Results
Nov. 12, 2011
Contact: Tim Ertle
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State dropped the first three events of the meet to St. Bonaventure, but the resilient Vikings rebounded to defeat the Bonnies and league foe Valparaiso.
CSU knocked off Valparaiso 200-37 and St. Bonaventure 144-99.
Right off the bat, St. Bonaventure's Mike Murphy edged Josh Gonzalez in the 3-meter diving event. Murphy earned a 318.97, just ahead of Gonzalez's 318.37. CSU senior Matt DiMasso was third with a 274.80.
The Bonnies won the first race of the meet- the 400 medley relay - to jump out to an early lead. The St. Bonaventure quartet touched in 3:30.02, ahead of CSU's Colin Hanner, Brian Ferro, Justin Kermack and Alex Lewis who came in at 3:31.82.
A Bonnie win in the 1,000 free made them three-for three. The Vikings, however, claimed the second and third place finishers to keep the meet tight. Elias Homerin won the race in 9:41.99, but Alex Cohara (9:48.86) and Graham Thoresen (9:55.61) were second and third, respectively.
The Vikings earned their first victory of the day when freshman Nathan Grant won a close race in the 200 free. He touched in 1:42.84, edging St. Bonaventure's Jimmy Martin who was clocked at 1:43.34. Grant's classmate Jon Querciagrossa came in third with a 1:45.51.
Cleveland State's best race in the early going was the 50 free when they earned a one-two-three finish. Justin Hill flew to a 20.81, while Alex Lewis (21.10) was just ahead of teammate Berry Thompson (21.22).
Justin Kermack then picked up a victory in the 200 IM, besting the rest of the field by a full three seconds. He stopped the clock at 1:55.32, while St. Bonaventure's Ripley Danner was next with a 1:58.50.
CSU went into the diving break with a narrow four point lead over St. Bonaventure, leading 58-54.
After that, the Vikings took over.
Kermack won the 200 fly (1:52.30) and teammates Brad Bielak (1:56.42) and Mason Allen (1:57.25) were third and fourth.
The Vikings had another one-two-three finish in the 100 free. Thompson won the event with a 45.05, and Grant (47.09) and Hill (47.34) took second and third, respectively.
Hanner, who missed time earlier this season, picked up a victory in the 200 back (1:57.46). Sophomore Ryan Blankenship was narrowly edged for second place, but his 1:57.81 - two tenths of a second behind the second place finisher - was good enough for third place.
Querciagrossa won the 500 free (4:40.49) and Thoreson (4:44.55) and Cohara (4:45.23) both finished in the top-four.
Murphy again got the better of Gonzalez - one of the finer divers in the Horizon League - in the 1-meter event. The St. Bonaventure junior scored a 294.15 while Gonzalez earned a 269.17.
Another win from a freshman, this time Grant in the 200 breast, widened the gap. Grant clocked in with a 2:07.51.
The Vikings closed the meet by taking the 400 free relay as Thompson, Hill, Cohara and Lewis covered the distance in 3:08.40. Thompson led the group with a 45.30 split.
Cleveland State will be in action next weekend, competing at the TYR Invitational hosted by Northwestern University. The three-day event begins on Friday (Nov. 18) and will conclude on Sunday (Nov. 20).
