MORGANTOWN -
The West Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams completed the
second day of the West Virginia State Games on Saturday at the WVU Natatorium. After
a series of great swims by the Mountaineers, both the men's and women's teams finished
in first place.
"I'm
really proud of the team and how they raced," says coach Vic Riggs. "A
three-day championship format slammed into two days was tiresome, but they did
very well. They were very good hosts this weekend."
The
first session began at 9 a.m., but the early morning did not stop the men's and
women's 200 yard medley relay from taking first. Tiera Butkus, Melissa
Schreiber, Nikki Vetterlein and Rachael Burnett were able to take the victory
for the women (1:51.43), while Bryce Bohman, Martin Vanis, Kyle Bandy and Jake
Kudrna finished in 1:36.45 for the victory.
The
men's team continued its first-place streak with Jake Querciagrossa taking
first in the 400 IM (4:13.01), followed by Taylor Camp in the 100 fly (49.83).
Newcomers Daeton Davenport and Bohman continued to stand out with Davenport
taking first in the 200 free (1:45.21) and Bohman first in the 100 back (50.48).
Burnett
began her day with a first-place finish in the 400 IM (4:14.41). Mandie Nugent
added another first to the women's team in the 100 fly (56.54), and Julie Ogden
took second (57.99) in the event. The women dominated the 100 back taking first
through seventh. Danielle Smith took first (57.45), Rachael Gorrie second
(59.20), Vetterlein third (1:00.07), Butkus fourth (1:01.14), Austen Carrington
fifth (1:02.59), Danielle Redman sixth and Mandi Kennedy seventh (1:03.20).
The
diving team took first in both the men's and women's 1-meter. Haily Vande Poel
took first with a score of 260.78 points and Richard Pokorny finished first
with a 312.75 points.
The
final session of the games got off to an exciting start for the women's team as
Burnett set a new pool record in the 1000 free with a time of 9:57.57. Burnett
also took first in the 100 free (53.12). Smith took first in the 200 back
(2:04.45) followed by Butkus in second (2:06.49) and Carrington in third (2:09.89).
Davenport
opened up for the men's team with a first-place finish in the 1000 free
(9:44.56). Bohman took first in the 200 back (1:54.10) followed by Eric Johnson
in second (1:54.30). David Palley and Querciagrossa tied for third with a time
of 1:57.57. Tim Squires swam to a first-place finish in the 100 free (46:46),
and Jack Greenhalgh took first in the 200 breast (2:15.43).Camp wrapped up the
individual events placing first in the 200 fly (1:54.35).
The
meet concluded with the 400 free relay. The women's team of Burnett,
Vetterlein, Carrington and Kennedy took first with a time of 3:41.23. The men's
team of Squires, Joe Bailey, Miles Molinaro and Davenport finished first in
3:13.78.
"It
was our pleasure to host this event for all the schools," says Riggs. "I think
it was really good for all the state teams to compete in a competition like
this. We look forward to Marshall hosting the event next year."
The
Mountaineers will be back inaction against Penn State at the McCoy Natatorium.
The meet is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 22, at noon.
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