OKLAHOMA CITY – Christine Tixier of Biola posted the highlight of the night by lowering a 22-year-old record at the NAIA Championships.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma Baptist is well on its way to defending its titles. The women lead Olivet Nazarene, 423.5 to 260.5. The men are ahead of ONU, 457.5 to 300.5.
Men’s Meet
Oklahoma Baptist edged Olivet Nazarene in the men’s 200-yard medley for an NAIA record.
OBU’s JP Goyetche (22.90), Fernando Morillas (24.39), Daniel Ramirez (20.44) and Logan Lassley (19.40) turned in a 1:27.13 for the win.
ONU’s Jacob Anderson (22.25), Calvin Price (24.41), Anton Arvidsson (21.65) and Simon Pheasant (19.49) placed second in 1:27.80.
Concordia rounded out the top three in 1:30.11.
SCAD’s Joel Ax demolished the NAIA record in the 500-yard free with a ridiculous 4:21.93. That swim crushed the previous mark of 4:24.63 set by fellow SCAD swimmer Alex Graudins in 2012.
Union’s Cameron Donaldson took a distant second in 4:27.74 with Lindenwood-Belleville’s Lucas Dengler-Harles earning third in 4:30.65.
Olive Nazarene’s Jacob Anderson won the men’s 200-yard iM in 1:49.92 with SCAD’s Karl Hegwein finishing second in 4:50.72. Concord-Irvine’s Kevin Reichel took third in 1:50.74.
Saint Andrews’ David Lambert just missed the NAIA record in the men’s 50-yard free with a 19.81. That came up a bit shy of Logan Lassley’s 2014 record of 19.71.
Lassley wound up second tonight in 20.07 with teammates Daniel Robbins (20.21) and Jake Phillips (20.27) placing third and fourth.
Zak Rowton of Oklahoma Baptist won the one-meter diving title with 312.65 points. Teammate Mark Pontier took second with 215.60 points, while Biola’s Shane Brinson finished third with 215.40 points.
Olivet Nazarene’s Frank Tapia (1:41.34) Jacob Anderson (1:40.44), Joshua Lercel (1:39.39) and Simon Pheasant (1:38.56) took home the men’s 800-yard free relay in 6:39.73.
OBU (6:40.18) and SCAD (6:41.07) went 2-3 in the event.
Women’s Meet
OBU’s Tammy Price (25.99), Kerryn Mullin (28.85), Laura Galarza (24.39) and Emma Forbes-Milne (22.61) won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:41.84. That just missed the NAIA record of 1:41.40 set by Fresno Pacific back in 2012.
Brenau took a distant second in 1:44.72 with Olivet Nazarene finishing third in 1:45.55.
Brenau’s Courtney Hayward smoked the 500-yard freestyle finale with a time of 4:56.87, while Concordia-Irvine’s Baliee Blankemeier snared second in 4:59.65 as the only other sub-5:00 swim of the night. Cumberland’s Grace Van Ryckeghem rounded out the top three in 5:00.47.
Biola’s Christine Tixier, who had an outstanding meet last year, demolished one of the oldest NAIA records on the book with a 2:02.75 in the women’s 200-yard IM. That performance downed Lourette Hakansson’s 1993 record of 2:04.01 set for Drury.
Tixier’s sister Lisa placed second in 2:03.08, also under the previous record, while Cumberland’s Charlotte Parent wound up third with a 2:03.10 to also surpass the previous mark in what proved to be a fast heat.
OBU’s Laura Galarza won the women’s 50-yard free in 22.47, just off Cheyenne Coffman’s NAIA mark of 22.29 from 2012. Teammates Emma Forbes-Milne (22.87), Tammy Price (23.38) and Andrea Antonissen (23.50) delivered a 1-2-3-4 for Oklahoma Baptist.
Oklahoma Baptist’s Laura Galarza (1:53.64), Lexie Keller (1:53.16), Andrea Antonissen (1:54.81) and Ines Remersaro (1:54.72) won the women’s 800-yard free relay in 7:36.33
Biola (7:39.91) and Brenau (7:40.19) closed out the top three.
2015 NAIA Championships, Day One – Results
