Drake sets second Bates record in as many days at NESCACs
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Katelyn Drake ’10 |
Kelsey Lamdin ’09 |
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Annie Barton ’08 |
Emilie Swenson ’08 |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Bates first-year swimmer Katelyn Drake broke her second school record in as many days on Sunday at the NESCAC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, highlighting the final day of the meet for the Bobcats.
Drake (Hudson, Ohio) broke Christine Page’s previous Bates record of 2:13.57, set 13 years ago to the day, Feb. 18, 1994. Drake broke the mark in the preliminary round with a time of 2:12.25, barely missing the cut for the championship final in the event. In the consolation final, Drake shaved over two more seconds off the record with a blazing time of 2:09.81.
Drake’s performance came a day after she broke her own school record in the 100-yard backstroke with a finals time of 1:00.56, shaving 0.80 seconds off of the mark she set earlier this season. On Friday, Drake neared Denby Johnson’s school record in the 50-yard backstroke with a prelim time of 28.82 seconds, 0.04 seconds shy of the mark.
Bates finished the meet with 474.5 points, good for 10th place out of 11 teams in the ultra-competitive NESCAC.
“We had a lot of great swims this weekend,” said head coach Mike McCollum. “Nearly all of our swimmers set at least one personal best.”
Other Sunday highlights included sophomore Kelsey Lamdin (Brunswick, Maine), finishing fourth in the 3-meter diving competition with 424.70 points, while junior teammate Tasha Rosener (Dillon, Colo.) placed eighth with 350.80 points. Junior Annie Barton (Holladay, Utah) also fared well in the 100-yard freestyle race, setting a personal record and finishing in 16th place with a finals time of 54.79 seconds.
On Saturday, junior Emilie Swenson (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and first-year Sara Reingold (Oakland, Calif.) also made strong showings in the 100 back, taking 13th and 17th places, respectively. Swenson also finished 15th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:00.75.
On Friday at NESCACs, Lamdin and Drake both had impressive first days. Lamdin, a two-time All-American, bested her own NESCAC Championship and Bates record in the 1-meter diving event with 445.85 points, ahead of last year’s record score of 423.25. Lamdin finished second in the event to Tufts junior Kendall Swett, who also put on an outstanding performance with 475.20 points in the finals, and she captured All-NESCAC honors in the process. Bates first-year Annaliese Rudis (North Andover, Mass.) and Rosener finished 11th and 12th, respectively, in the preliminary round.
Drake was the only first-year swimmer to qualify for the championship final in the 50-yard backstroke, with a prelim time of 28.82 seconds. Her finals time of 29.03 put her in eighth place overall in the event. Swenson and Reingold placed 11th and 14th overall, respectively, swimming in the consolation final. Also on Friday, Barton made the consolation final in the 200-yard individual medley and finished 14th overall with a finals time of 2:15.37, another personal record.