The Landmark Conference Championships, on Feb. 13 to 15, were full of highlights and broken records for the Elizabethtown College men’s swim team.
“Our goal as a team was to drop time across the board and have some swimmers make podium, both individually and in relays,” senior Frank Capria said. Over the three-day event the Jays did just that by capturing eighth place, with 72 points and 13 personal records.
After 15 years of competitive swimming, Capria’s career as a Blue Jay is over. Capria’s performance in the Landmark Conference Championships is highlighted by his performances in the 1650-yard freestyle where he recorded a personal record of 17:51.19 and placed 14th and by the 200 free, where he had a career personal record of 1:52.25 and placed 21st. Capria’s 5:06.26 performance in the 500 freestyle earned 24th place and another personal record for the senior, by shaving 11.65 seconds off his former best.
Sophomore Kieren Koehler’s 1:02.13 time and 14th place in the 100-yard breaststroke made him the first individual men’s swimmer to reach a championship or consolation final. In the consolation final, Koehler matched his time of 1:02.13 and again placed 14th, earning the Blue Jays three points. Koehler also reached a new PR on Sunday with a career best of 52.17 in the 100 free, which grabbed him 25th place.
Sophomore Stonecipher showed milestone improvements throughout the weekend at the championships. A 19 second improvement in the 500 free on Saturday makes his new career best 5:31.23. Stonecipher also shaved 1.5 seconds off his former personal best, posting a time of 1:02.31. In the 200 meter butterfly, Stonecipher recorded a 22nd place finish for a season-best 2:22.15.
First-year David Foery finished his rookie season on Sunday with a personal record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.86. Foery’s 100 time earned him 19th and recorded a program best since 2003. Foery also set a new personal record in the 50-yard free with a time of 23.34.
First-year Clayton Leab posted multiple personal records over the weekend. On Friday, Leab recorded a personal record in the 50m free with a time of 24.61. Leab followed up on Saturday by placing 20th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.66. Leab finished out his season by placing 29th in the 100m free by posting a time of 53.93.
The relay teams for the Blue Jays were able to record two personal records. In the final event on Friday, the team of Capria, Koehler, Foery and Stonecipher recorded a time of 3:53.83 in the 400m medley relay. The 400m free relay team of Capria, Koehler, Leab and Foery swam a team best 3:29.45. In the men’s 200 free relay, the same team of Capria, Koehler, Leab and Foery were able to finish and record a new team-best 1:34.56 on the season.
The three-day Landmark Conference Championships ended with the Blue Jays in eighth place and with 72 points.
The Blue Jays can only show improvement from here. “We have a nice young core that could make Etown more competitive for years,” Capria said.
