AKRON — The Wilmington College swim teams competed in the opening day of the 2016 Ohio Athletic Conference swimming championships in the Ocasek Natatorium on the campus of Akron University.
The men’s team is currently third of seven teams with 154 points. Ohio Northern leads after day one with 223 points, followed by Mount Union (181), Wilmington, John Carroll (148), Baldwin Wallace (80), Manchester (50) and Transylvania (32).
The women’s team stands in sixth of seven teams with 68 points. Ohio Northern is the day one leader with 188 points, followed by John Carroll (186), Mount Union (185), Transylvania (115), Baldwin Wallace (103), Wilmington and Manchester (48).
Senior David Hawk (Edison, OH/Mount Gilead) repeated as the OAC champion in the 50 freestyle (20.65). He set an OAC record and achieved a NCAA ‘B’ time in the morning preliminaries (20.58).
Hawk teamed with sophomore Carter Semenchuk (Rockford, IL/Hononegah), sophomore Jason Prible (Bluffton, IN/Bluffton) and freshman Andrew Stewart (Wilmington, OH/Clinton Massie) to place third in the 200 freestyle relay (1:25.86).
Junior David Spraul (Cincinnati, OH/Princeton) placed third in the 500 (4:47.44). Sophomore Cody Nash (Fresno, CA/Kingsbury), senior Curtis Richards (Defiance, OH/Ayersville) and freshman Matt Kitze (Kettering, OH/Fairmont) scored points for Wilmington in the B Final.
David Spraul, Nash, Hawk and junior Erik Spraul (Cincinnati, OH/Princeton) placed third in the 400 medley relay (3:59.72).
Junior Brendan Tirado (Dayton, OH/Oakwood) and Erik Spraul scored in the B Final of the 200 individual medley.
Sophomore Samantha Glish (Louisville, KY/Ballard) was the highest placing female, placing fourth in the 50 freestyle (24.78).
Senior Rachel Routzong (Urbana, OH/Urbana), junior Kathryn Spitnogle (Waynesville, OH/Waynesville), senior Colleen Rueppel (Middlebury, VT/Manheim (PA)), and Glish was sixth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:49.59).
Spitnogle, Glish, senior Rachel Drake (Fairfield, OH/Fairfield) and junior Elyse Spraul (Cincinnati, OH/Mount Notre Dame) finished sixth in the 400 medley relay (4:42.96).
The following events – 200 medley relay, 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and the 100 backstroke – will be contested in the second day of the OAC Championships. The preliminaries begin at 10 a.m. with the finals starting at 6 p.m.
