The Seattle University men’s swim team won two events as the Redhawks competed against Air Force and North Dakota Friday evening in a double-dual meet at the U.S. Air Force Academy Natatorium.
Nicolas Morrell (Bend, Ore.) picked up one of the Redhawk victories, finishing first in the 200 backstroke with a season-best time of 1:53.73. Morrell also came close to his season best in the 200 freestyle, finishing third in a tight race in 1:43.95, just 4/100ths of a second behind second place. He also posted a season-best mark in the 100 backstroke as the leadoff leg for Seattle U’s “B” 400 medley relay with a split of 52.28 seconds.
The other Seattle U event victory was actually a tie, as Tanner Schelling (Boise, Idaho) tied Air Force’s George Frank in the 50 freestyle at 21.46 seconds. Earlier in the meet, Schelling posted the best anchor split in the 400 medley relay at 45.89 seconds, joining with Bart Wanot (Federal Way, Wash.), Gabe Wheeler (Round Rock, Texas), and Tomas Mendez-Beck (Hillsboro, Ore.) for a second-place finish in that event in 3:28.31.
Wanot enjoyed a decent night individually, finishing fourth in the 50 freestyle in 21.66 seconds and third in the 200 backstroke in 1:55.50. Kyle Moline (Mercer Island, Wash.) finished third in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:56.70, with Mendez-Beck touching the wall fifth in the event in 1:58.35.
Late in the meet, Connor Webb (Hood River, Ore.) posted the fourth-best time of the night in the 200 breaststroke at 2:11.50. Mendez-Beck, Lee Van Farowe (Edmonds, Wash.), Alec Barnard (Everett, Wash.), and Michael Cox (Maple Valley, Wash.) combined for the third-best time in the 200 freestyle relay with a mark of 1:26.80.
As a team, Seattle U lost to both Air Force (140.5-94.5) and North Dakota (129-102), with the host Falcons sweeping the meet with a 128-107 victory over North Dakota.
The Seattle University men’s swim team (1-4) will once again face Air Force and North Dakota in a double-dual meet Saturday, Jan. 18, starting at 11 a.m. local time (10 a.m. Pacific time). The Redhawks will come home for dual meets on consecutive Saturdays against Simon Fraser (Jan. 25) and BYU (Feb. 1) before preparing for the WAC Championships at the end of February.