Wheaton posts best finish at a NEWMAC Swimming and Diving Championship, Roberts captures 50 free with NCAA qualifying mark

February 27, 2005

CAMBRIDGE, MA- The Wheaton College men's swimming and diving team posted its best finish ever at a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship for the second successive season, as the Lyons placed fourth among the seven competing teams at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Zesiger Pool this weekend.

Wheaton totaled 397 points and proved that records are meant to be broken, as the Lyons shattered 15 school marks during the three-day meet. Wheaton trailed meet champion Springfield College, the United States Coast Guard Academy and MIT. Under second-year head coach J.P. Gowdy, the Lyons have moved up two places in as many seasons over the seven-year history of the meet.

Sophomore captain Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) highlighted Friday's competition with a NCAA Division III national meet provisional qualifying standard in the 50-yard freestyle event, successfully defending his title with the nation's fourth-fastest time of 20.80. Earning NEWMAC All-Conference honors with the victory, Roberts not only broke a Wheaton record but also shattered the NEWMAC Championship mark, NEWMAC open record and Zesiger Pool top time. Roberts, who became Wheaton's first male swimmer to attend a NCAA Championship last season, should have little difficulty advancing to this year's meet held at Hope College in Holland, Michigan on March 17-19.

Roberts also anchored a pair of record-breaking relay races Friday, as the Lyons placed third in the 400-yard medley and fourth in the 200-yard freestyle. Smashing the Wheaton mark by nearly nine seconds in 3:31.27, the school's medley consisted of senior captain Chris Klinkow (Hollis, NH/Hollis-Brookline), sophomore Matt Hurley (Belfast, ME/Belfast Area) and freshman Matt Jordan (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth). The same four also sided for a 1:26.87 finish in the 200-yard freestyle. Hurley rounded out an impressive first day with a school-best and sixth-place mark of 1:59.02 in the 200-yard individual medley.

The Lyons continued their torrid stretch on Saturday, as five more school records were broken. Klinkow, Roberts, Hurley and Jordan once again set a new Wheaton best in the 200-yard medley relay with a third-place time of 1:36.30. Freshman Joe Fowler (Farmington, ME/Mount Blue) shed almost six seconds off the old 400-yard individual medley mark, while Roberts bested his old record in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:45.42. Hurley shattered a six-year record in the 100-yard breaststroke with a fourth-place time of 1:00.10, while Jordan set a new mark in the 100-yard backstroke with a national meet provisional qualifying time of 52.62 in the preliminaries.

Wheaton capped off its final day in strong fashion Sunday, as the Lyons saw an additional five school marks fall. Fowler and Jordan captured Wheaton's fastest times in the 1,650-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke events, respectively, while Roberts notched a national meet provisional qualifying mark in the 100-yard freestyle in 46.49. Breaking his own record, Roberts earned his second NEWMAC All-Conference recognition of the meet after finishing second in the event.

Rounding out the record holders included Hurley in the 200-yard breaststroke at 2:11.80, Klinkow in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:00.29 and the 400-yard freestyle relay comprised of Klinkow, Roberts, Hurley and Jordan in 3:12.67. On the platform, senior Aaron Fix (Minneapolis, MN/St. Paul Academy) advanced to the three-meter dive finals and took eighth overall with 311.55 points.

Following is a complete list of the top 16 individual and relay finishers for Wheaton over the three-day competition of the NEWMAC Championship:

Individual
Name Event Time/Score Place
Barrett Roberts 50 freestyle 20.80*^ 1st
Barrett Roberts 100 freestyle 46.49*^ 2nd
Matt Hurley 100 breaststroke 1:00.10* 4th
Matt Jordan 100 backstroke 52.91 5th
Matt Hurley 200 breaststroke 2:11.80* 5th
Matt Hurley 200 individual medley 1:59.02* 6th
Chris Klinkow 100 butterfly 53.55 7th
Chris Klinkow 200 butterfly 2:00.29* 7th
Joe Fowler 400 individual medley 4:22.59* 7th
Joe Fowler 1,650 freestyle 17:21.16* 7th
Aaron Fix 3m dive 311.55 points 8th
Matt Jordan 200 backstroke 2:00.47 8th
Matt Jordan 200 individual medley 2:00.63 8th
Brendon Pohner 1m dive 292.70 points 9th
Aaron Fix 1m dive 271.70 points 10th
Barrett Roberts 200 freestyle 1:45.42* 10th
Zach Hicks 1,650 freestyle 18:06.89 13th
Brendon Pohner 3m dive 259.30 points 14th
Matt Pescosolido 1m dive 224.50 points 16th
Chris Klinkow 50 freestyle 22.98 16th
Ryan Patch 100 freestyle 50.14 16th
Zach Hicks 400 individual medley 4:38.67 16th
Joe Fowler 500 freestyle 4:57.81 16th

Relay
Name Event Time Place
Jordan, Hurley, Klinkow, Roberts 200 medley relay 1:36.30* 3rd
Jordan, Hurley, Klinkow, Roberts 400 medley relay 3:31.27* 3rd
Jordan, Klinkow, Hurley, Roberts 200 freestyle relay 1:26.87* 4th
Jordan, Klinkow, Hurley, Roberts 400 freestyle relay 3:12.67* 4th
Patch, Tokcan, Hicks, Fowler 800 freestyle relay 7:44.22 5th
Patch, Fowler, Hicks, Tokcan 200 freestyle relay 1:33.43 11th
Patch, Hicks, Fowler, Tokcan 400 freestyle relay 3:29.13 11th
Fowler, Tokcan, Hicks, Patch 400 medley relay 3:54.16 11th

* Denotes school record
^ NCAA national meet B standard

Complete Results

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/21/07.
Questions about this page? Use our query form.

News Headlines

Wheaton teams each suffer pair of losses (more)

Lyon women cruise past Colorado College, men drop heartbreaker (more)

Wheaton teams to take part in cancer fundraiser (more)

Upcoming Schedule

4-5-Dec Fri-Sat MIT Invitational A 6:30pm
(Live Results)
TBD TBD Carthage (WI)% N TBD
8-Jan Fri MIT A 5:00pm (Live Results)