Swimming Picks Up a Pair of Combined Wins at Big 12 vs. BIG EAST Weekend

Saturday, October 24

Morgantown, W. Va.

10 A.M.

Xavier University

West Virginia University with Seton Hall and Butler

Nick Strader in the 1,000 yard freestyle.

Swimming Picks Up a Pair of Combined Wins at Big 12 vs. BIG EAST Weekend

10.24.15 | Swimming

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – With sessions two and three in the books at the Big 12 vs. BIG EAST weekend at West Virginia University, the Xavier swimming program picked up a pair of combined wins. The Musketeers topped BIG EAST foes Seton Hall and Butler while falling to the hosts Mountaineers.

On the women's side, the Musketeers opened the morning session with Molly Ford, Caroline Gaertner, Kristen Liebert and Haley Dresner finishing third in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:41.16.

In the 500 free, Katie Kerr took third with a time of 5:08.40, the 14^th fastest time in XU records. Kerr also posted a second place finish in the 1,650 free, with a time of 17:57.86, the 16^th fastest time in XU records. Emily Wagner followed her in with a time of 18:17.63 to take third.

Claire Brolsma finished the 50 free in a time of 25.17 to take second.

The Xavier women closed out the morning session by taking second in the 800 free relay, with Katie Kerr, Jenna Wilkes, Taylor Jach and Mackenna Rife posting a time of 7:53.76.

Xavier took three of the top five spots in the 200 fly, with Maggie Kauffeld taking second with a time of 2:11.32, the 14^th fastest time in Xavier records. Annie Cummins took third with a time of 2:11.89 and Jenna Wilkes finished fifth with a time of 2:14.26.

The women closed the event by taking third and fourth in the 400 medley relay, with Gaertner, Dresner, Cummins and Paxtyn Drew leading the way with a time of 4:01.93.

On the final scoresheet, the Xavier women defeated Seton Hall, 191-158, and Butler, 260-71, while falling to West Virginia, 266-93.

On the men's side Xavier's 'A' team of Rodrigo Suriano, Luke Johanns, Enrique Hernandez and Tony Miller opened the morning session by second with a time of 1:24.45 in the 200 free relay.

Luke Johanns took the top spot in the 50 yard free, finishing in a time of 20.79.

In the 100 back, Musketeers finished third, fourth and fifth, with Nathan Runyon leading the Xavier in with a time of 53.51 to enter the Xavier top 20 records at 19^th.

Suriano finished fourth with a time of 53.54. Sam Johanns finished fifth with a time of 53.58 to set the 20^th fastest time in school history, nudging his brother Luke out of the Xavier top 20 times.

The Xavier men closed out the morning session by taking second in the 800 free relay by posting a time of 7:05.37 in the 800 free relay with the 'A' team of Alex Wolfred, Enrique Hernandez, Chase Baldwin and Nick Foster.

In the afternoon session, the men opened the events by taking second and third in the 100 free, with Suriano touching the wall in 46.98 and Luke Johanns following him in with a time of 47.43.

In the 1,650 free, the Musketeers collected a pair of top four finishes, with Nick Strader finishing in 16:46.44 to take second and Foster taking fourth with a time of 16:59.77.

Erik Biernat collected a third place finish in the 200 IM, finishing in a time of 1:57.92.

The Musketeer men closed the event with Suriano, Michael Pettinichi, Biernat, and Luke Johanns finishing in a time of 3:30.32 in the 400 medley relay.
The men finished the event with a 177-154 win over Seton Hall and a 251-108 loss to West Virginia.

Xavier returns to competition on Nov. 7 when the Musketeers travel to Denison for a dual meet. Events are scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. Stay tuned to GoXavier.com for more information.