The Gannon University men’s swim team finished fifth at the 2018 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships, which concluded Feb. 24 at the Graham Aquatic Center in York, Pa.
Seven teams competed in the four-day event. West Chester topped the field with 813 points while Gannon wound up with 396. It was West Chester’s 20th straight PSAC title.
The Knights stood in third place after day one of the meet. A key note for the first day of competition was Clark Eason setting a new school record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.58 seconds.
Eason ended up taking second place overall in this event. The previous school record was held by Adam Chrzanowski, who posted a time of 20.75 in 2014-15.
In the 100 freestyle, Bryce Ebel took third (9:41.53). Thomas Marshall finished fifth overall in the 1,000-yard free with a time of 9:43.96.
Also on the first day, the 200 medley relay team of Maciej Skrypczak, Eric Booth, Luke Engel and Eason took fifth (1:34.83).
After day two of the championships the Knights found themselves in fifth place.
The 200 freestyle relay team provided a highlight, finishing third with a season-best time of 1:24.01. The relay team consisted of Michael Weiser, Engel, Allan Collins, and Eason.
Another note from day two was that Marshall once again took fifth place in an individual event — the 200 freestyle — with a time of 1:41.43.
Day three of the meet saw the Knights maintain their fifth-place standing.
Collins took fifth in the 100-yard backstroke (50.87). Also of note, the 800 freestyle relay team consisting of Engel, Collins, Ebel and Marshall took third with a time of 6:55.77.
On the final day of competition, Gannon remained in fifth place. Ebel took second in the 1,650 freestyle (16:13.33), and Collins took third in the 200 backstroke (1:52.26).
Finally, the 400 relay team of Collins, Weiser, Engel and Marshall took fourth place with a time of 3:06.04.
The PSAC meet concluded Gannon’s 2017-18 season, as none of the Knights’ swimmers managed to advance to the NCAA Division II national meet, which will take place March 14-17 in Greensboro, N.C.
NICHOLAS SORENSEN
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