Seven days ago the Wabash swimming and diving team was enjoying a victory over Carthage College with their freshman teammate, Patrick Woehnker.
Saturday the Little Giants remembered their Woehnker, who died in an accident on campus Sunday morning, before their triple-dual meet against Illinois Wesleyan and Rose-Hulman. Wabash scored wins over both teams to improve to 4-0 for the year.
After a moment of reflection to honor Woehnker, the meet began with a Wabash victory in the 400-yard medley relay. The quartet of Zach Phillips, Evan Rhinesmith, Adam Petro, and Daniel Michael won the event with a time of 3:37.18, out-distancing teammates Elijah Sanders, Jordan Extine, Adam Current, and Nick Rockefeller in second (3:47.15).
Eric Vaughn and David Birrer took second and third, respectively, in the 1000 free. Vaughn finished in 10:58.67, with Birrer posting a time of 11:05.66.
Wabash swept the top-three spots in the 200 free. Michael won the event with a time of 1:45.72. Matthew Routh was second (1:51.84), while William Cheng was third (1:52.49).
Jordon Blackwell won a tightly-contested 50 free, hitting the wall at the finish in 22.78 ahead of Illinois Wesleyan's Brian Busch (22.92). Sanders won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:03.39. Craig Vetor finished second (2:05.74). Petro added a victory in the 200 butterfly (1:55.63), as did Blaine Cooper-Surma in the 100 free (49.51).
The Little Giants scored another 1-2-3 sweep, this time in the 200 backstroke. Peter Hewitt took first place with a time of 2:05.63. Phillips was second (2:07.15), while Rockefeller was third (2:08.47).
Chad Woods took first place in the 500 free (4:58.69), with Vetor capturing third place (5:04.85). Kyle O'Keefe finished second in the final individual swimming event, the 200 breaststroke. O'Keefe touched in 2:22.74, while teammate Brent Graham was third (2:25.99).
Michael, Cooper-Surma, Rockefeller, and Blackwell combined for a final victory in the 400 free relay with a winning time of 3:16.11.
Rob Fenoglio won the one-meter diving competition with a total of 219.95 points. He completed the sweep with a victory on the three-meter board after posting a winning score of 220.88.
Wabash defeated Illinois Wesleyan 193-40 in head-to-head competition. The Little Giants were 188-55 winners over Rose-Hulman. Wabash will compete against Wittenberg University Friday evening at 7 p.m. in the Class of 1950 Natatorium.
Photos by Clayton Craig '08