Logo
Logo
Logo
Twitter   Facebook
Men Take Fifth To Lead Stunning Result At MAC Championships
Senior Mitch Young became Messiah's first-ever medalist, taking third in the 50-yard freestyle over the weekend.

Glenside, PA — The Messiah men’s swimming team finished fifth out of 10 competing schools at this weekend’s MAC Championships, putting a brilliant finish on a simply unbelievable inaugural season.

Led by senior Mitch Young’s third-place finish in the 50-meter freestyle event, Messiah captured 258 team points, beating out Lebanon Valley College (192), Elizabethtown College (142.5), King’s College (142), Arcadia University (136) and Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham (43) — an incredible accomplishment for a team bringing just nine men to compete.

“This was absolutely amazing,” said Nancy Luley, Messiah head coach. “These kids swam far beyond any expectations I had at the beginning of the season. We started this year with no base times for any of our kids … I had no idea how they were going to go. I am most proud of them.”

A new format for most of Messiah’s swimmers, the team got its first taste of three-day, wall-to-wall swimming, as prelims were held in the morning and finals at night of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Messiah’s men sat in fourth place overall following Friday’s completion, as Young’s time of :22.12 in the 50-free prelims was followed by a :22.29 clocking in the finals, giving Falcons’ program its first medal in its history.

Messiah’s women’s team finished ninth overall on the weekend, defeating host Arcadia University.

“To be fourth place at the end of day one, I was just speechless,” Luley said. “We just ran out of guys. The girls swam their hearts out, too. We just need more of them. We’re working on that.”

With conference rules allowing up to 18 swimmers per institution at the championships, Messiah was significantly behind, taking just nine men and seven women to the three-day event. That didn’t deter the Falcons’ program from setting a total 15 school records over the weekend, as seven swimmers were individual finalists while all 10 of Messiah’s relay teams finished in the top eight, earning trips to the podium as well.

In addition to Young’s third-place medal in the 50-yard freestyle, he also qualified for the finals in the 100-yard freestyle. Junior Branden Brunner was a finalist in the 200 free, while classmate Derek Forster advanced to the 100-yard breaststroke finals. Freshman Zach McArdle made it to the 200-yard breaststroke finals, while freshman Ashley Bell was Messiah’s lone female finalist, advancing to the evening session in the 200-yard freestyle event.

Messiah nearly captured a second medal Sunday night, as the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Brunner, McArdle, junior Anthony Addlesberger and Young finished fourth overall in a time of 3:18.93, narrowly edged by Misericordia University’s 3:22.80.

“That was the last event of the entire meet and the guys wanted it in the worst way,” Luley said. “The place was really rocking, and they had the lead for about three quarters of the race. They were so close to getting it.”

Messiah’s teamwork was apparent all weekend long, according to Luley, as the first-year program shocked established schools both in the water and out.

“We were a true team, from the beginning of the year until the last event,” Luley said. “They were one unit at all points of time. They were all connected. If we had a swimmer in the water, we had everyone at the end of their lane cheering. If we had two swimmers in the water, the rest of the team would split up evenly and cheer. We never told them to do it, they always did on their own. Team is a big deal to me, and these kids exemplified the word.”

Messiah was represented at the MAC Championships by Addlesberger (50 free, 100 free, 100 fly, 100 breaststroke, 200 IM, relays), Bell (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 500 free. 100 back, 200 back, relays), freshman Joshua Boden (50 free, relays), Brunner (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 1650 free, 100 fly, 200 IM, 400 IM, relays), sophomore Keren deRouville (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 200 IM, relays), Forster (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, relays), sophomore Kara Geiman (50 free, 100 free, 100 breaststroke, 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM, relays), junior John Haller (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 1650 free, 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly, 200 fly, relays), junior Leah Johnson (100 back, 200 back, relays), junior Stephanie Jury (relays), freshman Hannah Kurtz (relays), McArdle (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, relays), junior Cody Rosenbarker (100 back, relays), senior Kelly Scott (relays), freshman Matthew Wells (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 back, 200 back, relays) and Young (50 free, 100 free, 100 breaststroke, relays).

Luley said that with the program’s first year now in the rearview mirror, she will turn her efforts to recruiting, while Messiah’s returners will begin spending time in the water on their own accord.

“It’s recruiting time, and we’re positive about what we’re seeing,” Luley said. “Things look good for both the men and the women. We’d love to get someone to NCAAs next year. We’ll try our best.”

Luley said that this year’s team will always hold a special place in her heart for a multitude of reasons, with the pioneering aspect at the root.

“It was so fun to see different swimmers really blossom throughout the course of the season,” she said. “We had a number of swimmers come out of ‘retirement’ from swimming as a first-year program. We had a number of juniors and seniors that hadn’t swam for years. That was a challenge, but to see how they improved over the course of the year was awesome. That’s what made this year so rewarding not just for me, but I think for everyone on the team as well. They have very, very much to be proud of.”