BIRMINGHAM -- Berry College defended its positions at the 2015 SAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday. The women held off the fast-approaching Hendrix College to take fifth place; the Viking men overcame Sewanee to capture third overall.
Saturday evening began with the 1650 freestyle, where Corley Peth took 13th place with a time of 19:32.62, and Tyler Wiseman, Robert Padgett, and Mac Stovall finished in tenth (18:08.82), ninth (18:04.45), and fifth (16:59.38) respectively.
Following the 1650, Brooke Brogdon posted a new school record and also took seventh place in the women's 200 backstroke with a time of 2:17.51. In the men's 200 Back, freshmen Garrison Bemis and Noah Wagner took tenth (1:59.36) and 11th (2:00.87) place respectively.
In the women's 100 freestyle, Haley Brown was fourth at 54.18. Leah Berndt finished 13th with a time of 57.08 and Emily Doil placed 15th (58.21). In the men's 100 free, Conor Monaghan posted a second place finish with a time of 45.84. Teammates Johnathon Purdy finished fourth (46.56), Cameron Grant was ninth (48.01), and Mattthew Siniard took 15th (49.98).
In the 200 breaststroke, Janelle Spanjers swam a lifetime-best 2:29.54 to take fourth place and set a new Berry College record. Closely following was freshman Micaela Campagna (sixth at 2:42.02).
In the men's 200 breaststroke, sophomore Robbie Ellwanger also set a new school record with a time of 2:10.26. Bates Jones and Tyler Wiseman finished 11th (2:15.13) and 15th (2:18.53) respectively.
In the final individual event of the evening--the 200 Butterfly--freshman Elly Wagner swam a lifetime-best time of 2:26.55 to take 15th place. The Viking men took full advantage of the event by placing three swimmers in the top 8 qualifiers: Joey Ellwanger finished fifth with a time of 1:55.32; William Walker was third at 1:54.68; and Monaghan placed first with a 1:51.10 clocking.
In the final event of the championship meet--the 400 freestyle relay--the women's B-relay placed 11th with a 3:51.60 and A-team was fifth (3:44.45). The men's B-relay took the top spot in the consolation final (3:13.84). In the final race of the day, the Berry A-team was second while setting another school record (3:05.32).
"We couldn't be happier with how the team performed this weekend," said BC Head Coach Paul Flinchbaugh. "The hard work and dedication our team put in were realized in these past few days. I couldn't be more proud of the team."
With the conclusion of the SAA Conference Meet, the Vikings have finished the regular season. Berry will now direct its attention toward the NCAA Division III Championships as a number of individuals and a relay have achieved national B-cut qualifying times.
See Monaghan 200 fly interview HERE.
