By Kaylie Noll, Swimming World College Intern
Tonight marked the first of four finals sessions for the 2016 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis.
Starting the evening was the women’s 200 yard medley relay, where the University of Denver squad showed their dominance, winning by almost 3 seconds with a time of 1:39.25. The IUPUI team of Alexis Bullard (25.45), Tori Kroon (28.73), Maranda Buha (24.42), and Madison Taylor (23.51) moved up into second place from their third place seed, swimming a combined time of 1:42.11. The South Dakota State University women, including Sam Prasher (26.42), Kayce Smith (28.77), Kristin Erf (24.95), and Abby Zenner (23.14) moved up a place from their seed as well, finishing with a time of 1:43.28.
On the men’s side, Denver owned the race as well, with its team of Kyle Robrock (21.68), Tim Cottam (23.98), Patrick Guillory (21.82), and Ray Bornman (19.68) winning with a time of 1:27.16. However, the IUPUI relay was in the fight, with Aaron Brysch (22.66), Landan Mintch (24.45), Jonathan Stoller (22.05), and Lennart Kuester (19.66) closing the four second gap from the psych sheet to finish with a time of 1:28.82. Western Illinois’s Sam Almhiemid (23.82), Jd Furr (25.32), Chris Neaveill (20.78), and Tyler Neaveill (20.15) touched the wall third, with a time of 1:30.07, barely touching out South Dakota State’s 1:30.12.
The men’s 3 meter diving finals went next, having completed prelims earlier in the day. IUPUI’s Krisztian Somhegyi blew away the competition, scoring almost 70 points higher than the next diver in the evening and improving his entry score to 354.70. Placing second was South Dakota State’s Parker Brown, scoring 284.80 points in finals, and finishing third was IUPUI’s Mitch Mastey with a score of 279.85.
The 800 yard freestyle relays concluded the evening’s session, with Denver’s women once again crushing the race. Zoe Huddleston (1:46.31), Avery Niemann (1:49.90), Annelyse Tullier (1:48.86), and Grace Sommerville (1:48.17) swam a combined time of 7:13.24 to secure victory. Barely touching out the University of Nebraska Omaha, the South Dakota State women’s team of Julia Bodnaruk (1:54.41), Katya Vakshteyn (1:51.92), Richelle Bruyckere (1:53.70), and Hadlie Overhue (1:51.21) grabbed silver with a time of 7:31.24, while Omaha’s Cassie Jahn (1:54.29), Kylie Vermeire (1:54.13), Morgan Stepp (1:52.63), and Natalie Renshaw (1:50.30) placed third.
For the men, Denver’s Ray Bornman (1:35.69), Kyle Robrock (1:35.57), Luke Williams (1:35.69), and Dylan Bunch (1:36.63) swept the field, clocking in with a new league championship record and NCAA B-cut time of 6:23.58. Moving from a sixth place seed into second place was the South Dakota State team of Garth Wadsworth (1:41.04), Matthew Carpenter (1:41.28), Chris Rumrill (1:41.23), and Ben Bolinske (1:37.43) with a final time of 6:40.98, tenths ahead of third place IUPUI’s 6:41.29, made up of Benjamin Levart (1:40.11), Trenton Wolfe (1:39.44), Jayden Parrett (1:42.00), and Jared Allen (1:39.74).
Women’s Standings After Day One
1. University of Denver – 80
2. South Dakota State University – 66
3. IUPUI – 62
4. University of Nebraska Omaha – 60
4. University of South Dakota – 60
6. Eastern Illinois University – 52
7. Western Illinois University – 48
Men’s Standings After Day One
1. IUPUI – 134
2. South Dakota State University – 106
3. University of Denver – 88
4. University of South Dakota – 82
5. Western Illinois University – 73
6. Eastern Illinois University – 52
