NESCAC's Day 3: 200 Fly Record Falls, Celestin Earns 2nd B-Cut

Celestin, third from the left swam a personal best and B-Cut time of 1:51.95 to take 4th at NESCAC Champs.

The Bantams ended the final day of the NESCAC Championships with more records and more NCAA qualifying times. First Year Carl Gibney swam a personal best in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:00.32. That time ranks him 4th in Trinity history. Junior Max Ma cut over two seconds off of his best 200 breaststroke time with a 2:09.11, which ranks 2nd fastest all-time at Trinity and earned him 12th place. Mike Cuoco had one of the best races of his life swimming a personal best in 200 breast, while also swimming a personal best in his 50 and 100 breast inside the 200. In the 1650 freestyle, first year Jake Cahill dropped over a minute from his previous best time. On the 3-Meter board, Junior Mac McCarthy had a personal best score and finished 13th for the Bantams. The highlight of the last day came in the men's 200 fly. Junior Mark Yanagisawa and First Year Nick Celestin both qualified for the evening finals. Yanagisawa shed over two seconds off his previous personal best time with a 1:55.36, which earned him 12th place and the second fastest time in school history. Nick Celestin swam a blistering 1:51.95 to take 4th place in the NESCAC and earned himself a spot on the podium. His time was an NCAA B-Cut and a new team record. Over the course of the season Celestin dropped over 5 seconds from his previous personal best time in the 200 fly. This season he became the first Trinity swimmer to break 1:57, 1:56, 1:55, 1:54, 1:53, and 1:52 in the 200 fly. This season was also the first time Celestin had ever broken any of those barriers. The men's team finished the meet with the 400 free relay, just missing the record by a couple tenths of a second. Celestin's lead off leg of 47.97 ranked 3rd all-time in Trinity history. Over the three day meet the Bantams had 11 record setting swims, and 100% of Trinity's team had at least one lifetime best time or diving score. Way to go Bants!

First Year Nick Celestin and Junior Co-Captain Mark Yanagisawa after they both swam personal bests in the 200 fly.

NESCAC's Day 2: 200 Medley Relay, 50 Back, & 100 Fly Records Fall

200 Medley Record Relay Team. From L-R: Feminella, Kelley, Ma, Celestin

The Bantams established 3 more records on Day 2 of the Men's NESCAC Championships, bringing the meet total to 6 records setting performances. Celestin led the way again. He broke his 50 backstroke record set the night before with a time of 23.99. His time made him the first Trinity swimmer to break 24 seconds and set the pace for the fastest 200 medley relay in Trinity history. Junior Max Ma had a personal best relay split of 26.63 in the 50 breaststroke and Kelley had personal best relay split in the 50 fly of 23.72, while Feminella had a best split of 21.77 in the 50 free. The relays total time of 1:36.11 broke the previous record by over 2 and a half seconds. The previous record of 1:38.74 was set in 2011 by Andrew Boynton, Dan Remigino, Stephen Bloom, and Brooks Gerli. 

Men circle up for team cheers.

Day two had several other highlights. Carl Gibney's lead off time of 26.04 in the 50 back in the 200 medley relay was a personal best time and the 5th fastest time in school history. Max Ma's 100 breaststroke was a personal best time of 59.84 and the third fastest time in Trinity history. His swim earned him 15th place in finals and marked the first time he had ever broken 1:00.00. Isak Kurbasic swam a 1:01.79 in the breaststroke to earn a spot in the consolation finals. His time was a personal best by over 2 seconds. Nick Celestin lead the way in the 100 fly, swimming a personal best and record setting time of 51.65. His time earned him 16th place in the evening finals. Mark Yanagisawa dropped over 6 seconds from his personal best time in the 400IM. His time of 4:15.30 earned him 18th place. The time was also the 2nd fastest time in Trinity history. First Year Carl Gibney continued to drop time as he had a three second improvement in his 200 free. His time of 1:47.77 was the 8th fastest time in Trinity History. Jake Cahill dropped over 25 seconds from his personal best in the 1000 freestyle, and also swam a personal best in his 500 in the first 500 of the 1000. Nick Celestin closed out the evening establishing a personal best in the 200 free lead of leg of the 800 free relay. His time of 1:46.87 was the 4th fastest time in Trinity history.

NESCAC's Day 1: 400 Medley, 50 Back, & 100 Back Records Fall, Celestin Earns B-Cut

400 Medley Record Relay, From L-R: Kelley, Celestin, Yanagisawa, Ma

At the 2013 Men's Swimming & Diving NESCAC Championships the Bantams ended the first day of competition by establishing a new varsity record in the 400 medley relay. Nick Celestin's lead off 100 backstroke was a record time of 51.65. This time was a personal best for Celestin and also an NCAA B-Cut. Celestin's 50 split inside the 100 back was a 24.78. This time established a new 50 back record and marked the first time in Trinity history that a swimmer broke 25 seconds in the 50 back. Ma swam a personal best time in the breaststroke leg, while Yanagisawa and Kelley had personal best splits in the butterfly and freestyle legs. The relay's final time of 3:31.54 established a new team record by almost 5 seconds. The previous record of 3:36.28 was set in 2011 by Andrew Boynton, Alex Latka, Parker Tricarico, and C.J. Murdoch. The relay earned a spot on the podium with their phenomenal swim.

Coaches and The Record Setting 400 Medley Team

Other highlights of day one included Max Ma's 50 breaststroke. His time of 27.69 was a personal best and the 3rd fastest in Trinity history. His performance earned him 1st place in the consolation final. Brendan Kelley's time of 23.91 in the 50 fly was the 2nd fastest time in Trinity history and earned him a trip to the evening finals. First year Carl Gibney cut seven seconds off his personal best time in the 200IM with a time of 2:00.33. His swim was the 3rd fastest time in Trinity history. Junior Mark Yanagisawa cut three seconds off his personal best time  in the 200IM with a time of 2:00.83, the 5th fastest time in Trinity history. Mac McCarthy placed 13th on the 1-Meter Board with a personal best time. 100% of Trinity Men's swimmers earned at least one personal best time in the first day of competition. Way to go Bants!
 

Yanagisawa Prepares for the fly leg of the 400 medley relay while Celestin Cheers below.

NESCAC's Day 3: Bantams Finish NESCAC Champs with Two More Records

The Bantams ended the last day of competition on a high note. Audrey Butler established a new varsity record in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:28.12. Her time improved upon the previous record of 2:29.40 which was set at the 2012 NESCAC Championship at Wesleyan by junior Joanna Wycech. It was a lifetime best for Butler by over 5 seconds and earned her 15th place in finals, a huge improvement from last season when she did not even break into the top 24. Other highlights of the day included Katie Barlok's 200 backstroke time of 2:15.00. This time was a lifetime best by over four seconds and established a new first year record. Chloe Miller and Daniel Carp also scored in the finals of the 1650 free placing 23rd and 24th respectively. Emily Jensen finished 20th in the 100 free with a time of 54.30. The 400 free relay team of Jensen, Moroney, Haron and Friel established a new record time of 3:38.29. They improved upon the previous record set at the 2011 championships by Jensen, Chiu, Haron, and Friel. The women ended the meet with eight team records, 17 Top 24 Individual performances, 32 Personal Best times, 43 College Career Best times, and over 77 Season Best times. It was a great meet for the women all around, and we can't wait for next season!

Women's NESCAC Harlem Shake

Before the last session of the 2013 Women's NESCAC Swimming & Diving Championship's began, all the NESCAC teams banded together and performed the Harlem Shake. Here are the videos.
The first video is the start of the shake and the bottom one is the full version.

                                                     

NESCAC's Day 2: New 100 Fly, 100 Breast, 200 Free, & 800 Free Relay Records

Shelby Friel '13 finished 7th in the 100 butterfly.

Sophomore Audrey Butler, Junior Emily Johnson, and Senior Shelby Friel, all reached the podium on day two of the women's NESCAC Championship meet. Butler swam a lifetime best by over a second in the 100 breaststroke. Her time of 1:06.14 was a new varsity record and earned her a spot in the A Final where she took 8th place. This was improvement from her 11th place finish last season. The 100 breaststroke also marked Butler's third trip to the podium after finishing 6th in the 50 breaststroke, and 8th as part of the 400 medley relay on Friday night. Senior Shelby Friel also made it into the A Final for the 100 butterfly. Her time of 58.06 established a new varsity record and earned her 7th place in the NESCAC, an improvement from her 9th place finish a season ago, and the highest finish of her career. Her finals time was a lifetime best by over 7 tenths.
 

Bantams cheer Senior Shelby Friel to a new 100 fly record.

The bantams closed out the second day of competition with another varsity relay record. The women's 800 free relay shaved exactly 5 seconds off of the previous record. The relay team of Friel, Moroney, Jensen, and Haron had a time of 7:54.53. This improved the previous record of 7:59.53 set in 2010 by the relay team of Friel, Haron, Albino, and Cote. Friel's lead off leg of the 800 relay was also a new varsity record. Her time 1:56.29 in the 200 shattered the the previous record, which she held, by almost two full seconds. Other highlights of the day included Chloe Miller, Daisy Letendre, and Joanna Wycech all making finals in the 400IM. Letendre and Wycech both achieved life time best times in the evening finals.  Way to go Bants!

Audrey Butler '15 finished 8th in the 100 breaststroke.

100 Fly Record Swim

 

Senior Shelby Friel established a new record in the 100 butterfly in prelims, and then broke the record in finals with a time of 58.06. She can be seen in the second closest lane to the screen swimming in finals. Great race Shelby, and congratulations on breaking your own record!