Men's Swimming & Diving gunning for its 13th consecutive OAC Championships title
By Tim Glon
ADA — The Ohio Northern men's swimming & diving team will be gunning for its 13th consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference Championships title Thursday-Saturday at the University of Akron's Ocasek Natatorium.
The Championships will get underway with prelims at 10 am each morning with the finals starting at 6:30 pm, 6 pm and 5:30 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.
Five events will be contested on Thursday, eight more on Friday and the final seven on Saturday.
The Polar Bears, under the guidance of 13th-year head coach Peggy Ewald, have won the last 12 OAC Championships crowns.
Last year's squad won the title by an 186-point margin, defeating second place Mount Union 843-657.
The 2016-17 squad finished third in the OAC regular season standings with a 2-2 record, but were not at full strength in either of the dual meet losses.
ONU features the top times in seven of the 13 individual swimming events entering the meet, led by senior Eric Chen (Mason).
Chen holds the fastest times in the league in the 100 and 200 free and the 200 I.M.
In fact, the Polar Bears have the top three swimmers in the 200 I.M. and five of the top seven in the 50 free entering the meet.
The top three finishers in each individual event and the top two relay teams earn All-Conference accolades.
Seniors John Raker (Lebanon/Lakota West) and Logan Pfeifer (Bucyrus/Colonel Crawford) leads a list of five more ONU swimmers to hold the league's top time in their respective events.
Raker has the top time in the 200 fly and Pfeifer leads the list in the 50 free.
Raker will also be looking for his third OAC crown in their 400 I.M., where he has the second-fastest time among OAC swimmers.
Junior Thomas Golba (Kettering/Alter), sophomore Pete He (Mason) and freshman Nolan Huey (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge) are also top seeds in one event.
Golba is the top seed in the 200 breast, He is the top seed in the 100 fly and Huey is the top seed in the 400 I.M.
Huey is also second in four other events. Per OAC rules, each swimmer can compete in three individual events and four relays.
Ohio Northern is also the defending champion in all five of the relay events.