A fast Friday preliminary round placed 16 Little Giant swimmers and one relay team in the evening finals of the 2010 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.
Eric Vaughn (left) and Evan Rhinesmith both posted "B" cut times, provisionally qualifying them for the upcoming NCAA Division III National Championship meet. Vaughn posted the fourth-fastest time in the 100-yard butterfly (50.96), less than a half-second off the Wabash record. Rhinesmith, the school record holder in the 100 breaststroke, was fourth quickest in that event with a time of 57.79.
Wabash teammates David Birrer and Matt Routh will join Vaughn in tonight's finals of the 100 butterfly. Birrer earned a spot in the finals with a prelim time of 51.77, while Routh's time of 53.65 was also good enough to advance. Paul Buescher will compete in the finals of the 100 breaststroke after recording a prelim time of 59.49 in the event.
Vaughn also advanced to the finals of the 100-yard backstroke with a prelim time of 53.08. Nick Rockefeller (55.19) and Routh (55.45) will also swim in the 100 backstroke finals tonight.
A difference of three seconds separated five Wabash swimmers in the prelims of the 200-yard freestyle. All five will compete in tonight's finals. Craig Vetor (right) was the fastest, completing his laps in 1:46.91. Alex Beck was next for Wabash with a time of 1:47.32, followed by Chris Kermin (1:47.87), Chad Woods (1:47.87) and Robert Fozkos (1:49.78).
Three distance swimmers moved on to the finals of the 400-yard individual medley. Logan Rice led the way for the Little Giants with a time of 4:19.68. Elijah Sanders advanced with a qualifying time of 4:26.89, while Pete Hewitt will join them after posting a morning time of 4:31.11.
Rockefeller, Buescher, Kermin, and Adam Current combined for the fourth-fastest time in the 200 medley relay, finishing in 1:37.32 heading into Friday evening's competition.
The 2010 NCAC Championships are being held at the CT Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio. The three-day event concludes Saturday with prelims starting at 10 a.m. and finals set to start at 6:30 p.m. both Friday and Saturday.