February 20, 2011

GETTYSBURG, PA -- Junior Nick Longworth (Media, PA/Strath Haven) broke his own school record in the 200 backstroke and turned in a pair of top 10 individual finishes to lead the Washington College men's swim team at the 2011 Centennial Conference Championships, held Friday through today at Gettysburg College. The Shoremen finished sixth of seven teams overall at the event.

Longworth swam a school-record time of 1:56.94 in the preliminaries of the 200 backstroke before finishing seventh in the finals in 1:59.26. He was 10th in the 100 backstroke in 55.01 after swimming a Washington College season-best 54.96 in the preliminaries to become the school's fourth-fastest swimmer ever in the event. Longworth also led off the 200 freestyle relay with a WC season-best 50 freestyle time of 22.98.

Junior Austin Auger (McLean, VA/Langley) finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke for the Shoremen in 1:02.14 after swimming a WC season-best time of 1:01.09 in the preliminaries. He was also 11th in the 200 breaststroke in a WC season-best time of 2:17.01. 

Senior Matt Violette (Westbrook, ME/Westbrook) placed in a team-high three individual events. He was 10th in the 400 individual medley in a WC season-best time of 4:18.88 and 14th in the 500 freestyle in a WC season-best time of 4:54.68. In the 200 butterfly, he swam a personal-best and WC season-best time of 2:03.98 to finish 11th. Violette also turned in a WC season-best 200 freestyle time of 1:49.92 as the lead-off in the 800 freestyle relay. 

Freshman Robert Mix (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East) became the Shoremen's eighth-fastest swimmer ever in the 200 breaststroke as he tied for 14th place in 2:19.25. He was 11th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.82 to become the Shoremen's ninth-fastest swimmer ever in that event and also swam a WC season-best time of 2:04.30 in the preliminaries of the 200 individual medley.

Junior Johnny Helenek (Gaithersburg, MD/Gaithersburg) also placed in both breaststroke events for the Shoremen, taking 13th in the 200 in 2:18.71 and 16th in the 100 in 1:03.80. 

Junior Ross Mills (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) became the Shoremen's seventh-fastest swimmer ever in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:06.58 in the preliminaries before finishing 14th in 2:06.85 in the finals. Mills also swam a WC season-best time of 55.96 in the preliminaries of the 100 butterfly.

Sophomore A.J. Feurer (Kingsville, MD/Archbishop Curley) swam a 5:00.02 in the preliminaries of the 500 freestyle to become the Shoremen's eighth-fastest swimmer ever in that event.

Longworth, Auger, Mix, and Violette were sixth in the 200 medley relay in a WC season-best time of 1:41.47. Longworth, sophomore Robert Homer (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West), Feurer, and Mix were seventh in the 200 freestyle relay in a WC season-best time of 1:32.04. Violette, Feurer, sophomore Spencer Van Cise (Temple City, CA/Temple City), and Longworth were seventh in the 800 freestyle relay in a WC season-best time of 7:35.53. Violette, Mix, Auger, and Longworth placed seventh in the 400 freestyle relay in a WC season-best time of 3:24.74. 

Gettysburg won the 2011 Centennial Conference Men's Swimming Championship, followed by Franklin & Marshall in second and Swarthmore in third.