Box Score
NEW HAVEN, Pa. – West Chester claimed first place in seven of the 15 events, but it was the Golden Rams’ depth that helped the visitors prevail Saturday afternoon, 150-93, in a non-league men’s swimming & diving meet at Southern Connecticut State.
The victory put West Chester (5-2) back in the win column in dual meets after the Rams dropped consecutive meets to Johns Hopkins and Penn State.
Ben Kuntz broke his own school record in the 200-yard butterfly, touching the wall first in a time of 1 minute, 48.79 seconds. He broke the old school mark in his first meet as a Golden Ram earlier this month and has now shaved off another second of his own personal best. Kuntz also took first place in the 1000 free with a time of 9:42.05.
David Smoker and Phil Luzny each finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 200 fly, displaying West Chester’s depth in just one of many events on the afternoon. Smoker posted a time of 1:59.87 while Luzny finished in 2:02.61.
Chris Salomone won the 500 freestyle in 4:42.29 and Marek Malopolski took top honors in the 200 breaststroke in 2:10.22. Bud McClernan finished right behind Malopolski in the breaststroke with a time of 2:15.22.
Brendan Fanslau won the 50 free (21.90) and placed second in the 100 free (48.07). The Golden Rams swept the top three spots in the 50 free competition.
West Chester also won both the 200 free relay and the 200 medley releay.
Zach Saeger was the most impressive highlight of the afternoon. The diver qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships at the end of the season with a score of 265.49 off the 1-meter springboard.
West Chester returns to action on Feb. 1 when it travels to Penn for another non-league tilt at 6 p.m.
