BUFFALO, N.Y. - Junior Chris Coley (Austin, Texas) became a three-time All-American in a single year for the first time ever, while freshman Doug Djang (Seattle, Wash.) and Coley's teammates on the 800 freestyle relay team also earned All-American status as Seattle University continued competition on the third day of the 2007 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships at the Burt Flickinger Athletic Center.
In the last event of the evening, Gordon Smith (Kennewick, Wash.), Bryant Bevers (Federal Way, Wash.), Nathan Freeman (Phoenix, Ariz.), and Coley finished in sixth place in the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 6:52.83. The 26 points earned in the event jumped Seattle from 11th place to ninth place at the end of the third day with 132 points, just one point behind eighth-place Henderson State entering the final day of competition.
Coley, now a six-time All-American in his collegiate career, finished sixth in the men's 200 butterfly final in a time of 1:52.41, a half of a second faster than his preliminary time earlier in the day. Coley's effort earned 13 points for the Seattle University men's swim team and temporarily moved the Redhawks into the top ten of the team standings at the time.
In a competitive men's 100 breaststroke "A" final, Djang touched the wall in eighth place with a time of 57.37 seconds, earning the team 11 points. At the time, he became the second male and fourth Seattle University swimmer overall to earn NCAA Division II All-American honors, joining Coley, Lindsey Gall (Chehalis, Wash.), and Anna Vanha (Nederland, Colo.). In the "B" final, Jeff Morrison (Sumner, Wash.) improved upon his preliminary time by two-tenths of a seconds, finishing 15th overall with a time of 58.22 seconds.
After finishing 16th in the preliminaries earlier in the day, Smith knocked over four seconds off his first time in the men's 500 freestyle, finishing in 11th place in the evening finals with a time of 4:35.25, the second-fastest time in Seattle University history. The junior picked up his fourth honorable mention All-America award of the week and gave the Redhawks six points in the team competition.
Vanha was unable to qualify for the finals in both the 500 freestyle and 200 butterfly. She finished in 24th place in the women's 500 freestyle with a time of 5:19.13, and posted a time of 2:13.10 in the preliminaries of the women's 200 butterfly, ending up in 24th place in that event. Bryson Chiu (Carmel, Ind.) missed the finals of the men's 100 backstroke by 19/100ths of a second, finishing in 17th place with a time of 52.45 seconds.
Several representatives from Seattle University still have work to do on the final day of the national meet Saturday. Vanha will look to improve her performance by competing in the women's 1650 freestyle, while Smith hopes to continue his positive momentum in the men's 100 freestyle. Djang, Chiu, and Morrison all qualified in the men's 200 breaststroke, and the team of Djang, Coley, Bevers, and Smith will conclude the team's participation by competing in the men's 400 freestyle relay.
Results for the 2007 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships are posted as they happen by going to: http://www.starswimming.org/results/ncaaII/index.htm.