Senior John Raker wins 200 fly title, leads Men's Swimming and Diving on final day of OAC Championships
By Tim Glon
AKRON — Senior John Raker (Labanon/Lakota West) won the 200 fly title, leading the Ohio Northern men on the third and final day of the 2017 Ohio Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships on Saturday at the University of Akron's Ocasek Natatorium.
After two runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2014, Raker won his first OAC title in the event by nearly a second in 1:54.26.
The 400 free relay team of senior Eric Chen (Mason), sophomore Pete He (Mason), junior Ian Simpson (Strongsville) and senior Logan Pfeifer (Bucyrus/Colonel Crawford) won the OAC crown in 3:04.82.
It marked the fifth consecutive year and the ninth time in the last 12 years that Ohio Northern won the race.
Freshman Nolan Huey (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge) earned All-OAC honors in the 1650 free, finishing third in 16:46.68.
Chen and Pfeifer finished 2-3 to earn All-Conference accolades in the 100 free, touching in :46.51 and :46.58, respectively.
The Polar Bears finished in second place out of seven teams with 704 points in the 20 events, snapping their impressive streak of 12 consecutive conference championships.
"We began the journey of the season knowing it was a different day in the OAC," ONU head coach Peggy Ewald said. "We had some great moments and a few surprises. But the 'wins' are not always shown in the score. We have won in more ways than can be count and deduced to numbers. We have reset the mission of this team and the foundation that built the traditions of excellence. The future is promising.
"We were going in with no divers on the men's side. A first out of our past 12 seasons. Those two events left a gap we weren't able to close. We battled to the end and held our ground in the swimming events. I am proud of this group of young men and how they stepped up to the challenge. They became the best version of ONU men's swimming could be this season....it's been a great journey winning 12 straight titles. The runner up position will give us a new challenge to rise back to the top."
John Carroll won the team crown with 806 points, Mount Union was third with 637 and Wilmington was fourth with 369.
The top three finishers in each individual event and the top two relay teams earn All-Conference honors.
Team Standings
1. John Carroll 806, 2. Ohio Northern 704, 3. Mount Union 637, 4. Wilmington 369, 5. Baldwin Wallace 351, 6. Transylvania (Ky.) 179, 7. Manchester (Ind.) 132.