Sheamus Dalton
Sports Editor
Over the weekend, the Wooster swimming and diving teams finished their seasons strong at the NCAC championships in Granville, Ohio. The Scots set three new school records and qualified for two NCAA “B” cuts, one of the requirements needed to qualify for the NCAA championships. In the end, the men finished in eighth place while the women placed fourth.
Leading the way on the men’s side was Evan Hagedorn ’15. In the 400 freestyle relay, Hagedorn was joined by Frayne Poeting ’16, Brian Maddock ’15 and Jacob Earle ’17 to set the new school record. The team first broke the record early Saturday morning during the prelims with a time of 3:20.51, trumping the old record of 3:26.29 and reaching an NCAA “B” cut time. They would again trim the time down to 3:15.40 later in the day for an eighth place finish.
Individually, Hagedorn broke a seven year school record in the 200 meter breaststroke. Hagedorn set the new record in the prelims after touching the wall in 2:10.15, a full second-and-a-half faster than the previous record of 2:11.66. While his pace was short of earning him a spot in the finals, Hagedorn swam a 2:10.17 in the consolation heat for a 15th place finish.
Courtney McGovern ’17 led the women and set a school record in her first NCAC championship appearance. During qualification for the 200 meter backstroke, McGovern touched the wall in 2:04.26, setting the new record and reaching a NCAA “B” cut time. In the finals, McGovern improved, finishing two seconds quicker with a time of 2:02.49. With this pace, McGovern finished second, just .25 seconds behind the winner.
The women also had a strong showing in the 400 freestyle relay event. Alex Desotelle ’16, Mariah McGovern ’14, Caitlin Shea ’15 and Kaitlyn Fries ’15 combined for a time of 3:32.51 and a fourth place finish.
The Scots look forward to their final competition this weekend in Gambier, Ohio at the Kenyon College Last Chance Meet. This will be their final meet before the NCAA Championships in March.