CANTON, Ohio — The Davis & Elkins College men's and women's swimming teams continued to build momentum Thursday at the Mountain East Conference/Great Midwest Athletic Conference Swimming Championships at C.T. Branin Natatorium, highlighted by school-record performances, a podium relay finish and multiple scoring efforts.
During Thursday morning preliminaries, Lauren Lockwood set a new school record in the women's 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:14.54 to qualify ninth. Leonardo Vallerini advanced ninth in the men's 500-yard freestyle, while Daphne McCann qualified 16th in the women's 100-yard backstroke and Emma Andrews placed 24th.
Jan Spehar qualified fourth in the men's 100-yard backstroke.
In the women's 100-yard breaststroke, Courtney Luikart placed 21st, Maximilla Sutherland finished 22nd, and Julia Vieira placed 24th to advance to finals.
On the men's side in the 100-yard breaststroke, Charlie Whitsed placed third, Leonardo Oshiro finished fourth, and Lasse Schrieken advanced eighth.
In the women's 200-yard butterfly, Lockwood led the way, followed by Julianne Hobson in 14th and Alyson Schaefer in 24th.
In the men's 200-yard butterfly, Payton Williamson placed ninth, Gustavo Queiroz finished 10th, and Tommaso Tofani qualified 13th.
During the evening finals, Vallerini placed ninth in the men's 500-yard freestyle B final with a time of 4:48.07 to earn 20 points.
McCann finished 15th in the women's 100-yard backstroke B final in 1:01.02 to score 12 points, while Andrews placed 24th in 1:06.59 to add one point.
Spehar recorded a second-place finish in the men's 100-yard backstroke, posting a school-record time of 49.98 to earn 28 points.
In the women's 100-yard breaststroke C final, Luikart placed 20th in 1:14.50 for five points, Sutherland finished 23rd in 1:16.02 for two points, and Vieira placed 24th in 1:18.97 to earn one point.
Oshiro led the men in the 100-yard breaststroke, placing third in 55.73 to score 27 points. Whitsed followed in fourth with a time of 55.99 for 25.5 points, while Schrieken placed eighth in 57.69 to earn 22 points.
In the women's 200-yard butterfly finals, Lockwood placed 13th in 2:15.63 to earn 14 points, Hobson finished 15th in 2:19.95 for 12 points, and Schaefer placed 24th in 2:42.02 for one point.
Williamson paced the men in the 200-yard butterfly, placing ninth in the B final in a school-record time of 1:54.79 to earn 20 points. Queiroz finished 11th in 1:57.50 for 16 points, while Tofani placed 16th in 2:01.28 to score 11 points.
The Senators closed the night with strong relay performances. The women's 800-yard freestyle relay team of Savannah Foley, Lockwood, Anikka Peterson and Hobson placed seventh in 8:18.23 to earn 46 points.
On the men's side, the 800-yard freestyle relay team of Schrieken, Vallerini, Spehar and Williamson delivered a dominant performance, finishing second in 6:51.71 to add 56 points.
After three days of competition, the Davis & Elkins women remain in eighth place with 290 points, while the men sit third with 693.5 points.
The MEC/GMAC Swimming Championships continue Friday with a 10 a.m. morning session and a 6 p.m. finals session in Canton.
