Nov. 20, 2014
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. –
Junior Marwan El Kamash and redshirt sophomore Kevin Leithold both recorded wins for the Gamecocks on the opening day of the Virginia Tech Invitational. El Kamash claimed first in the 500 freestyle final with a NCAA B cut time of 4:20.82 while Leithold took first place in the 200 IM final with a NCAA B cut time of 1:47.16.
Host Virginia Tech leads the both the men and women’s competitions with scores of 422 and 420, respectively. Alabama is currently in second place with 290 points on the men’s side and 200 on the women’s side. Both the South Carolina men and women finished the day in third place; the men tallied 228 points while the women have 199 points.
Freshmen Tomas Peribonio and Travis Morrin both advanced to the A final of the 500 freestyle and finished third and eighth, respectively. Peribonio recorded an NCAA B cut time of 4:23.71, which is a new personal record and ranks ninth in school history. Morrin also recorded a new personal record with a time of 4:34.08. Freshman Patrick McCrillis finished 13th overall (4:37.51) after advancing to the B final and sophomore Robert Gilchrist (4:39.43) placed 18th overall after advancing to the C final.
Freshman Nils-Wich Glasen advanced to the championship final in the 200 IM, where he finished sixth overall, after setting a new personal record in the preliminary heat with a NCAA B cut time of 1:48.81. Freshman Bryce Kananowicz placed eighth in the final with a new personal record of 1:49.33. Swimming in the B final, freshmen Jeremiah Bohon and Caleb Tosh finished 13th and 14th overall, respectively, while senior Jared Kauffman placed 15th.
Senior Michael Covert finished sixth in the A final of the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.88. Sophomore Jonathan Boland set a new personal record of 20.83 and placed 12th overall after swimming in the B final.
In the women’s 500 freestyle, senior Victoria Mitchell finished third in the A final with a new personal record of 4:48.35, which ranks fifth all-time in school history. Four more Gamecocks swam in the Championship final as senior Annika Jonsson claimed fourth (4:50.01), junior Ashleigh Ferguson finished sixth (4:56.27), freshman took seventh Taylor Worrell (4:56.40) and sophomore Cooper Brown placed eighth (4:57.34). Senior Charlotte Ward and freshman Sarah Smith swam in the B final, finishing 12th and 13th overall, respectively.
In the preliminary heat of the 200 IM, freshman Heather Merritt recorded and NCAA B cut time of 2:00.56, which is a new personal record and ranks second in school history. Merritt’s time advanced her to the A final where she placed fourth. Swimming in the B final, Elisabeth Worrell and Megan Carlson finished 11th and 15th overall, respectively.
Freshman Meredith Vay’s career-best time of 23.20 propelled her to a second-place finish in the championship final of the 50 freestyle.
Both the men and women logged season-best times in both the 200 freestyle and 400 medley relays.
DIVING AT GEORIGA TECH INVITATIONAL
At ATLANTA Ga. – In the one-meter final, senior Cole Miller and sophomore Jordan Gotro finished second (342.80) and eighth (342.75), respectively. Miller placed seventh in the preliminary to advance, while Gotro placed sixth.
In the three-meter final junior Lauren Lamendola finished fourth (306.20), senior Patricia Kranz placed sixth (295.85) and freshman Julia Vincent finished eighth (282.10).
KEY STAT
Five Gamecocks recorded NCAA B cut times (El Kamash, Leithold, Wich-Glasen, Peribonio and Merritt).
NOTEABLES
• Peribonio’s time of 4:23.71 in the 500 freestyle ranks ninth in school history
• Mitchell’s time of 4:48.34 in the 500 freestyle ranks fifth in school history
• Jonsson’s time of 4:50.01 in the 500 freestyle moves her up to seventh in school history
• Wich-Glasen’s time of 1:48.81 in the 200 IM ranks ninth in school history, he now ranks in the top-10 in two events
• Merritt’s time of 2:00.56 in the 200 IM ranks second in school history
• Merritt recorded the women’s first NCAA B cut time of the season
QUOTABLE
Head swimming coach McGee Moody
“We had a really good morning and a kind of hot and cold night. All in all we had a pretty big day. Marwan (El Kamash) had a really good night winning the 500 freestyle. Kevin (Leithold) also had a really good night winning the 200 IM. They both put up good times. The next two days we’re just going to try to battle it out with Alabama and Virginia Tech.
Head diving coach Todd Sherritt
“Overall it was a pretty good day. The competition is very tough here and I’m really happy with how our group performed. Cole (Miller) finishing second (on the one-meter) was huge. I’m very happy with our men’s team, they were very consistent. The women did a good job as well. They were is position to win but weren’t able to capitalize.”
UP NEXT
The second day of the Virginia Tech Invitational starts tomorrow with preliminaries at 10 a.m. and finals to follow at 6 p.m. The diving team will continue with day two of the Georgia Tech Invitational, beginning 11 a.m.
