The Seattle University men’s swim team showed improvement as it competed for the second time in as many days, but Grand Canyon was able to defeat the Redhawks, 123-81, Saturday afternoon in a collegiate dual meet at the Southwest Valley Family YMCA.
Freshman Austin Barnard (Mill Creek, Wash.) continued a solid opening weekend, finishing first in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 9:55.54, just outside the Seattle U all-time top 10 times list in the event. Tanner Schelling (Boise, Idaho) finished third in the 200 freestyle in 1:45.69, and then he touched the wall second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:07.75.
The Redhawks finished 2-3-4 in the 50 freestyle, starting with Jack Baldoni (Applegate, Calif.) in second place in 22.15 seconds, followed by Will Wertz (Richland, Wash.) in third place in 22.28 seconds and Michael Cox (Maple Valley, Wash.) in fourth place in 22.36 seconds. Morgan Montemayor (Seattle, Wash.) finished second in the 200 backstroke in 1:54.82, while Connor Webb (Hood River, Ore.) finished fourth in the 200 individual medley in 1:59.52 and third in the 200 breaststroke in 2:08.89.
The quartet of Montemayor, Gabe Wheeler (Round Rock, Texas), Cox, and Alec Barnard (Everett, Wash.) finished second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:36.82.
“For the second straight week, the guys were competing against some tough competition, but I like to see the times they are posting right now, as I believe they signal good things to come as we continue to work hard this season,” Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said.
Seattle University (0-3) is next scheduled to compete at the AT&T Winter National Championships Dec. 3-5 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.