GARLAND, Texas – The Trinity University men's swimming & diving team is in second place after the second day of action at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships on Thursday at the Garland ISD Natatorium.
The Tigers have piled up 326 points after the first full day of competition but are chasing Colorado College and its 373 points in first place. Southwestern University (TX) is third with 167 points, followed by McMurry University (TX) in fourth with 136 points, and Austin College (TX) in fifth with 101 points. Centenary College (LA) is sixth with 89 points, with University of the Ozarks (AR) in seventh (70), and University of St. Thomas (TX) in eighth (59).
Trinity had five All-SCAC performances (top three) in the four events today, highlighted by
Luke Fender (Jackson, Miss. / St. Andrew's Episcopal) and his record-breaking performance to open the evening's finals. Fender won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:23.78 that not only shattered the SCAC Open and SCAC Meet records by nearly 10 seconds but also bested his own record from earlier in the year by nearly five seconds.
Nathan Perez (Alpharetta, Ga. / Johns Creek) was third in the 500 free to earn All-SCAC honors as well, finishing in 4:37.84. The Tigers had four of the top six performances in the event as
Nickolas Rotolo (Houston, Texas / Houston Christian) was fourth (4:41.61) and
William Walker (Houston, Texas / Westside) was sixth (4:42.18).
Caleb Del Rosario (Sudbury, Mass. / Lincoln-Sudbury) was Trinity's top performer in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing second with a time of 1:51.40 that also moves him up to fourth on Trinity's all-time list (was eighth). The Tigers once again had four swimmers in the top six, as well as a fifth swimmer winning the Consolation Final.
John Key (El Paso, Texas / Franklin) was fourth in 1:52.02 and
Grant Bibza (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) finished fifth in 1:52.94 – just missing his personal best by a mere 0.02 seconds.
Ryan O'Leary (Austin, Texas / Austin) was sixth in 1:53.75 and
Owen Flynn (Guthrie, Okla. / Heritage Hall) won the Consolations in 1:57.24 to earn ninth place.
The final individual event of the night was the 50-yard freestyle and
Trace Briones (San Antonio, Texas / Health Careers) was the runner-up in a time of 21.10 seconds. Briones was Trinity's only swimmer in the championship final, but four others competing in the consolations to gain valuable points.
Enzo Fiorese (McKinney, Texas / Heritage) won the Consolation Final with a time of 21.43 seconds, followed by
Daniel Itkins (Houston, Texas / The Village School) in 10th with a time of 21.48 seconds.
Chase Hays (Austin, Texas / Anderson) was 13th (21.68) and
William Kitto IV (Prairieview, La. / Catholic High School) was 14th (21.72) to round out the Tiger competitors.
Despite finishing second in both final-event races to close out Thursday's swimming, the Tigers had a pair of outstanding times.
John Fontenot (Austin, Texas / St. Andrew's), Del Rosario, Kitto, and Fender teamed up for a time of 3:24.41 in the consolations, finishing 10th overall and posting a time that ranks ninth in school history. In the Championship Final, Fiorese, Key, Walker, and Perez were second with a season-best time of 3:22.06 to remain in the sixth spot on Trinity's all-time performance list.
Coach Speak
"There were some major Tiger battles tonight," began Head Coach
Cathleen Pruden. "I'm proud of the way our guys stared down their competition and chose to fight. We've got a lot of work ahead of us in the next two days but we aren't done yet!"
Up Next
Friday's preliminary swimming session will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by the men's 1-meter diving competition at 12:30 p.m. The finals for swimming begin at 5:45 p.m., which will be preceded by the SCAC Senior Recognition. Events on Friday's schedule include the 200-yard freestyle relay, the 100 butterfly, the 400 individual medley, the 200 freestyle, the 100 breaststroke, and the 100 backstroke.
