Feb. 26, 2009
2009 CAA Championship Central
Thursday's Finals Results
FAIRFAX, Va. - Halfway through the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships, George Mason sits in third place in the standings after another successful day of competition at Jim McKay Natatorium. Mason totaled 212 points in men's action and 206 points on the women's side.
UNC Wilmington leads the men's standings with 242 points while Towson is in first place among the women's teams with 235 points.
For the men, two Patriots took home CAA titles, as freshman Preston Wolter finished first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:26.06 and freshman Bryan Bahr set a new school record with a score of 337.70 in the 1-meter diving, taking home first place. Junior Steven Benecki earned third place in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:30.12, while freshman Derrick Butts was third as well in the 1-meter dive, scoring 312.15 points.
On the women's side, three individual performances by the Mason women shattered a number of records, highlighted by freshman Ashley Danner's first-place time of 1:59.99 in the 200-yard individual medley. That mark was the CAA's top performance, a CAA Championship record, as well as a team and pool record and met the NCAA B-cut standard.
In the 50-yard freestyle, senior Mary Beth Cheslock broke a team record and made an NCAA B-cut with her time of 22.76, good for second place and 17 points towards the team scoring. Finally, junior Caitlin Impink, who finished in sixth place and earned 13 points, set a new team record in the 500-yard freestyle as she finished in 4:51.82.
The women's 200-yard freestyle relay of freshman Nicole Harmon, Danner, junior Courtney Cook and Cheslock earned a second-place finish and 34 team points with a time of 1:32.46. The men's relay in the event, composed of sophomore Hans Johnsen, freshman Max Tyburski, sophomore Robbie Mason, and junior Tad Ogren earned 24 points and finished seventh in 1:23.37.
The CAA Championships continue tomorrow and Saturday, with prelims set for 10 a.m. and finals scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
