Results
Nov. 18, 2011
Contact: Tim Ertle
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Day one of the TYR Invitational, hosted by Northwestern University, was highlighted by a standout diving performance from senior Josh Gonzalez and strong contributions from junior Berry Thompson and freshman Nathan Grant as the Vikings finished day one of three in third place in a talented five-team field.
With 225 points, the Vikings are behind only Missouri State (304) and Northwestern (261).
"We came here having kept to our training," head coach Wally Morton said. "We competed last weekend and had some travel to get here. All week we put our team through double workouts and we've been putting in a lot of hard work. When you take a step back and take everything into account, I'm really encouraged with our swims."
Josh Gonzalez won the 1-meter diving event with a 324.00, a new career-high on that board, improving his previous best of 303.65 set last January.
"This is one of the best invitational wins by a diver in many, many years," diving coach Rich Karban said. "He had an excellence performance and was consistent on all of his dives. What was really encouraging was his last dive which was spectacular and earned him the win. His hard work and preparation are definitely paying off."
Thompson picked up the other Viking won on day one, narrowly taking the 50 free. He turned in a 20.42, besting Missouri State's Vitalii Baryshok by .01. His time was the best recorded by a Viking all season.
Thompson's teammates Justin Hill (20.79) and Alex Lewis (21.24) were fifth and seventh, respectively, to demonstrate the Vikings prowess in the sprint events.
Hill, Thompson and Lewis then teamed with Grant, who swam third, to finish third in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:22.04 after Hill got things started with a 20.76 split.
The 400 medley relay team of Justin Kermack, Grant, Lewis and Thompson placed third with a 3:24.31.
In addition to his role on the relay teams, Grant also earned a pair of top-six finishes as an individual. He was third in the 50 breast (26.21) and sixth in the 200 IM (1:52.94), a time that was the quickest by any Viking all season.
"We swam our kids in a lot of races," Morton said. "I'm really happy with how we're coming along. I'm really encouraged by the likes of Jon Querciagrossa and Graham Thoresen, swimmers who don't always get a lot of recognition. They're really developing for us."
Day two will begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. EST at the Norris Aquatics Center. Real time results are available by visiting http://www.fitrec.northwestern.edu/classes/aquatics/meets/.
