DANVILLE, Ky. – The Trinity University men's swimming & diving team concluded the SAA conference championship meet today, winning handily with a score of 984 across four days of competition. The Tigers fought hard on the final day, battling fatigue to cinch their win.
Meet Recap:
The session kicked off with the mile, with
Luke Fender (Jackson, Miss. / St. Andrew's Episcopal ) winning and swimming just off of his best time with a time of 15:40.67.
Theodore Ho (Sugar Land, Texas / Clements ) finished in third with a time also just off of his best. Next was the 200 back, where
Jack Hester (Round Rock, Texas / Cedar Ridge ) classically dominated the field, dropping nearly two seconds for a time of 1:45.71.
Alejandro Aceves (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. / Trabuco Hills ) was also in this heat, swimming a time of 1:54.67 and earning seventh place.
Next was the 100 freestyle, where
Trace Briones (San Antonio, Texas / Health Careers ) and
Chase Hays (Austin, Texas / Anderson ) earned fourth and fifth, with Briones earning a best time. In the 200 breast,
John Key (El Paso, Texas / Franklin ) and
Ryan O'Leary (Austin, Texas / Austin ) tying for third place with a time of 2:04.10.
Daniel Apostol (Billings, Mont. / Central Catholic),
Grant Bibza (Southlake, Texas / Carroll), and
Caleb del Rosario (Sudbury, Mass. / Lincoln-Sudbury ) were just behind them, earning fifth, sixth, and eighth place respectively. The men's 200 fly was a dogfight, with
William Walker (Houston, Texas / Westside ) and
Nickolas Rotolo (Houston, Texas / Cairo American College ) going back and forth the whole race, but Rotolo taking third place, and Walker taking fifth.
The meet ended with the 400 free relay, where both the A and B relays gave it all they had left. The A relay, made up of
Nathan Perez (Alpharetta, Ga. / Johns Creek), Fender, Walker, and Hester, earned third place, with a time of 3:02.05 for a season best. Even though the final race didn't result in a win, the Tigers took solace in the overall championship and celebrated the conference title.
Superlatives:
Hester was named the Men's Swimming Athlete of the Year and the Men's Rookie of the Year, with the Tiger coaching staff of Head Coach
Cathleen Pruden and Assistant Coaches
Mabel Fowler and
George Black earning the honor of Men's Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year.
Looking Forward:
Soon, the Tigers will find out if any of them has qualified for nationals, which will take place in mid-March.
