Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Championships Finals
Bison Men Finish Fourth at PL Championships, Devlin Named Rookie of the Meet
2/21/2015 10:27:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
LEWISBURG, Pa. – One day after winning the 400-yard individual medley and setting two school records, Bucknell freshman Chris Devlin – who was named Rookie of the Meet - earned a silver medal in the 200 back and lowered his own school record in the event by nearly 2.5 seconds Saturday on the final day of the Patriot League Championships at Kinney Natatorium. Sophomore Louis Behnen also earned a spot on the podium with a runner-up finish in the 1,650 freestyle.
The Bison finished fourth in the team standings for the second consecutive year. Bucknell has now finished in the top half of the Patriot League standings in 24 of 25 years the championships have been contested. Navy claimed its 12th consecutive title, while Army was second and Boston U. was third.
Devlin, who is Bucknell's first Rookie of the Meet since Luke Trafton in 2007, and Behnen both wrapped up an outstanding four-day championship meet. Devlin totaled three top-five finishes. In addition to his win the 400 IM and his silver medal in the 200 back, he placed fifth in the 100 back and his team-high 51 points scored ranked him sixth in the league. Devlin now owns three school records (100 back, 200 back, 400 IM). Behnen, who ranks in the top three on five program top-10 lists, had runner-up showings in the 400 IM and 1,650 free and a fourth-place finish in the 500 free this week. He now has six career individual top-five finishes at the Patriot League Championships.
Devlin was impressive in Saturday's 200 back. He placed third in the prelims with a time of 1:46.06 that eclipsed his previous school standard by 1.39 seconds. He shaved more than one second off that time on his way to a runner-up performance in the finals, touching the wall in 1:45.04. Overall, he lowered the school record by 2.41 seconds on the day.
Behnen placed second in the 1,650 free with a time of 15:30.91. He was one of four Bison scorers in the event, and one of three that placed in the top six. Brian Phillips was fourth, while Sam Rutan was sixth in the No. 5 time in school annals. Both also recorded top-10 times on the 1,000 free list thanks to impressive splits. Jeff Shanley also scored six points towards the team total with an 11th-place showing.
The 200 back contingent also had four scorers. Behind Devlin were Jack Robinson (8th), Colin Lynch (9th) and Wes Marberry (13th). Robinson registered the No. 2 time (1:47.76) in program history in the prelims, while Lynch's finals time of 1:48.41 puts him fourth on the all-time list.
Three other individual events were contested Saturday and Bucknell had a total of six “B” finalists across them. Triston Loux (11th), Denver Freeman (14th) and Shanley (16th) scored in the 200 fly. Sam Mackie (12th) and Ben Seketa (13th) scored in the 200 breast, while Erik Heinemann closed his Patriot League career with a 16th-place showing in the 100 free. It was the 11th time in his career he scored in an event.
The meet concluded with the 400 free relay and the group of Robinson, Heinemann, Behnen and Devlin placed fifth with the No. 7 time (3:03.04) in school history.
While the Patriot League Championships have concluded, it does not mean Bucknell's season is complete. The Bison will compete at next weekend's ECAC Championships at Pittsburgh.
Team Scores
1. Navy - 915
2. Army – 642
3. Boston U. – 536
4. Bucknell – 522
5. Lehigh – 329
6. Loyola – 196
7. Lafayette – 169
8. Colgate – 147
9. American – 88
10. Holy Cross - 78
New Top-10 Marks
200 back (1. Chris Devlin – 1:45.04; 2. Jack Robinson – 1:47.76; Colin Lynch – 1:48.41)
200 breast (5. Sam Mackie – 2:02.55; 9. Tim Perley – 2:05.18)
1,000 free (4. Brian Phillips – 9:34.20; 5. Sam Rutan – 9:34.36)
1,650 free (5. Sam Rutan – 15:49.06)
200 fly (6. Triston Loux – 1:51.18)
400 free relay (7. Robinson, Heinemann, Behnen, Devlin – 3:03.04)
Bucknell Results
Louis Behnen
1,650 free finals – 2nd, 15:30.91
Chris Devlin
200 back prelims – 3rd, 1:46.06 (NCAA “B” Cut)
200 back finals – 2nd, 1:45.04 (NCAA “B” Cut)
Denver Freeman
200 fly prelims – 15th, 1:53.01
200 fly finals – 14th, 1:52.92
Steve Grune
100 free prelims – 23rd, 47.20
Erik Heinemann
100 free prelims – 16th, 46.66
100 free finals – 16th, 46.47
200 fly prelims – 24th, 1:55.49
Tarik Lott
200 breast prelims – 21st, 2:08.30
Triston Loux
200 fly prelims – 9th, 1:51.18
200 fly finals – 11th, 1:51.26
Colin Lynch
200 back prelims – 12th, 1:50.86
200 back finals – 9th, 1:48.41
Sam Mackie
200 breast prelims – 11th, 2:02.55
200 breast finals – 12th, 2:02.84
Wes Marberry
200 back prelims – 13th, 1:51.19
200 back finals – 13th, 1:51.16
Tim Perley
200 breast prelims – 17th, 2:05.18
Brian Phillips
1,650 free finals – 4th, 15:45.87
Will Rappaport
200 back prelims – 19th, 1:52.23
Jack Robinson
200 back prelims – 6th, 1:47.76
200 back finals – 8th, 1:49.11
Sam Rutan
1,650 free finals – 6th, 15:49.06
Ben Seketa
200 breast prelims – 15th, 2:03.55
200 breast finals – 13th, 2:03.70
Jeff Shanley
200 fly prelims – 16th, 1:53.26
200 fly finals – 16th, 1:56.36
1,650 free finals – 11th, 16:11.09
400 free relay
Robinson, Heinemann, Behnen, Devlin – 5th, 3:03.04
Players Mentioned
