Burk Paces BW Men Swimmers at Sarasota (Fla.) Open Water Invitational

Jacob Burk

Posted: Jan 09, 2015

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Baldwin Wallace University men's swimming and diving teams competed in the non-scoring Sarasota (Fla.) Open Water Invitational as a part of its annual Winter Break Training Week.

The Yellow Jackets competed in a one–mile race in the Sarasota Bay against NCAA Division III perennial power Kenyon College and the United States Coast Guard Academy (Conn.).

BW was led by sophomore All-Ohio Athletic Conference distance freestyle specialist Jacob Burk (Bowling Green) as he finished in 23:25.

"Congratulations to Jacob, our first male finisher from Baldwin Wallace," said Head Coach Laura Wolff. Although we finished towards the bottom of the pack behind more experienced open water swimmers, I was very proud of our team for their effort, especially those who raced in open water for the first time.

"This 1-mile swim tested our endurance and mental strength to push through the waves and sore muscles," continued Wolff. "I thought this was a great opportunity to race in a different environment than we are used to, and I look forward to seeing where the team is at during the new year!"

In addition to Burk, senior Bryan Gerber (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia) finished in 24:58, sophomore Justin Allison (Napoleon) had a time of 26:30, freshman Tyler Thompson (Broadview Hts./Brecksville-Broadview Heights) finished in 26:40, junior Academic All-OAC swimmer Nathan Onchuck (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) had a time of 27:43, junior Henry Hammond (Cleveland Heights) finished in 30:30, sophomore Basem Magd (Fort Washington, Md. /Grace Christian Academy) had a time of 30:40 and freshman Da'Qeacyce Swain (Dayton /David H. Ponitz) finished in 33:05.

The Yellow Jackets return to action on Friday, January 16 when they travel to Tiffin for a non-conference dual meet against NCAA Division II Tiffin University in the Tiffin Natatorium at 6 p.m. BW returns to OAC action on Saturday, January 17 when it travels to Ada for a dual meet against Ohio Northern University in the ONU Sports Center at 1 p.m.

The next meet is on Saturday, January 24 when the team hosts cross-town rival John Carroll University for an OAC dual meet in the BW Natatorium at 1 p.m.