Behrend Defeats Gannon For First Time in Program History
The Penn State Behrend men’s swimming and diving team defeated Division II Gannon for the first time in program history by a score of 116-114 on Monday night in the Junker Center Pool.
ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's swimming and diving team defeated Division II Gannon for the first time in program history by a score of 116-114 on Monday night in the Junker Center Pool.
The Lions and the Golden Knights were neck-and-neck the entire meet, but Lucas Kachurick took first in both diving events and the 200 free relay finished second to give Behrend just enough points to stay ahead for the win.
In addition to the victory, Steve Torre broke the school record in the 200 IM by .10 tenths of a second with a time of 2:01.41. The freshman reset Lucas Dushac 's mark of 2:01.41 done back in 2002.
Behrend won eight out of the 13 events, including the first 200 yard medley relay by Clay Altemose, Ben Struck, Dane Dombrosky and Andrew Opalewski. The four posted a time of 1:40.63 to take an 13-4 lead after the first event.
Brendan Lacey posted two individual wins, but his first came in the 200 free (1:47.12). After swimming four events, Gannon held a 37-36 lead over the Lions.
Opalewski, who swam the fastest split in the medley relay with a time of 22.75, took second place in the 50 free (23.01) and was just tenths of a second away from the top finisher for the Golden Knights.
In the first diving event, Kachurick scored 270.20 for six dives and beat his opponent by over 100 points on the one-meter board. Altemose joined Lacey in capturing two individual events. He won the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.03 and two events later won the 100 backstroke (56.03).
Josh Weaver tallied four points for Behrend with a good fight in the 100 free, clocking in at 49.94. Alex Dovale of Gannon won in 49.64. With four events left, Lacey claimed first place in the 500 free (4:53.86) and Kachurick posted his season-best and an NCAA qualifying score on the three-meter board with 285.60.
Even though the Golden Knights picked the top spots in the final two events, the Lions held on for the two-point win.
Behrend returns to action on Dec. 3-5 at the Fredonia Invitational.