Results
Nov. 20, 2011
Contact: Tim Ertle
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EVANSTON, Ill. - A school record set by Justin Kermack and a win from Berry Thompson highlighted day three of the TYR Invitational, hosted by Northwestern. With standout showings from that duo and strong performances from Nathan Grant and the rest of the Cleveland State men's swimming and diving team, the Vikings placed third in a deep five-team field.
Missouri State (1,006) and Northwestern (981) finished ahead of CSU, who finished the three-day event with 607 points. Kenyon (502) and league foe UIC (329) rounded out the field.
"Our purpose to concentrate on our primary events and at times of the expense of the team score," head coach Wally Morton said. "There were so many positives to take out of this weekend.
"I'm really happy with the dynamic of our team," Morton added. "I'm pleased with the effort. We raced more than any other team and put our student-athletes through a lot. The team is exhausted, but they held up really well physically and psychologically after a tough weekend. I'm happy and proud of where we are at for this point in the season and am excited about what is still to come."
In his lone individual race of the day, Berry Thompson won the 100 free with a 44.29, a time that qualified him as a B-cut for the NCAA Championships. Last year, Thompson swam a school record 44.07 in that event.
The win was Thompson's second of the Invitational to go along with a third in the 100 fly.
Justin Kermack was the third quickest in the 200 fly (1:48.26), narrowly missing the B-cut time of 1:48.09. His time, however, was a new school record. Kermack previously held the best time with the 1:48.40 he achieved last season.
Freshman Nathan Grant continued the strong start to his rookie campaign with a fourth place finish in the 200 breast (2:03.12), the fourth best time in program history.
Brian Ferro won the consolation final in the 200 breast with a 2:05.73.
The Vikings had four of the top-10 finishers in the 1,650 free.
Graham Thoresen (16:21.62), Jon Querciagrossa (16:24.50), Pieter Ritz (16:39.66) and Alex Cohara (16:45.33) all cracked the top-10.
Alex Lewis followed with a fifth place finish in the 50 fly (22.64) and Justin Hill was seventh in the 50 back (24.80).
The 400 free relay team (3:02.87) featuring Grant, Thompson, Hill and Lewis concluded the Invitational by taking fourth.
The Vikings will return to action a week from Tuesday when they host the Cleveland Dual Invitational on Nov. 29. Canisius, John Carroll and Notre Dame (OH) will visit the Robert F. Busbey Natatorium with diving events beginning at 3:00 p.m. and swimming events getting started at 5:00 p.m.
