Marco Conati added a 100-yard butterfly title to his win in the 50 free yesterday
Marco Conati added a 100-yard butterfly title to his win in the 50 free yesterday

Marco Conati Earns SCIAC Title for Second Straight Day for CMS Men's Swimming and Diving

COMMERCE, Calif. - Sophomore Marco Conati won the SCIAC Championship in the 100-yard butterfly, the second straight day he earned a first-place finish, to highlight the performance from the CMS Men's Swimming and Diving team on the third day of the SCIAC Championships on Saturday at the Brenda Villa Aquatic Complex.

After three days, CMS stands in second place with 647.5 points, behind only Pomona-Pitzer with 783.5 points. Redlands is a distant third with 380 points. 

Conati earned a close win yesterday in the 50 free and came back today with a strong effort in the 100 fly, finishing in 48.39, well ahead of Ryan Drover of Pomona-Pitzer in second at 49.01. the time was also under a second below the NCAA "B" cut of 49.44 as he tries to earn his way to the NCAA Division III Championships in Indianapolis. 

Junior Dave Makhervaks came away with All-SCIAC honors in the 100 back with a time of 50.79, just .25 behind winner Nikhil Kundu of Pomona-Pitzer. Senior Aaron Lutzker came in fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 56.45, and junior Henry Limm (3:59.36) and sophomore Sean Hoerger (4:03.65) were fourth and fifth in the 400 IM. Junior Ben Culberson was the top Stag in the 200 free with a time of 1:42.01, good for seventh.

CMS nearly closed out the day on a high note in the 400-yard medley relay, but came up just shot to Pomona-Pitzer by .22 (3:20.56 to 3:20.78) as both teams earned NCAA "B" cuts. Makhervaks, Lutzker, Conati and sophomore Daniel Hayon competed for the Stags in the event, which went back and forth over the three-minute race before Pomona-Pitzer finished an arm's length ahead. 

CMS will hope to close the gap on the final day of the SCIAC Championships tomorrow, which will feature the 1650, the 100 free, and the 200-yard butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke.