CLEVELAND, Miss.- Ouachita Baptist made a charge in the standings on day two at the New South Intercollegiate Conference Championships (NSISC) in Cleveland, Miss. on Thursday.
Ouachita Baptist moved into second in the women’s standings, while the men moved up to fourth overall. Several relay victories and strong individual performances led the way for the Tigersharks, as teams move closer to the finale of the conference championships on Saturday.
Sophomore Marcus Schlesinger gave the Tigersharks their first victory of the day in the men’s division with a time of 20.45. In the 400 Medley Relay, Ouachita again was victorious with the team of sophomore Jake McLain, senior Razvan Goga, senior Daniel Karkoska and Schlesinger at 3:21.59, nearly two seconds ahead of second place.
In the men’s 200 Free Relay, Ouachita finished third with the team of sophomore Marcus Schlesinger, sophomore Tim Ferris, junior Kristian Krc and senior Daniel Karkoska at 1:23.02, behind Henderson State at 1:22.64. Krc returned to action in the 200 IM to finish third at 1:53.65, behind Zach Interrante at 1:51.88.
In the 200 IM, junior Ksenia Gromova easily took the overall title at 2:03.75, as the nearest competitor finished over three seconds behind at 2:07.43. Ouachita senior Katie Patterson also recorded a solid performance in fourth at 2:08.30.
The women’s 500 Free, saw Ouachita finish 3-4, as freshman Jennifer Steele finished in third at 5:04.65, while junior teammate Megan Young was right behind in fourth at 5:06.56. Both swimmers chased overall winner Casey Jepsen of Truman State at 4:59.57.
In the 50 Free, freshman Rebecca Zandstra finished fourth at 24.43, while junior teammate Ruth Megli was fifth at 24.74. Both were behind winner Tara Grieger of Henderson State at 23.46. In the 400 Medley Relay, the team of Patterson, sophomore Svitlana Smirnova, Gromova and Young finished third at 3:55.19, behind Henderson State at 3:50.83.
The overall team standings has the Tigersharks in second in the women’s standings with 264 points, behind overall leader Truman State with 299, while the men sit in fourth with 206 points, behind leader Missouri S&T with 331, Henderson State (225) and Drury (221).
