SAVANNAH, Georgia -- Berry College competed at Savannah College of Art and Design for their 10th annual invitational swim meet this weekend.
Of the 7 men's teams that attended--NCAA DII, NCAA DIII, NAIA, and NJCAA teams--the Vikings finished third. The women placed fifth of a field of eight teams.
The SCAD Invitational was the first opportunity for the Vikings to compete in a multi-session, prelim-final meet--a format which mimics the SAA Conference Championships.
"The SCAD Invitational is a great precursor to our conference championships because of the level of competition and format of events spread out over the three days," said Berry Head Coach Paul Flinchbaugh. "This allows the Vikings their first chance at morning preliminary swims and finals in the afternoon."
The meet began on Thursday night with the 1650 Freestyle. Freshman Rachel Collins posted a personal best time by dropping over 50 seconds.
"Rachel's first swim was a great indicator of our team's great form at this point in the season," said Assistant Coach Trevor Ehrenheim. "By the end of the meet on Saturday night, the majority of our team had posted one or more lifetime or seasonal bests."
Notable personal best times on the ladies' side were posted by: Rachel Collins; Emily Doil; Elly Wagner; Sofie De Wandel; Katarina Jones; Brooke Brogdon; Corley Peth; Leah Bernd; and Micaela Campagna.
Notable personal bests for men included: Adam Jarrell, Robert Padgett, Noah Wagner, Joey Ellwanger, and Matthew Siniard.
"It was great to see the Vikings post so many personal best records in so many different events," Coach Flinchbaugh added. "It's a great barometer of how well the season is going as we begin to look at preparations for the SAA Conference Championships in February."
During the holiday break, the Vikings will be on their annual winter training trip in Florida. Their next competition is at Florida International University against a predominantly NCAA Division I field of teams.
