LANCASTER, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's swimming team was voted fourth in the Centennial Conference preseason poll.
Gettysburg earned four first-place votes and 34 total points to nip Swarthmore (3 first-place votes, 33 points) for pole position in a survey of the league's coaches. Franklin & Marshall (24) was third, followed by the Bears (21), Washington College (17), Dickinson (12), and McDaniel (6).
Ursinus will be led in 2018-19 by a trio of returning All-CC performers in senior James Callaghan, junior Jacob Menzer, and sophomore Mikey Prior.
Menzer has experienced a great deal of success in his time with the program, becoming the first men's swimmer in college history to receive CSCAA Scholar All-American recognition in multiple seasons. Menzer scripted a strong sophomore campaign with three medals at the Centennial Conference championship. He repeated as runner-up in the 500-yard freestyle, breaking his own school record with an NCAA B-cut mark of 4:33.69. Menzer also won bronze medals in the 1650 free and as a member of the 800 free relay grouping; he placed fourth in the 200 free.
Callaghan collected his second consecutive silver medal in the 400 IM, where his time of 4:08.58 was nearly four seconds faster than the third-place finisher. He placed fifth in the 200 fly (1:55.58) and just missed qualifying for the B final in the 200 IM.
Prior turned in an outstanding rookie campaign, which culminated in a silver medal in the 200 back. His time of 1:51.47 was just .37 seconds behind Washington College's Andrew Feeley. Prior also finished fifth in the 100 back (52.51) and qualified for the B final in the 200 IM.
A deep lineup that features nine seniors will be bolstered by seniors Travis Venables (fourth in 200 free relay, fifth in 400 free relay); Daniel Becker (third in 800 free relay, 13th in 200 free); Maxwell Coulter (fourth in 200 medley relay, fifth in 400 medley relay, ninth in 200 breast, 11th in 100 breast); Kevin Gill (8th in 1650 free, 13th in 400 IM, 17th in 500 free); Reid Luksic (14th in 100 breast, 15th in 200 breast); Johnathan Myers (sixth in 200 fly, 15th in 500 free); and Devin Nielsen (14th in 200 back, 16th in 100 breast).
Juniors Jared Krawetz (third in 800 free relay, fourth in 200 free relay, fifth in 400 free relay, 12th in 200 free); Casey Lear (fourth in 200 free relay, fourth in 100 free, fifth in 400 medley relay, fifth in 200 free, 12th in 50 free); Daniel Powell (sixth in 1650 free); and Thomas Rogers (18th in 200 fly) bring even more depth and experience to the squad.
Ursinus gets underway next Friday, October 26, with a non-conference dual meet at Cabrini.