The Wabash 400-yard medley relay team of Eric Vaughn, Evan Rhinesmith, Adam Current, and Jordon Blackwell took third in the morning session of the opening day at the 2009 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships. The Little Giants earned 12 places in Wednesday night's finals.
The 400 medley quartet posted a time of 3:31.65, nearly four seconds faster than their seed time and less than three seconds away from the NCAA "B" cut time.
Vaughn and Rhinesmith advanced to the finals of the 200-yard individual medley, joined by teammates Craig Vetor and Pete Hewitt. Vetor posted the 14th-fastest morning time at 1:57.68. Vaughn touched the wall in 1:59.92 (19th), while Rhinesmith finished 22nd (2:01.29). Hewitt finished 23rd (2:02.31).
Wabash put four swimmers in the finals of the 500-yard freestyle, as well. Elijah Sanders led the way by finishing 16th with a time of 4:49.40. Chad Woods took a spot in the finals with his 18th-place finish (4:52.30), as did Brian Graham (20th; 4:54.18) and Logan Falley (24th; 4:57.02).
Blackwell will compete in the finals of the 50 free tonight, along with Robert Fozkos. Fozkos was the top finisher for the Little Giants with a time of 21.55 (16th place). Blackwell was 19th with a time of 21.66.
The Little Giants will start the finals with the 200-yard freestyle relay team competing. Steve Zajac, Chris Kermin, Rockefeller, and Vaughn put Wabash in the evening session with a seventh-place finish and a time of 1:28.21.
The finals begin tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio. Fans can view the meet live over the Internet by signing up for a single-day pass ($15) or a three-day meet pass ($45). The meet is hosted this year by the College of Wooster.