Gavigan Qualifies for U.S. Swimming Olympic Team Trials
Courtesy of MAC Sport Information Departments
Ball State // Miami Invitational
OXFORD, Ohio. – It was a day full of season and career bests for the Ball State swimming and diving team, but it was Apsara Sakbun who won the 50 Free to lead the Cardinals on day one of the Miami Invitational.
Both the men and women finished the day in third place with the women scoring 301 points and the men tallying 344. The Cardinals stand in third place in the combined standings with 645 points behind Penn and Miami.
Sakbun recorded a time of 23.42 in the 50 Free final which moved her to fifth in school history in the event. Her win came after a time of 23.48 in the preliminary round Thursday morning. Bryce Handshoe and Jack Wolfred tied for seventh in the men's 50 Free.
The finals round started well for the Cardinals as a team of Alexa McDonald, Sukbun, Makayla Miller and Peighton Gilbert placed second in the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:34.55. The men's team of Wolfred, Handshoe, Owen Chaye and Ben Andrew finished third in the same event by clocking in at 1:23.34.
Andrew also had a strong individual showing for Ball State, finishing third in the 200 IM on a 1:51.94 time. That marked a personal best for the senior and moved him into fifth in program history in the event. Sydney Dygert was the top finisher for the women in the same event with a time of 2:06.83, good for seventh place.
Katie Walker (5:01.96) and Ryan Short (4:37.61) were the top Cardinal finishers in the 500 Free for the night. Walker claimed eighth place in the event while short snagged an eighth-place result.
The night ended with the 400 Medley Relay in which the women claimed second and the men fifth. Audrey Schank, Alex Bader, Shelby Crist and Sakbun finished in 3:45.08 while Logan Ackley, Andrew, Handshoe and Drew Weeks clocked in at 3:23.11.
The Cardinals are back at it Friday with day two of the invitational. Results and a recap will be posted to BallStateSports.com at the end of the day. Live results can be followed on Meet Mobile.
Bowling Green // Miami Invitational
Oxford, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University swim and dive team closed the first day of competition at the Miami Invite in fourth place. Daisy Platts gave another strong performance in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing second in 2:03.36. She won the preliminary round with a time of 2:00.91, the third-best time in school history. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Anna Eriksson, Ashleigh Franks, Lauren Sullivan, and Noelle Lavigne took third with a time of 1:35.42. Backing them was the team of Platts, Kate Lochridge, Gillian Boal, and Anais Constantinides. The quartet touched the wall in 1:36.49 to finish seventh.
The Falcon relay team of Platts, Taylor Harris, Sarah Hennings, and Eriksson continued their success, finishing third in the 400-yard medley with a time of 3:46.79. Eriksson competed in the 50-yard freestyle as well, finishing seventh in 24.00 seconds. BGSU totaled 181 points on the day.
Notable Performances
Daisy Platts – 2nd Place in 200-Yard Individual Medley (2:03.36 in finals, 2:00.91 in prelims; preliminary time is third-fastest in program history)
Eriksson, Franks, Sullivan, Lavigne – 3rd Place in 200-Yard Freestyle Relay (1:35.42)
Platts, Harris, Hennings, Eriksson – 3rd Place in 400-Yard Medley Relay (3:46.79)
Anna Eriksson – 7th Place in 50-Yard Freestyle (24.00)
Platts, Lochridge, Boal, Constantinides – 7th Place in 200-Yard Freestyle Relay (1:36.49)
Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action for day two of the Miami Invite tomorrow morning. The preliminary events will begin at 10:00 a.m., with the finals kicking off at 6:00 p.m. Tomorrow's events will be the 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard IM, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, and 800-yard freestyle relay. The remaining events will be held on Saturday. The preliminary session will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the finals will begin at 4:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan // Denison Invitational
GRANVILLE, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University swimming and diving team opened the 2019 Denison Invitational at the Trumbull Aquatics Center Thursday, Dec. 5. After the first day of competition, Eastern Michigan leads the field of five with 639 points.
During long course Olympic time trials, senior Casey Gavigan (East Setauket, N.Y.-Ward Melville) earned her spot at the U.S. Swimming Olympic Team Trials in 2020. Her time of 1:02.11 in the 100 meter backstroke met the organization's qualifying standard of 1:02.69.
Junior Alyssa Shugarman (Oswego, Ill.-Oswego) won both the preliminaries and finals of the 500 yard freestyle races, first with a time of 4:52.07 in the preliminaries, followed by a 4:49.36 showing in the finals. Her finals mark ranks seventh all-time in program history.
In 1-meter diving, juniors Micaela Schempf (Bowling Green, Ohio-Bowling Green) and Bethany Berger (Batavia, Ohio-Glen Este) both met NCAA Championship Diving Standards. Schempf won the event with a career-best mark of 289.95, while Berger finished in the two-spot with a score of 279.70.
Junior Abby Rapien (Cincinnati, Ohio-Taylor) set a new career-best time in the 500 yard freestyle, clocking it at 4:58.31 in the preliminaries. In the finals, Rapien would once again break her personal-best, taking a second-place finish with a 4:56.14 mark.
Also setting a new career-best mark in the 500 yard freestyle was senior Marcella Da Costa (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-Colegio Dom Bosco), touching the wall with 5:02.20 on the clock.
In addition, three Eagles set personal-best marks in the 200 yard individual medley. Senior Sydney Thomas' (Jamestown, N.Y.-Southwestern Senior) 2:07.56 marked a new career-best, while juniors Riley Hofmann (Ada, Mich.-Forest Hills Central) and Ali Staver (Bettendorf, Iowa-Pleasant Valley) clocked in at 2:04.13 and 2:06.27, respectively, for new personal records.
The Green and White return to action tomorrow, Dec. 6, with preliminaries at 10 a.m., followed by diving prelims and finals at 12:30 p.m. Swimming event finals will take place at 6 p.m.
Miami // Miami Invitational
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University swimming and diving team completed the first day of the Miami Invitational on Thursday. The women are in second with 333 points while the men are in second with 373 points. Gordon Wheeler and James McGuire both competed in the 400 free at the U.S. Open. Wheeler finished in 4:04.10 while McGuire finished in 4:08.53.
Camila Lins de Mello set a meet record in the 200 IM (1:58.62), beating all other competitors by 4.74 seconds, as Miami totaled three event wins on the day.
The RedHawk women also won both the 200 free relay and the 400 medley relay. In the 200 free relay, Lins de Mello, Anna Justinak, Izzy Herb and Caroline Ehlers swam a 1:33.26. In the 400 medley relay, Lins de Mello, Anna Martin, Kayleigh Cannon and Herb finished in 3:44.03.
The Miami men finished second in the 200 free relay and third in the 400 medley relay. In the 200 free relay, Diego Valentim, Nic Wamsley, Grant Cicci and Ben Chatwin finished in 1:21.80. In the 400 medley relay, Jacob Peloquin, Blake Brockman, Preston Harrison and Wamsley swam a 3:20.13.
Justinak was the runner up in the women's 50 free (23.60) while Wamsley was third (20.43) among the men.
Claire Doerr led the Miami women in the 500 free (4:52.96), finishing fourth overall. Brandon Crist led the RedHawk men (4:38.82), touching the wall ninth.
In the men's 200 IM, Ryan Sego was the fastest RedHawk (1:53.73), placing sixth.
