CMS Men's Swimming and Diving Falls to Division I California Baptist; Lang Sweeps 500, 1000

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's swimming and diving team had several strong performances in its return to action after a one-month layoff at the California Baptist Distance meet on Friday, including a sweep of the 500 and the 1000-yard freestyle races from Lucas Lang, but finished on the short end of a 144-94 final score against the Division I Lancers.  

With the win, CMS, which is currently ranked No. 10 in Division III, stands at 4-2 on the season, with the two losses both coming to Division I programs (UC San Diego, California Baptist). The CBU Distance meet features several events of longer distances than standard dual competition, including 300-yard races in the butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke, and 500-yard medley and freestyle relays.

Lang gave an impressive showing for the Stags, sweeping the 500-yard and 1000-yard freestyle races to provide 18 points towards the CMS total. He took the 1000 in the first individual race of the day by almost 15 seconds over Hunter Harbauer of CBU, finishing in 9:47.65 to Harbauer's 10:02.24, and then added a much closer win in the 500 by edging Brandon Schuster by less than a half-second, 4:39.64 to 4:40.04. 

The Stags were also strong in the 300-yard butterfly, earning a 1-2-3 finish, with Frank Applebaum taking first place in 3:04.46. Ben Smith came in second for the Stags, while Thayer Breazeale was the third-place finisher. Applebaum was also second in the 200-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 1:45.20. Grant Stucky had three top-three finishes, coming in second in the 300 breast in 3:27.63, third in the 300 IM in 3:03.99, and third in the 300 back in 3:04.40, while Cyrus Gaylord and Jack Griffith were 2-3 in both diving events. 

The Stags capped off the meet with the second and third finishers in the 500-yard freestyle relay, with Jeremy Kim, Marco Conati, Theo Johnson and Applebaum coming in second in 4:10.64, while Nathan Luis, Dylan Krueger, Thayer Breazeale and Lang were third in 4:14.44.

CMS will be back in action next weekend for their final home meet of the 2021-22 season when they entertain Redlands at 10 a.m. at Axelrood Pool. Tomorrow's scheduled SCIAC meet was canceled due to health and safety protocols at Whittier.