Explorer swim teams have good showing at A-10s

By Kevin Prendergast
Collegian Staff
February 28, 2007

Last week, the La Salle men’s swim team finished out the season at the Atlantic 10 Championships in Buffalo, N.Y. The men’s team grabbed a fourth-place finish, while the women snagged sixth in their competition. The meet, which was held from Wednesday through Saturday, saw Massachusetts capture the title for the sixth time in seven seasons.

The four-day competition included some memorable performances from the Explorers. One of the most impressive performances of the meet was turned in by senior diver Karo Isajan. His score of 617.65 in the three-meter event on the final day of competition not only earned him the gold medal for the event, but an Atlantic 10 Championships record as well. This finish followed up Isajan’s silver medal performance in the one-meter event earlier in the meet.

Another strong performer for the Explorers was senior swimmer Sean Connors-McBride. He started off his meet by finishing fifth in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:49.91. Connors-McBride was teamed up with junior John Welsh, senior Matt Ainsworth and freshman Owen Black for the event. Then he placed fourth in the 500-yard freestyle event with a time of 4:36.57. Connors-McBride followed up these impressive performances with an even better showing in the 200-yard freestyle event, which he completed in a time of 1:41.63, good enough for third place. Junior John Welsh finished right behind Connors-McBride in fourth with a time of 1:41.79. As if this was not enough, Connors-McBride closed out his collegiate career with a victory in the 200-yard butterfly event with a time of 1:50.67.

Some other top performers for the Explorers were the 200-yard freestyle team of Welsh, Kevin Whelan, Chris Cefalo and Owen Black, who placed third with a time of 1:23.99. Also, junior Grant Chin claimed fifth place in the 400-yard individual medley by putting up a time of 4:06.67. Freshman John Nemeth finished fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.00 flat and fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:07.29. Welsh also finished fourth in the 100-yard freestyle event.

The women’s team also fared quite well at the meet. The eventual champion on the women’s side was Richmond, which captured its sixth straight Atlantic 10 title.

On the very first day of competition, the Explorers looked to impress. Junior diver Katie Gifford set an Atlantic 10 Championships record in the one-meter event by posting a score of 493.65 to win the gold.

Freshman Shannon Duval got her hands on a number of school records during the championship meet. First, during the 800-yard freestyle relay event, she set a new school record for the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:52.50. She would then earn a piece of the school record in the 200-yard medley relay alongside teammates Mallory Kessler, Jessica Nissen and Carleen Caldwell. The team completed the race with a time of 1:49.36. Duval’s third record would come in the 200-yard individual medley, where she put up a time of 2:05.28, which was good enough for third place.

There were numerous other top performances for the women’s team throughout the meet. Sophomore Carleen Caldwell finished fifth in the 50-yard freestyle race, where she earned a school record for her time of 24.34. Duval also earned a fourth place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.78 and second place in the 200-yard breaststroke event after posting a time of 2:17.40. Finally, in the 1,650-yard freestyle event, three Explorers placed in the top ten: freshman Dana Reis placed third (17:32.31), senior Jamie Polek placed fifth (17:39.05) and freshman Megan Reis placed seventh (17:48.18).

prendergastk1@lasalle.edu