Wheaton Women, Carthage Men in First after Day One of CCIW Swimming Championships

KENOSHA, Wis. – The Wheaton women and Carthage men hold the leader position after the first day of events at the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Swimming Championships, hosted by Carthage College.

The women’s team scores include: Wheaton (291), Carthage (227.5), Illinois Wesleyan (120.5), Augustana (100), Rose-Hulman (67), Millikin (63), and North Central (47). The men’s team scores include: Carthage (277), Wheaton (206), Rose-Hulman (150), Illinois Wesleyan (123), Millikin (86), Augustana (53), and North Central (40).

The night began when the team of Liz Hartman, Jenna Sveen, Bethany Jacobs and Katherine Burt from Wheaton picked up the first victory by winning the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:37.02. Carthage’s team of Alyssa Messina, Sarah Reynertson, Carolyn Kelly and Amanda Croix were a close second with a time of 1:37.92. On the men’s side, Carthage’s Bryce Davis, Blake Bendix, Nathan Ripley and Andy Bax won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:23.54.

Wheaton’s Katlin Marko won the 500-yard freestyle (5:05.15) while teammate Becky Bird was second (5:09.35). Carthage’s Paul Busse won the 500 freestyle on the men’s side (4:38.50) while Chris Betzle from Illinois Wesleyan was second with a time of 4:40.76.

Michelle Pelka picked up Carthage’s first individual title for the women with a victory in the 200-yard individual medley (2:10.24). Wheaton’s Hartman placed second (2:10.99). For the men, Carthage’s Stephen Schranck won the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:55.36 while Rose-Hulman’s Jacob Sorensen was second, clocking in at 1:56.35.

Carthage picked up the title on both the men’s and women’s side in the 50-yard freestyle. Croix won on the women’s side with a meet-record time of 23.77. Her time broke the previous best of 23.80 set by Wheaton’s Burt last season. Davis was champion in the 50 freestyle on the men’s side with a CCIW meet-record time of 20.89, beating the previous best time of 20.97 set by Millikin’s Rene Vereecken in 1996.

In the women’s 400-yard medley relay, Wheaton’s Jillian Morris, Hartman, Marko, and Burt teamed up to win the event with a time of 3:57.51. The Carthage men’s team of Chris Varner, Schranck, Davis and Nathan Ripley won the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:28.87.

The CCIW Swimming Championships will continue Friday, Feb. 15, with the preliminary events starting at 10:30 a.m. and the finals beginning at 5:30 p.m.