Men’s Swimming & Diving places third at OAC Championships
By Bud Denega
AKRON — The Ohio Northern men's swimming and diving team wrapped up competition at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships Saturday Ocasek Natatorium. The Polar Bears finished third as a team with 540 points, while John Carroll and Mount Union took first and second with 967 and 799 points, respectively.
Freshman Calob Cope (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) led the way, touching fourth in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:12.01. Sophomore Chris Walton (Greenfield, Ind./Eastern Hancock) wasn't far behind, taking fifth after clocking in at 17:00.18.
For the second consecutive night, the Polar Bears racked up a good bit of points in the breaststroke. Sophomore Jeremy Adams (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ann Arbor Pioneer) placed fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:04.58, while freshmen Ian Kogucki (Kingwood, Tex./Kingwood) and Dillon Brady (Cleveland/St. Edward) touched sixth and seventh with times of 2:06.79 and 2:10.60, respectively.
Sophomore Jackson Stanley (Beavercreek) touched fifth in the 200-yard butterfly, registering a time of 1:58.27. Senior Nathan Donatelli (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) took eighth with a time of 2:06.63.
Senior Ryan Groehl (Marysville) placed sixth in the 200-yard backstroke, recording a time of 1:57.07, and sophomore Justin DeLano (Englewood/Northmont) took seventh, logging a time of 1:57.94.
Junior Dylan Boyd (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) rounded out the individual podium placers after he finished seventh in the 3-meter diving, tallying 266.2 points.
The 400-yard freestyle relay team — of Adams, DeLano, freshman Logan Randall (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain), and Groehl — placed third in a time of 3:09.98.
The NCAA Championships begin March 18 in Greensboro, North Carolina.