California Baptist University
Western Athletic Conference Championships
Lancers Finish Runner-Up at First WAC Meet
3/2/2019 7:49:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Swimming and Diving
COMPLETE RESULTS
HOUSTON – Individual victories from Jerome Heidrich and Scott Tolman and win in the 400-yard freestyle relay to end the week led California Baptist University to a runner-up finish at its first-ever Western Athletic Conference Championships.
CBU took second place in its the conference meet with 618.5 points, while Grand Canyon won with 688.5. Wyoming finished second (604) and Air Force took fourth (593) in the CRWC Natatorium on Saturday. The Lancers will now turn their attention to the 2019 Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America's National Invitational Championships, which will take place March 14-16 in Cleveland.
"We were very competitive this week," Coach Rick Rowland said. "It's a bit tougher to score your third or fourth swimmer and diver at this level, although we did that in some events. We felt like it was a very competitive meet that brought out the best of our team. You really had to perform in prelims to set yourself up for finals at night. A lot was learned with some of our newer swimmers, and it will help set them up for next year. In the WAC, it's important to train year round so you can set yourself up for the conference meet."
Heidrich and Tolman both set new CBU records while winning the 200-yard breaststroke and 100 freestyle. The Lancers ended the week in style by winning the 400-free relay in CBU time.
Jacob Leahy, Josh Walters, Robert Moseley and Heidrich placed second in the relay in two minutes, 54.93 seconds, which was almost a two-second cushion over the runners-up from Air Force (2:56.82), and nearly three seconds better than the previous CBU record of 2:57.71.
CB-WHAT CB-WHAT? CBU CBU❗️
— CBU Swim/Dive (@CBUswim) March 3, 2019
What a great way to end the week, as the Lancer men win the 400-yard freestyle relay by almost two seconds, with a CBU record time of 2:54.93, updating the previous record of 2:57.71. Air Force takes second in 2:56.82.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/dEIkZL41bp
Tolman not only took down the school but the conference record by almost two seconds when he won the 200 breaststroke in one minute, 54.28 seconds. It snapped the four-year old record set by CBU's Nikolay Klepikov at the 2015 NCAA Division II Championships (1:56.34) and undid the WAC record of 1:56.15.
Scott Tolman sweeps both breaststroke events at the @WACsports Championships, securing the 200-yard breast title in 1:54.28, which is a new CBU record❗️ Sean Foster takes seventh for the Lancers in 1:59.84. #LanceUp pic.twitter.com/XTkHgleIFe
— CBU Swim/Dive (@CBUswim) March 3, 2019
Heidrich headlined the Lancers' biggest swim of the day, as they had three top-five swimmers in the 100 free. The senior won the event in 42.91 seconds, with Leahy finishing second in 43.56 and Walters taking fifth in 44.07. All three times were under the previous Lancer record of 44.09 set by Leahy earlier this season.
"When I started this program, I don't know if I would have ever thought I'd have a swimmer that would go 42 in the 100 free," Rowland said.
📢 CBU goes 1-2, 5 in the 100-yard freestyle! 📢
— CBU Swim/Dive (@CBUswim) March 3, 2019
Jerome Heidrich wins his third @WACsports title, and breaks the CBU record by more than a second (42.91). Jacob Leahy breaks the previous Lancer record (44.09), too, to take second (43.56). Josh Walters takes fifth (44.07). pic.twitter.com/oUvGtccGHt
Those were just three of nine top-eight finishes from the Lancers. Moseley added a runner-up swim for CBU, with a time of 1:45.33 in the 200 backstroke.
True freshman Robert Moseley gets off to a great start in lane five to set himself up for a second-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:45.33.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/O13zAHCOVI
— CBU Swim/Dive (@CBUswim) March 3, 2019
Garret Chew ended his collegiate career with a fifth-place finish on the platform, with 271.95 points.
"Garret has been incredibly consistent on platform, and I knew he would be at the top of the leaderboard," Dive Coach Jeff Couto said. "He finished his diving career with a solid finish on platform. He will be the benchmark for the platform event until the next young Lancer can break his record."
Big-time dive for Garret Chew in his final collegiate event, the platform at the @WACsports Championships❗️ The senior nails a 54.40 dive from the 10 meter.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/RzSIldTmuZ
— CBU Swim/Dive (@CBUswim) March 3, 2019
Sean Foster took seventh in the 200 breast (1:59.84) with Tolman, while Justin Quiroga (1:48.48) and Quinn Birtles (1:49.49) finished back-to-back in seventh and eighth in the 200 butterfly.
Two other swimmers finished in the top-12 of the 200 fly for CBU, as David Miller (1:48.96) and Adityastha Wratsangka (1:49.57) took 11th and 12th, respectively. Three Lancers: Birtles (10th, 15:49.40); Tanner Shore (13th, 15:56.04) and Miller (15th, 16:08.49) had top-15 finishes in the 1650 free.
Matthew Niculae and Brandon Schuster also took 11th and 13th in the 200 back (1:48.44) and 200 breast (2:02.80), respectively. Zane Freeman and Tyler Stevens took 10th and 15th on the platform.
"The Lancers had a great night," Couto said. "Both Zane and Tyler hit a personal record in prelims and just missed out on top eight."
Players Mentioned
