Sophomore Braden Kuhn wins the 1-meter diving to lead Men's Swimming and Diving on Day 2 of OAC Championships
By Tim Glon
AKRON — Sophomore Braden Kuhn won the 1-meter diving competition to lead the Ohio Northern men's swimming & diving team on the second day of the 2016 Ohio Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday evening at the University of Akron's Ocasek Natatorium.
The Polar Bears have 543 points through 13 of the 20 events and are in first place out of seven teams with an 88-point lead.
Mount Union is second with 455 points, John Carroll is third with 368 points and Wilmington is fourth with 315 points.
Ohio Northern is looking for its 12th consecutive OAC Championships crown under 12th-year head coach Peggy Ewald.
The top three finishers in individual races and the two two relay teams earn All-OAC honors.
Kuhn scored 396.55 points to defeat the defending champion from Mount Union by 56 points to claim his first-ever OAC title.
Sophomore Trevor Keriazes set a school record in the 100 breast, earning All-Conference accolades with a second place finish in :55.44. He finished :01.10 faster the the previous record of :56.54 set in 2013 by his brother, Drew Keriazes.
Junior John Raker earned All-OAC honors for the third consecutive season in the 400 I.M., placing second in 4:07.94.
Senior Mitchell Murphy and freshman Pete He each earned All-OAC honors by finishing second and third in the 100 fly in 50.76 and :50. 87, respectively. Senior Sean O'Neill finished fourth in the event in :51.73.
Junior Eric Chen finished second in the 200 free in 1:42.08, earning All-Conference honors in the event for the second consecutive season.
Sophomore Ian Simpson finished third in the 100 back for the second straight year, earning All-Conference accolades in :52.57.
The Polar Bears started the night by winning the 200 medley relay, as Simpson, Keriazes, He and Murphy touched in 1:32.36.
Keriazes, junior Logan Pfeifer, Chen and He ended the evening by winning the 800 free relay by more than five seconds, finishing in 6:53.28.
"Over all our positions from seed time to final swims have been on par and some beyond our expectations," ONU head coach Peggy Ewald said. "Relays have stepped up and having been pushing toward school records and OAC records set by some of our best. We are a young team, loosing few seniors so the future looks very good. For now, we are pressing the envelope, going outside the comfort zone and getting great response from the majority.
"Men are showing great unity of vision this second half of the season and putting together a strong front ready to challenge themselves to move the bar higher. The OAC has risen in depth of quality swimmers. That's good for all of us."
The third and final day of the OAC Championships will be on Saturday with prelims at 11 am and finals at 5:45 pm.
Team Standings
1. Ohio Northern 543, 2. Mount Union 455, 3. John Carroll 368, 4. Wilmington 315, 5. Baldwin Wallace 213, 6. Transylvania (Ky.) 143, 7. Manchester (Ind.) 91.
