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Title Defense Starts in Record Fashion
LANCASTER, Pa. - Tom Grabiak knows a thing or two about swimming in the Centennial Conference (CC) championships. The meet's two-time defending Outstanding Performer made his first claim to the 2010 honor, signaling the beginning of Franklin & Marshall's defense of its five-straight conference crowns.
Just minutes after the Diplomats' Matt Jaffee posted an NCAA B-Cut time of 1:54.60 in the 200-yard individual medley, Grabiak one-upped his classmate, posting a B-Cut time of his own, resetting the CC championship meet record at 1:53.76 in the process. Tonight's final is a potential boondoggle of points for F&M, which swept the top four spots in this morning's qualifier. David Fell and Travis Catania took third and fourth place with respective times of 1:58.40 and 1:59.94. Scott Rownd is set to deliver points in the consolation final with the 12th best preliminary time.
He doesn't have a Centennial medal to his name, but Jake Reingold set the tone for the Diplomats defense in the first preliminary, the 500-yard freestyle. Reingold's 4:41.38 was the top qualifying time with a 4.07 second cushion. The Diplomats' freshman logged a 4:41.38, followed by Swarthmore's freshman, Jacob Benveniste at 4:45.45. F&M's Conor Finnegan took third in the prelims at 4:45.96. Eliot Scymanski and Max Blum will compete for points in the consolation final.
F&M will enter two finalists in the 50-yard free with all of the qualifiers finishing within .80 of the top time, 21.12, clocked by Dickinson's Doug Murray. Zach Wilt took fourth for F&M at 21.71, while Tom Bergstrom took sixth at 21.79. David Apple and Ken Dautrich will race in the consolation finals.
This evening's final session will start with the 200-yard freestyle relay, and wrap up with the 400-yard medley relay. You can follow all of the action with free live video and real-time results on GoDiplomats.com. The finals get underway at 7:00 p.m.
Records
Tom Grabiak, 200-yard Individual Medley, 1:53.76 (CC Championship Meet Record)
B-Cuts
Tom Grabiak, 200-yard Individual Medley, 1:53.76
Matt Jaffee, 200-yard Individual Medley, 1:54.60
