Listen to OBU student, Nick Bass discuss the Tiger Sharks
After four days of grueling competition, the Tigersharks and Lady Tigersharks each finished 3rd overall at the NSISC Championships. They competed against Delta State, Truman State, Missouri S&T (men only), Drury, Henderson State, and Centenary College.
Highlights of the meet in the women’s division include senior Ksenia Gromova claiming victories in the 200 IM (2:03.90 NCAA B cut), 100 Butterfly (55.07 NCAA A cut and Conference Record), and 200 Butterfly (2:04.49 NCAA B cut); sophomore Jennifer Steele placing first in the 500 Freestyle (NCAA B cut and Conference Record), third in the 200 Freestyle (1:53.30 NCAA B cut), and second in the 1650 Freestyle (17:27.32 NCAA B cut); sophomore Rebecca Zandstra finishing fourth in both the 50 freestyle (24.41 NCAA B cut) and 100 freestyle (52.78 NCAA B cut); and senior Megan Young placing fifth in the 200 Freestyle (1:55.61 NCAA B cut). The women’s 200 Medley Relay of Gromova, Svitlana Smirnova, Holly Wray, and Zandstra placed third with a time of 1:46.52 (NCAA B cut). The women’s 400 Freestyle Relay of Zandstra, Young, Ruth Megli, and Gromova, also placed third with a time of 3:32.84. Finally the women’s 800 Freestyle Relay of Steele, Young, Haley Fox, and Gromova won in a time of 7:41.04 (NCAA B cut), with Gromova chasing down Truman State on the final leg. Senior Kelli Caldwell won the 3 meter diving event with 328.25 points.
On the men’s side, junior Marcus Schlesinger won first place in the 100 Freestyle (44.47 NCAA A cut) and 100 Backstroke (49.86 NCAA B cut), and placed second in the 50 Freestyle (20.40 NCAA B cut). Senior Matt Pope claimed victory in the 100 Breaststroke (56.99 NCAA B cut) and finished second in the 200 Breaststroke (2:04.71 NCAA B cut). Freshman Adam Zajac placed third in the 100 Butterfly (49.23 NCAA B cut) and fifth in the 50 Freestyle (21.01 NCAA B cut). The men’s medley relays were dominant throughout the meet. The 200 Medley Relay of Schlesinger, Pope, Zajac, and Kristian Krc won first place with a time of 1:30.62 (NCAA B cut and Conference record). The 400 Medley Relay of Jake McLain, Pope, Zajac and Schlesinger also won first place with a time of 3:19.39 (NCAA B cut and Conference Record). The men’s 400 freestyle relay of Austin Teague, Zajac, McLain, and Schlesinger finished in second place (3:01.17 NCAA B cut), just narrowly being out-touched by Centenary. Other notable performances came from senior Kristian Krc in the 200 IM (6thplace 1:54.04 NCAA B cut), freshman Chris Price in the 200 IM (7th place 1:55.69 B cut), and sophomore Jason Pullano in the 100 and 200 breaststroke (4th place 58.18 NCAA B cut and 6th place 2:08.82 NCAA B cut). In the 200 butterfly, Carl Johnson, Carl Thomas, and Austin Lindsey finished 4th (1:53.02), 5th (1:54.76), and 6th (1:54.79), respectively, all with NCAA B cuts.
Next week, national qualifiers Gromova, Steele, Schlesinger, Pope, Zajac, and Krc will travel to Mansfield, Texas for the NCAA Division II Swimming Championships.
Photo by Jason Pullano
