the second time in her career, following her 3rd place finish in the 500 free at least year's Conference championship meet.
Lile also spurred GWU with two school-record performances. The sophomore finished his men's 200 free final in 1:38.61, the fastest all-time at Gardner-Webb, and anchored the men's 400 medley relay in the highlight of the night. Lile helped catapult teammates' Connor Bos, Jordan Denmark, and Brandon Searle into 3rd place, splitting 44.21 to overtake Davidson's 4th place team by just .07 seconds.
Freshman Adél Kiss (Székesfehérvar, Hungary) opened the night with a Top 8 performance in the women's 400 I.M., continuing her breakout freshman campaign by racing to a time of 4:30.41 in finals of the event. Kiss, who took 8th in the event, achieved a personal best time of 4:29.56 in prelims.
Gardner-Webb also got a breakthrough performance from sophomore April Niccolai (Naperville, Ill.), who closed fast to shatter her previous best 400 I.M. time to take 13th in a time of 4:31.71.
Gardner-Webb put four in the Top 16 of the men's 400 I.M., led by sophomore Luke Denman's (Greenville, S.C.) 10th place effort. Denman, who timed in at 4:04.42, was joined in the consolation finals heat by senior Cody Meyers (Mobile, Ala.), who raced to a 12th place finish and season best time of 4:07.15 in the event. Sophomore Ryan Palmer (Burrington, N.H.) took 15th (4:12.94) and freshman Josh Hanson (Acworth, Ga.) finished 16th (4:13.12) in finals to add points for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Denman raced to a season best 400 I.M. time of 4:04.28 in prelims; both Palmer and Hanson achieved personal best times of 4:08.19 and 4:10.17, respectively.
Graves, a sophomore from Riverview, Fla., stepped up in finals to reset the school record she established in prelims (54.43) of the women's 100 fly. Graves achieved All-CCSA status with a 3rd place finish with a finals time of 54.32.
Junior Mary O'Doherty (Charlotte, N.C.) made it two in the Top 4 for the Runnin' Bulldogs, improving on her personal best time in prelims to place 4th with a time of 54.83. O'Doherty, who achieved a time of 55.51 Friday morning, joined Graves in going under GWU's previous 100 fly record.
In the men's 100 fly, Brandon Searle (Melbourne, Fla.) gave Gardner-Webb a 6th place finish, swimming 49.98 in finals. The junior achieved a personal best time of 49.28 in prelims of the event, establishing the second-fastest 100 fly time in GWU history with his performance Friday morning.
Senior Matt Anderson (Fortaleza, Brazil) sprinted to an early lead en route to a 9th place finish in the men's 100 fly, adding to a strong event for the Runnin' Bulldogs by winning the consolation finals heat. The "Brazilian Bomber" achieved a personal best time of 49.77 in the event.
Senior Faith Kempf (Sterling, Kansas) placed 12th in the women's 200 free, improving on her personal best time from prelims in a lifetime best performance of 1:51.89. Kempf's time in the event marks 4th best in GWU history.
Sophomore Nathan Lile (Waynesville, N.C.) set a school record in the championship finals heat of the men's 200 free, charging back to place 6th out of lane 8 with a time of 1:38.61. Gardner-Webb also occupied the top four spots in the consolation finals heat, led by junior Tate Warden's (Charleston, W.Va.) 9th place finish in 1:40.65. Freshman Nicholas Dyer (Chesapeake, Va.) placed 10th with a finals time of 1:40.79, junior Joe MacGregor (Brooksville, Fla.) took 11th with a personal best finals time of 1:41.00, and freshman Hal McKay (Birmingham, Ala.) finished 12th in a personal best 1:41.13 in finals.
In prelims of the men's 200 free, Warden raced to a season best time of 1:40.31 and Dyer achieved a personal best time of 1:40.63.
Junior Charity Byrum (Winston-Salem, N.C.) got the Runnin' Bulldogs a 5th place finish in the women's 100 breast, racing home for a time of 1:03.35 in championship finals. Senior Anna Springer (Snellville, Ga.) added a 15th place finish, recording a time of 1:05.66 in finals.
Both Byrum and Springer achieved season bests in prelims, touching the wall at 1:03.13 and 1:05.30, respectively.
Personal bests for Gardner-Webb's Andrew Linzie (Monroe, Ga.) and Phil Leonard (Greenville, S.C.) came in the men's 100 breast, as both broke the 59.0 barrier in consolation finals of the event. Linzie finished 11th with in a career best 58.34 and Leonard took 12th with a lifetime best time of 58.64.
In the women's 100 back, sophomore Taylor Schwartz (Westerville, Ohio) grabbed a 14th place finish with a finals time of 57.54, while junior Kaylee McCallan (Melbourne, Fla.) took 16th by swimming 58.30 in finals.
Both McCallan and Schwartz raced to personal best times in prelims of the event, finishing at 57.01 and 57.41, respectively.
Freshman Connor Bos (Holland, Mich.) bolted to a new GWU record in the men's 100 back, finishing 7th in a personal best time of 50.00. Seniors Jordan Denmark (Raleigh, N.C.) and Taft Kallam (Randleman, N.C.) finished 10th (50.98) and 12th (51.41), respectively, while Searle added a 14th place finish in 51.98.
In prelims, Kallam, and Searle swam personal bests, finishing at 51.25 and 51.76 Friday morning, respectively.
Both Gardner-Webb's women's and men's 400 medley relay teams achieved Top 5 finishes. In the women's 400 medley relay, McCallan, Byrum, Graves, and O'Doherty teamed up to take 5th with a finals time of 3:20.34.
The Runnin' Bulldogs achieved a 3rd place place finish and All-Conference status in the night's final event, the men's 400 medley relay. Bos, Denmark, Searle, and Lile combined for the All-CCSA performance, finishing Friday on a high note for Gardner-Webb with a time of 3:20.34.
The final day of the 2014 CCSA Championship meet begins with morning prelims (10:00 a.m.) on Saturday.
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