AKRON, Ohio – Senior All-American Tyler Thompson (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) won his third consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference 100-yard breaststroke to lead the Baldwin Wallace University men's swimming and diving team on the second day competition of the OAC Championships hosted by the Ohio Northern University in the Ocasek Natatorium on the campus of the University of Akron.
BW, who set two school records and had two All-OAC performers, stands fourth of five teams with 226 points. John Carroll University leads after the second day with 560.5 points.
The top three individuals and the top two relay teams earn All-OAC honors.
The Yellow Jackets were led by Thompson as he won his third consecutive OAC title in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 55.08 seconds. Thompson, who becomes just the third OAC male swimmer to win three straight 100-breaststroke titles, swam a season-best time of 55.00 seconds in the prelims.
In addition, sophomore diver Evan Rinaldi (Cleveland/Cleveland Heights) earned his first All-OAC accolade as he took third in the 1-meter 11-dive event with career-best 294.50 points. Sophomore All-OAC stroker Greg Shaw (Colorado Springs, Colo./Manitou Springs) placed fourth in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 50.69 seconds. Shaw set the school-record in the 100-yard butterfly during the prelims with a time of 50.51, which bested his own record that he sent at last year's championships. Freshman freestyler Matthew Butt (Westfield Center/Cloverleaf) took seventh in the 200-yard freestyle in a career-best time of 1:48.78. Freshman stroker Michael Morsch (Phoenix, Ariz./Notre Dame Preparatory) was eighth in the 100-yard backstroke in a career-best time of 53.84.
In relay action, the 200-yard medley relay quad of Morsch, Thompson, Shaw and senior freestyler John Beyer (Columbus/Centennial) placed fourth in a school-record time of 1:34.61. The 800-yard free relay team of sophomore freestyler Austin Lockhart (Olmsted Falls), Morsch, junior freestyler Tyler Allison (Napoleon) and Butt finished fourth in a season-best time of 7:24.66.
BW is back in action on Saturday, February 18 for the third and final day of competition of the OAC Championships. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. and the finals will be contested at 6 p.m.
