Saturday, February 23, 2008

Box Score

                Valparaiso set two more school records on Friday evening at the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships, even though the event shifted to Akron, Ohio.

                The meet had been held at Cleveland State for the first two days, but a water main broke in the city forcing the championships to be relocated.  Instead of preliminary heats and finals, the event changed to just timed finals.

                Despite the change in venue, Amy Andracki (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.) set a new mark at Valpo with her fourth place finish in the 100 breaststroke.  The freshman turned in a time of 1:04.97, just .87 seconds off of the lead.  Andracki broke her own school mark set earlier this season of 1:06.25.

                Rachel Majercik (Schaumburg, Ill./Conant H.S.) set a new school record on her way to a ninth place finish in the 100 butterfly.  The sophomore turned in a time of 58.96 seconds, surpassing Ashley Seale’s 2005 mark of 59.09 seconds.  Shaunna Dangremond (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino H.S.) also scored for the Crusaders in the event, placing 15^th with a time of 1:00.40, the eighth fastest time in school history.

                Dangremond also finished 10^th in the 100 backstroke with her time of 1:00.74, the third quickest mark ever for a Crusader in the event.  Teammate Becky Crabtree (Mason, Ohio/Mason H.S.) recorded the fourth fastest mark ever placing 12^th with her time of 1:01.28 while Karen Berg (Glendale, Ariz./Deer Valley H.S.) moving into fifth place all-time with a mark of 1:01.88, placing 15^th overall in the race.

                Grace Arnold (Glendora, Calif./Glendora H.S.) swam the sixth quickest 200 freestyle time in Valpo history on Friday, finishing 16^th with a time of 1:57.33.

                Elizabeth Thompson (Norman, Okla./Norman North H.S.) was Valpo’s top finisher in the 400 individual medley, turning in a time of 4:54.60 to place 14^th overall.

                Valpo finished the day with a seventh place finish in the 800 freestyle relay.  The team of Arnold, Laura Rickey (Monmouth, Ill./Monmouth-Roseville H.S.), Kristy Shew (Terre Haute, Ind./North Vigo H.S.), and Stephanie Ferschl (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago H.S.) turned in a time of 8:08.13.

                “We had some really excellent races today,” interim head coach Barbara Tyree said.  “Rachel and Amy setting school records added to the excitement of our outstanding performances.”

                Valpo remains in sixth place following day three of the four-day championship with 177 points, just 30 behind fifth place Youngstown State.  Green Bay leads with 569 points followed by Wright State with 505 points.  Milwaukee and UIC are third and fourth respectively with 476 and 274 points, while Cleveland State (139) and Butler (103) round out the field.

                The championships will remain in Akron for Saturday’s final day of competition.  Diving finals will begin at 11 a.m. CST with swimming timed finals taking place at 3 p.m. CST.