Air Force Finishes Competition at UCI/Nike Cup

Nov. 22, 2008

LONG BEACH, Calif. - With several new entries into the Academy record book, the Air Force swimming teams wrapped up competition at the UCI/Nike Cup, hosted by UC Irvine at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool. The men finished second in the team standings with 1096.5 points, behind conference foe UNLV and ahead of MWC rival BYU. Meanwhile, the women placed 13th in the 21-team field with 230.5 points.

On the women's side, several individuals moved on to the evening's finals, with one making her mark on the Air Force record books. The Falcons had four swimmers advance past the preliminaries in the 100 free. Leading the way was senior captain Jane Hwang (Irvine, Calif.), who finished 11th with a time of 51.96. Classmate Laken Stogner (Bowdon, Ga.), who placed 16th, moved into the Air Force record books with a mark of 52.60 in the preliminaries, ranking seventh in Academy history. Freshmen Alison Ceranski (Marinette, Wis.) and Cassie Fletcher (Durham, N.C.) also advanced to the finals on Saturday, after registering marks of 53.10 and 53.46, respectively.

Two other Air Force swimmers advanced past the preliminaries, finishing 29th in their respective events. Sophomore Kaeli Kluesner (Denver, Colo.) clocked in with a time of 2:09.39 in the 200 back, while junior Becky Gleason (Ballwin, Mo.) registered a mark of 2:10.56 in the 200 butterfly. Also scoring points for the Falcons was sophomore Betsy Scarberry (Fairborn, Ohio), who placed 24th in the 1650 free with a mark of 17:55.49.

In addition, Air Force registered a ninth-place finish in the 400 free relay, as Ceranski, Fletcher, Stogner and Hwang clocked in at 3:33.19.

Leading the way on the final day of competition for the Air Force men was senior Kai Yamashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii) who won the 200 backstroke with a mark of 1:48.53. Sophomore Tom Hansen (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) added a top-10 finish in the event, placing seventh after clocking in at 1:50.56 in the preliminaries. Hansen's prelim mark in the event ranks ninth all-time in the Academy record book.

Hansen also added another Air Force top-10 mark in the 1650 free, finishing fifth with a personal-best time of 15:46.60, which ranks eighth in Air Force history. Meanwhile, junior Sean O'Keefe (Lake Oswego, Ore.) took fourth in the event with a mark of 15:44.98, while freshman Corydon Butler (Williamsburg, Va.) added a seventh-place finish with a time of 15:53.99.

The Falcons also had three top-10 finishers in both the 200 breasstroke and the 200 butterfly. In the 200 breast, senior Spencer Butt (Sterling, Va.) clocked a time of 2:03.80 in the prelims before finishing fourth. Butt's mark now ranks sixth in the Academy record books. Meanwhile, sophomore Josh Hammervold (Sugar Land, Texas) placed fifth with a time of 2:05.66 and Greg Edmonds (Sr., Fairfax Station, Va.) came in eight after turning in a mark of 2:07.97 in the prelims.

In the 200 fly, sophomore Benjamin Gunn (Gainesville, Ga.) turned in a mark of 1:49.21 to place fifth, while senior Nick Dixon (Canton, Mich.) finished sixth with a time of 1:50.90. Also in the top 10 for Air Force was sophomore Eric Robinson (Lakewood, Colo.), who placed seventh after clocking in at 1:52.85 in the prelims.

Air Force also captured a fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay, with O'Keefe, Chris Morin (Jr., Crown Point, Ind.), Bryan Avery (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii) and Robert Dawson (So., Colorado Springs, Colo.) combining for a mark of 3:04.55.

The Falcons get the rest of the semester off before heading back out to California for winter training. Air Force will then host its first dual meet of the spring on Jan. 16, when UNLV comes to visit.

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