Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Championships
Bucknell Men Take Second at Patriot League Swimming & Diving Championships
2/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Feb. 21, 2009
| Video Highlights
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Junior Luke Trafton (Bath, Maine/Morse) and freshman Thomas Brown (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) broke school records on the final day of competition at the Patriot League Swimming & Diving Championships, and the Bucknell men's team completed an outstanding weekend by finishing second in the eight-team field for the second year in a row.
Navy capped off an impressive showing by breaking the league record for points in a meet with 1,031.5, while Bucknell was comfortably in second with 635 points. Army took third with 596, followed by Lehigh (357.5), Colgate (353), Lafayette (202), American (141) and Holy Cross (123).
Trafton began the final day by obliterating his own school record in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Trafton was runner-up to Navy's Erik Hunter in a time of 15:20.54, which was more than 14 seconds under his previous personal best. Trafton swam the first 1,000 yards in 9:14.78, which was also a school record at that distance. Freshman Brendan Smith (New Hartford, N.Y./New Hartford Senior) finished seventh in the mile, and his time of 15:58.36 is the third-fastest in Bucknell history.
Bucknell picked up major points in the 200 backstroke, where Brown, Daniel Fletcher (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove), David Iselin (Potomac, Md./Churchill) and Gonzalo DeLeon (Ringwood, N.J./Lakeland Regional) finished 2-3-5-6 in the finals, and that quartet now owns the four fastest times in program history in that event. Brown broke DeLeon's school record in the finals with a time of 1:49.13. DeLeon's prelim time of 1:49.15 is now No. 2, followed by Fletcher (1:49.20) and Iselin (1:49.94).
In the 100 free, senior Mark Kawczenski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Hanover Area) finished sixth and freshman Eric Sokolosky (Branford, Conn./Branford) was right behind in seventh. Kawczenski, who won the 50 free on Thursday, set a PR in the prelims with a time of 45.24, which ranks No. 3 in program history. Sokolosky's 45.49 is fifth.
The Bison had three finalists - all of them freshmen - in the 200 breaststroke. Nathaniel Frye (Franklin, Pa./Franklin Area) placed fourth in 2:05.60, followed by Jonathan Podniesinski (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) in fifth and David Newton (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) in eighth. Frye's prelim time of 2:05.26 ranks fourth all-time, while Podniesinski and Newton also entered the top 10.
In the 200 butterfly, sophomore Michael Volpe (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) won the consolation final with a time of 1:51.60, third-fastest in program history.
On Friday night Bucknell broke the program's oldest relay record in the 800 free relay, and on Saturday they concluded the meet by smashing the second-oldest mark in the 400 free relay. Kawczenski, Sokolosky, Fletcher and Trafton clocked a 3:01.78, breaking the school record (3:02.12) that had stood since 1992.
Senior diver Jeff Manning placed fifth in the 1-meter event with a score of 248.85, and after the meet Bison coach Errol Carter was named Patriot League Diving Coach of the Year.
Navy's Adam Meyer, who met the NCAA A-cut with a winning time of 1:42.54 in the 200 fly on Saturday, was named Male Swimmer of the Meet.
2009 Awards:
Male Coach: Bill Roberts, Navy
Female Coach: Steve Jungbluth, Colgate
Diving Coach: Errol Carter, Bucknell
Male Swimmer of the Meet: Adam Meyer, Navy
Female Swimmer of the Meet: Tara Chapmon, Navy
Male Rookie: Mac Anthony, Navy
Female Rookie: Paige Brink, Army
Male Diver: Olaf Olson, Navy
Female Diver: Lindsey Adao, Army
