The Seattle University seniors took the spotlight on the third day of the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships, as Chris Coley (Austin, Texas) won the 100 butterfly in convincing fashion and Francesca Reale (Gig Harbor, Wash.) qualified for the NCAA Championships with her performance in the 100 backstroke Friday night at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool.
After posting the best time in the preliminaries, Coley swam a time of 49.74 seconds in the finals of the 100 fly, nearly two seconds faster than his nearest competitor. Coley also finished fifth in the 100 backstroke in 53.95 seconds and joined with Bryson Chiu (Carmel, Ind.), Jakub Jiracek (Nymburk, Czech Republic), and Gordon Smith (Kennewick, Wash.) for a second place finish in the 400 medley relay in 3:22.83, believed to be the top time in Division II this season.
After missing the national meet last season, Reale qualified for her third NCAA Championships in four years by swimming the 100 backstroke in 57.52 seconds, good enough for third place in the event. Reale led off the 400 medley relay quartet, followed by Carole Triem (Petersburg, Alaska), Alex Weiss (Reno, Nev.), and Kelsey Henan (Billings, Mont.), which finished in seventh place with a time of 4:04.59
In other women’s results, Weiss finished ninth in the 100 butterfly in 59.40 seconds, with Heather Nelson (Bremerton, Wash.) finishing in 18th place in 1:00.56, Elizabeth Hanohano (Honolulu, Hawaii) earning a 21st place finish in 1:01.81, and Anna Vanha (Nederland, Colo.) placing 32nd with a time of 1:05.69. In the 200 freestyle, Henan finished in 14th place with a time of 1:57.24, while Alison Colnon (Seattle, Wash.) finished in 16th place in 1:58.60 and Taylor Olson (Parker, Colo.) earned a 21st place finish in 1:59.50.
Triem earned a 20th place finish in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:13.28, and Megan Lavin (Kalispell, Mont.) finished in 23rd place in 1:14.56. The Seattle University women remain in seventh place in the team competition with 353 points, as Pepperdine, UC San Diego, Northern Colorado, and Loyola Marymount are separated by only 32 points at the top of the standings.
On the men’s side, Andrew Miron (Billings, Mont.) finished fifth in the 400 individual medley finals in 4:10.83. Besides Coley’s victory in the 100 butterfly, Kevin Daniels (Newcastle, Wash.) finished tenth in 52.67 seconds, Smith finished 12th in 52.91 seconds, Ben Guthrie (Berkeley, Calif.) earned a 16th place finish in 53.73 seconds, Chris Anderson (Bellevue, Wash.) finished 18th in 54.42 seconds, and Chase Winterroth (Lake Stevens, Wash.) earned a 19th place finish in 54.53 seconds.
In the men’s 200 freestyle, Nathan Freeman (Phoenix, Ariz.) earned a sixth place finish with a time of 1:45.44, while Bryant Bevers (Federal Way, Wash.) won the "B" final of the event, finishing ninth overall in 1:44.67. Andrew Martinez (Concord, Calif.) finished in 15th place in 1:47.43, and Daniels finished second in the "C" final in 1:46.07 for an 18th place finish overall.
Three men finished in the top ten of the 100 breaststroke, led by Jiracek’s third place finish in 56.70 seconds, with Doug Djang (Seattle, Wash.) finishing in sixth place in 58.57 seconds and Chiu earning a tenth place finish in 59.90 seconds. Djang also won the "B" final of the 100 backstroke for a ninth place finish overall in 55.20 seconds. The men remained a solid fourth place in the team competition with 658 points, with UC San Diego ahead of Cal Baptist by just 36 points for the team lead.
The PCSC Championships wrap up Saturday with five more individual events as well as the 400 freestyle relay.