Wheaton's Roberts looks to duplicate All-America finish at NCAA Swimming Championship

March 3, 2006

NORTON, MA- Wheaton College junior standout Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) has qualified for his third straight NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championship. A 2005 All-American, Roberts is the only athlete in the program's 15-year history to compete in a national meet or earn the top national honor. Roberts will participate in three events at the University of Minnesota's Aquatic Center in Minneapolis on Thursday, March 16 through Saturday, March 18.

Entering the NCAA Championship, Roberts recorded the seventh-best 100-yard freestyle time in the nation this winter and is tied for seventh in the 50-yard free, and he is among the top 50 in the 200-yard free and is expected to compete. The 50-yard free event will occur on March 16, the 200-yard free the next day, and the 100-yard free during the final day of the meet on March 18. Last season, Roberts garnered 14.5 points by tying for fifth in the 50-yard free in 20.98 and placing 16th in the 100-yard free with a time of 46.25. He placed 36th in the 200-yard free.

Last weekend, Roberts notched each of his seventh-place times during the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship, where he earned three all-conference first team citations. Roberts swam the 100-yard free in 45.52, just 0.78 seconds off the best qualifying time for the NCAA meet, and finished the 50-yard free in 20.73, only 0.52 ticks behind the top national championship swimmer. During the meet, Roberts led the Lyons to their second consecutive fourth-place team finish and played a hand in six school records, four NCAA national meet qualifying times and a pair of NEWMAC Championship marks.

In the 100-yard freestyle, Roberts first broke the meet record, his own school record and automatically qualified for the national meet during the trials before picking up a finals victory. Roberts' automatic qualifying time was the first in program history for a Wheaton swimmer. Roberts also twice eclipsed his own 50-yard free mark while provisionally qualifying for the national meet and breaking his own NEWMAC Championship record.

Roberts swam on four record-breaking relay teams, including the winning 200-yard medley relay quartet and the 200-yard free relay foursome, each of which provisionally qualified for the NCAAs. He also guided the 400-yard free and 400-yard medley teams to program standards. Roberts completed the opening leg of the 200-yard free relay while serving as the anchor for the remaining three teams.

Following is a complete list of Roberts' top individual and relay finishes at the NEWMAC meet:

Name	Event	Time	Place
Barrett Roberts	50 freestyle	20.73*^	1st
Barrett Roberts	100 freestyle	45.87^	2nd
Barrett Roberts	100 backstroke	55.03	6th
Jordan, Hurley, Romilly, Roberts	200 medley relay	1:34.74*^	1st
Roberts, Jordan, Sponzo, Romilly	200 freestyle relay	1:24.75*^	4th
Jordan, Sponzo, Romilly, Roberts	400 freestyle relay	3:10.28*	4th
Jordan, Hurley, Romilly, Roberts	400 medley relay	3:31.07*	4th

* Denotes school record
^ NCAA national meet B standard

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