Feb. 20, 2008
Results | 2008 Championship Page
Contact: Gene Natale, Jr.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State won three of four events on day one of the Horizon League Championships on Wednesday at Busbey Natatorium. Through four events, the Vikings stand in third place overall.
UW-Milwaukee leads all teams after day one with 145 points, followed by Wright State (143 points), and Cleveland State (121 points).
The 200 freestyle relay team of Jakub Dobies, Stephen Grove, Deni Gasparin, and Mike Marsico began the day with a very exciting win as the crowd chanted and cheered. Their time of 1:21.35 was only a half-second faster than Wright State's second place team, who finished in 1:21.71. CSU's performance also set a new school record.
"We had a great start to the meet in the 200 free relay," head coach Wally Morton said, "We set the school record by four consistent performances in that event."
Senior Dan Baiko was the next Viking to record a victory on Wednesday, as he won his first league championship in the three-meter dive (325.95). In scoring the win he beat out Wright State's PJ Rogitch (321.70) by a mere four points.
"What's great about Danny's day is that he got behind, but he just got better under pressure," Morton said, "He is one of the better competitors that we have ever had at Cleveland State, and he showed it today."
The Vikings also won the 200 medley relay, setting school, Horizon League, and championship meet records in the process. The team of Todd Winchell, Dobies, Johan Norling, and Grove finished first with a time of 1:29.80. Wright State also finished second in that event (1:31.16).
What can you say, a great swim, and not only did we win but we dominated," Morton said, "I give a lot of credit to their competitive nature, and my sprint coach Gus Barrios."
Also placing high for the Vikings was Dave Duecker, who finished second in the 1,000 freestyle (9.27.38). He swam a personal best in the event and was neck-and-neck with third-place finisher Robby Leibold (9:29.29) of UW-Milwaukee for much of the race. Wright State's Nathan Demchuk was the overall winner.
"It was a great swim by Dave Duecker to improve on his best time by 20 seconds," Morton said.
Action resumes Thursday (Feb. 21) morning, with swimming prelims at 10:30 a.m., diving prelims at 2:00 p.m. and finals at 6:00 p.m. at Busbey Natatorium. The final rounds will be broadcast on the Horizon League Network (available at CSUVikings.com) with full commentary.
Men's Team Scores through Day 1
1. Wisconsin-Milwaukee - 145
2. Wright State - 143
3. Cleveland State - 121
4. UIC - 111
5. Green Bay - 106
6. Valparaiso - 58
