Indian River Extends NJCAA Title Streak to 45 and 37

2018-2019 NJCAA SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 6th-9th, 2019
• Burt Flickinger Athletic Center, Buffalo, New York
• Live Results on Meet Mobile
• Championship Central
• Full Meet Results PDF

Indian River’s Jarryd Baxter and Savanna Best each won their 4th individual events of the meet on Saturday as the Pioneers rolled to their 45th (men’s) and 37th (women’s) consecutive NJCAA Championships in swimming & diving.

For their efforts, the pair were named the Swimmers of the Year.

Award Winners:

• Men’s Swimmer of the Year – Jarryd Baxter, Inndian River
• Women’s Swimmer of the Year – Savanna Best, Indian River
• Jack Cistriano Service Award – Manny Noguchi, Indian River, Assistant Coach
• Non-Scholarship Men’s Swimmer of the Meet – Cameron Wagner & Tyler Bischoping, Monroe (NY)
• Non-Scholarship Women’s Swimmer of the Meet – Haley Roblee, Erie (NY)
• Male Diver of the Year – Matt Priola, Indian River
• Female Diver of the Year – Gabby Tolento, Indian River
• Men’s Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year – Sean Brinn, Indian River
• Women’s Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year – Joe Plane, Iowa Central
• Al Zamsky Non-Scholarship Male Team Award – Monroe (NY)
• Spyke Johnson Non-Scholarship Female Team Award – Erie (NY) and Monroe (NY)

MEN’S RECAP

Final Team Scores

1. Indian River – 1297
2. Iowa Central – 662
3. Southwest Oregon – 548
4. South Georgia State College – 462
5. Barton Community College – 443

Indian River’s Jarryd Baxter won the 200 back in 1:45.12 on Saturday, beating out the 100 back champion Conor Lynch, who was 2nd in 1:46.93. For Baxter, that adds to wins in the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 500 free for 4 total victories: the maximum possible at the meet.

Indian River wasn’t quite able to pull off another day of sweeps to close the meet, in spite of running away with the team victory. With Lynch, the 1000 winner, focusing on the 200 back, Southwestern Oregon’s Collin McGuire won the 1650 free in 16:17.67. That was his season-best by over 30 seconds, but was 10 seconds shy of his winning time from last year’s meet.

Other Day 4 Winners:

• Indian River’s Ruben van Leeuwen opened the final session with a win in the 50 fly in 21.35. That beat out Southwestern Oregon’s James Camp, who was 2nd in 21.42 (and had the fastest swim in prelims). For van Leeuwen, that was his 4th win of the meet as well, though with considerably fewer yards raced: he won the 50 free on day 1, then swept the butterfly races: 50, 100, and 200.
• Ryen van Wyk led an Indian River 1-2-3-4 in the men’s 100 free final. That’s his 3rd individual win after taking the 50 back and 100 IM titles earlier in the meet.
• Olle Williamsson won  the men’s 200 breaststroke in 2:00.46.  He also won the 100 breaststroke at this meet, and was runner-up to Baxter in both the 200 IM and 400 IM.
• Indian River finished off a perfect meet in the sweeps, most won by huge margins, with a closing victory in the 400 free relay. There, van Leeuwen, van Wyk, Baxter, and Jared Ingram won in 2:56.61: 10 seconds better than Iowa Central’s runner-up relay.

WOMEN’S RECAP

Top 5 Teams After Day 2:

1. Indian River – 1227
2. South Georgia State College – 567
3. Iowa Central Community College – 521
4. Southwestern Oregon CC – 478
5. Barton Community College – 458

Indian River’s Savanna Best won the women’s 200 breaststroke final in 2:18.35, over 8 seconds faster than anyone else in the field, to win her 4th individual event of the meet. That completed a breaststroke sweep, and she also won the 200 IM.

Other Day 4 Winners:

• After 3 runner-up finishes earlier in the meet, Indian River’s Emma Colvin earned her first win on Saturday. She won the 50 fly in 25.10, beating out Camryn Hudson (26.16) by a second.
• Charlise Oberholzer finished a sweep of the 3 longest events of the meet by winning the women’s 1650 free in 17:22.87. She earlier won the 1000 and 500 frees, and was 2nd in the 200.
• Sophia Diagne led a 1-2-3-4-5 finish for Indian River in the women’s 100 free with a 50.26. She also won the 100 fly and the 100 back at this meet.
• Sule van der Merwe won the women’s 200 back by more than 5 seconds, swimming a 2:01.57. That was her 2nd win of the meet, adding to a 400 IM earlier in the week.
• Diagne, Elianna Kennon, Camryn Wheals, and Colvin finished off the meet with a 3:24.72 in the 400 free relay. That was just a second away from the decade-old NJCAA Record in the event.