AKRON, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's swimming and diving team set one school-record and stands tied for fourth place after the second day of competition at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Wilmington College in the Ocasek Natatorium on the campus of the University of Akron.
BW is tied with Wilmington for fourth place of five teams with 199 points. Defending champion and crosstown rival John Carroll University leads with 622 points.
The top three individuals and the top two relay teams earn All-OAC honors.
The Yellow Jackets were led by sophomore stroker Michael Morsch (Phoenix, Ariz./Notre Dame Preparatory) as he set the school-record in the 100-yard back on three occasions in the first two nights. Morsch broke the record on Thursday night in the first leg of 400-yard medley relay, then bested that time in the prelims earlier today and once again bettered the time in the finals when he placed fifth with the school-record time of 52.77 seconds.
In addition, junior All-OAC stroker Greg Shaw (Colorado Springs, Colo./Manitou Springs) placed fourth in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 51.23. Freshman stroker Michael Lewis (Lancaster) as he set a career-best in the prelims and then bested his time in the finals of the 100-yard breaststroke when he finished fifth with a career-best time of 57.88. Sophomore freestyler Matthew Butt (Westfield Center/Cloverleaf) took seventh in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:47.75. Butt swam a career-best time of 1:47.46 in prelims.
In relay action, the 200-yard medley squad of Morsch, Lewis, Shaw and senior freestyler Tyler Allison (Napoleon) took third in a time of 1:35.39. The 800-yard freestyle unit of Lewis, Butt, Allison and Morsch finished fourth in a time of 7:14.04.
BW is back in action on Saturday, February 16 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.
