LANCASTER, Pa. – On the heels of breaking four school records, the Ursinus College men's swimming team made it four more – and matched another – on the second day of the Centennial Conference championship, helping the Bears move up two spots to third place overall heading into Sunday's finale.
Three new records were established in the morning prelims, and all three were bettered in the evening session, when the Bears also wrapped up by crushing the previous 800 free relay standard.
Senior William Benn made history in the 100 back, bettering his own school record in the prelims and improving upon it even more in the finals to become the first Ursinus men's swimmer to win gold in the event. Benn's clocking of 50.69 was .13 ticks ahead of defending champion Jeffery Tse of Swarthmore, and made him the first Bear to win a conference championship since Chris Smith in 2012.
Sophomore James Callaghan, meanwhile, shattered the program record in the 400 IM with an NCAA B cut 4:04.57 that garnered him the silver medal. Callaghan, who registered a 4:04.89 to win the preliminary heat, eclipsed the previous school benchmark by 3.81 seconds.
Freshman Jake Menzer broke Ben Jumper's Ursinus record with a 1:42.08 in the 200 free prelims and followed with a 1:41.70 in the finals to claim silver. Fellow rookie Casey Lear turned in a 1:42.61 in the prelims, well ahead of the old school record, and finished fifth in 1:43.36 in the final. Senior Marcus Wagner (9th), senior Dylan Cooper (11th), sophomore Daniel Becker (13th), and junior Christopher Barthold (14th) all earned points for the Bears in the B final; Wagner won the B final with a personal-best 1:44.35.
The 200 medley relay group of Benn, sophomore Maxwell Coulter, junior Colin McNamara, and sophomore Travis Venables placed fifth in 1:35.04, matching the program record set in 2013.
In the 100 breast, Coulter finished ninth in 59.58 seconds; his time of 59.16 in prelims was just shy of the school record (59.05) set in 2012. Senior Spencer Collopy (59.83) placed 12th and sophomore Reid Luksic (1:00.13) was 14th.
McNamara placed seventh in the 100 fly (52.45), with Venables (53.33) landing in 13th.
In the final event of the night, Menzer, Wagner, Cooper, and Lear destroyed the previous Ursinus record in the 800 free relay, grabbing a silver medal with a 6:52.46; it was more than 7.50 seconds faster than the old mark set in 2014, of which Wagner was a part.
Importantly, Barthold, sophomore Johnny Myers, freshman Jared Krawetz, and Becker were runners-up in the B final, giving the Bears enough points to edge past Franklin & Marshall and into third place.
Having broken eight of a possible 19 program records in the first two days of the championship meet, the Bears look to continue re-writing the record books when the third and final day gets going Sunday at 10 a.m.
