March 1, 2012
2012 MAC Swimming & Diving Championships - Thursday Prelims Results
OXFORD, Ohio -- The 2012 Mid-American Conference Swimming & Diving Championships are underway and the talented freshman class has started off strong for the Bears on Thursday.
The 500-yard freestyle opened up the competition on Thursday at the Corwin M. Dixon Aquatic Center on the campus of Miami (Ohio) University and the duo of Caleb Schuermann and Jared Roberts will represent the Bears in the championship finals this evening.
Schuermann, a freshman from Elkhorn, Neb., had one of the best swims of the morning, dropping more than eight seconds off his previous season best. His time of 4:25.83 secured the top seed and was less than a second off the NCAA "B" qualifying time in the event. Despite slipping on one of his flip turns, sophomore Jared Roberts made the A-Final (8th) and just 1.11 separates him and the fourth-place finisher.
Freshmen Paul Le and Chris Carpenter followed suit and locked in on their spots for the 200 IM championship finals. The Bears added another two swimmers in the consolation heat with Daan Jansen and Aaron Dennis. Le enters tonight with the second-fastest time in the event as he dropped three seconds to grab his first NCAA "B" cut of the meet. Carpenter finished sixth in the prelims and recorded the fastest breaststroke split (30.87) of any IM swimmer in prelims.
In the shortest and fastest event on slate for the championships (50 free), Missouri State will have three swimming later tonight. Freshman Vitalii Baryshok registered his third NCAA "B" cut of the year as he went 20.25 in prelims. Baryshok, who is the only Bears' swimmer in the championship final, is ranked fourth. Jeff Bentz and Isaac McKnight finished 13th and 14th, respectively.
Tonight's relays will consist of the 200 free relay to kick things off and the 400 medley to finish off the night. Points for relays are as follows: 1st (40 points), 2nd (34), 3rd (32), 4th (30), 5th (28), 6th (26) and 7th (24).
To keep up with the Bears at the 2012 MAC Swimming & Diving Championships, you can watch the free video stream at mac-sports.com and also follow live results at . Check MissouriStateBears.com for photos, recaps and video interviews.
