Thursday, February 23, 2012

Flavia Segatto (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Charleow Flanigan H.S.) set her second school record in as many days for Valparaiso as the Crusaders completed day two of the Horizon League Championships in seventh place.

Segatto, who set the school mark in the 1000 free on Thursday, posted a time of 5:04.79 in the evening finals to place 10^th overall in the race.  The freshman broke Julie Durkin’s 1999 mark of 5:06.74.  Segatto had qualified 14^th after the morning prelims and moved up in the finals shaving nearly six seconds off of her morning time.

As a team Valpo has scored 80 points through eight events, eight ahead of Butler for seventh place.  Milwaukee holds an eight-point advantage in the team race over Cleveland State, 295-287, while Green Bay is third with 242 points.  UIC is currently fourth with 205.5 points while Wright State and Youngstown State are fifth and sixth respectively with 156.5 and 145 points.

The Crusaders also scored points in the final event of the night, placing eighth in the 400 medley relay.  The team of Lauren Knop (Geneva, Ill./Geneva H.S.), Natalie Jarrett (Lebanon, Ind./Western Boone H.S.), Segatto, and Ali Taubert (Bloomington, Ill./University H.S.) posted a time of 4:04.33, the fifth best mark in school laurels.  Knop’s lead-off 100 backstroke led of 1:01.33 was the sixth best all-time at Valpo.

Valpo had six other competitors in the 500 freestyle post either season or collegiate best times during the preliminary heats.  Andrea Bretl (Wauwatosa, Wis./West H.S.) had her best time at Valpo finishing in 5:20.58 while Alex Caruthers (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard H.S.) did the same with a time of 5:28.04.  Justine Barnes (Rochester Hills, Mich./Adams H.S.) added a season’s best mark of 5:40.21 while Laura Fowler (Olney, Md./Good Counsel H.S.) added her collegiate best with a time of 5:49.91.  Katie Meunier (Mukwanago, Wis./Mukwanago H.S.) and Megan Mariani (Waukegan, Ill./Warren Township H.S.) had collegiate bests as well touching the wall in 5:53.07 and 6:05.06 respectively.

Jarrett led the way for the Brown and Gold in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:14.10 while Makenna Cannon (Delafield, Wis./Kettle Moraine H.S.) added her career best mark of 2:17.90.

Nicole Michalowski (Diamond, Ill./Coal City H.S.), Valpo’s lone competitor in the 50 free, closed out the day’s individual events for the Brown and Gold with a time of 26.94 seconds, a collegiate best.

Having now reached the midway point of the championships, Valparaiso will return to the water on Friday for day three of the four day meet.  Competition will begin at 10:30 a.m. with prelims with the night’s finals slated for 6:30 p.m.