Stags 14th, Athenas 21st as CMS wraps up 2017 Nationals
SHENANDOAH, Texas – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps swimming and diving teams wrapped up the 2017 National Championships with the Athenas in 21st and the Stags finishing 14th. CMS was the highest-finishing program from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at the meet.
"I'm very proud of this National team," said head coach Charlie Griffiths. "All eleven swimmers and divers contributed to the team scoring and we had a blast throughout the week. We're thrilled to send off a very accomplished senior class on a high note, while also setting the groundwork for future successes."
Senior Matthew Williams (CMC) earned his fourth piece of hardware in this NCAA Championships with a seventh place finish in the 200-yard backstroke at 1:48.06. He swam the first 50 yards in 24.98, the second fastest in the pool. By the 100-yard mark at 51.51, he was overtaken by Kingsley Bowen from Tufts and sat in third. The champion, Ben Lin from Williams, won both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke in this year's championships. In his career, Williams has accumulated 22 All-American and Honorable All-American honors, which ranks second in the Stags' history.
A pair of distance swimmers for CMS competed in the 1650-yard freestyle on the final day of Nationals. Junior Elizabeth Carrade (CMC) put together a very consistent swim and placed 21st at 17:27.50. Then, freshman Ben Culberson (CMC) set a new CMS record with his time of 15:32.19, good for seventh in the nation.
A pair of freshmen and a senior wrapped up their trip to Nationals in the prelims on Saturday morning. Freshman Jocelyn Crawford (CMC) swam the 100-yard freestyle in 52.53 for 41st in the prelims while senior Graham Spurzem (CMC) finished 39th at 45.84. Freshman Claire Bacon-Brenes (SC) jumped out fast in the 200-yard breaststroke but was unable to maintain her pace down the stretch, finishing in 25th at 2:23.29.
On the 3-meter board, freshman diver Kendall Hollimon (CMC) improved upon his prelims performance of 507.15 to earn 522.25 in the finals. Hollimon leapt up in the standings past John Morris from Rowan to earn fourth place. That performance added 15 points to the Stags' team total.
Saturday Results | Full Results
By Emily Nordhoff
Sports Information Director
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