Air Force Academy
Utah
Air Force Falls to Utah in Final Road Dual
1/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Jan. 24, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Despite some close match-ups, the Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams dropped their final road dual meet of the season to Utah Saturday afternoon. The Falcon men came up short in a 157-143 loss to the Utes, while the women fell, 144-126.
For the second-straight day, the Air Force men won the 200 medley relay to open the meet, with the team of Kai Yamashiro (Sr., Kaneohe, Hawaii), Justin Day (Sr., Peyton, Colo.), Benjamin Gunn (So., Gainesville, Ga.) and Chris Morin (Jr., Crown Point, Ind.) registering a mark of 1:34.29.
Getting a pair of individual victories for the Falcons was Yamashiro, who continued his recent run in the backstroke events, winning at both the 100-meter and 200-meter distances. Over the last four meets, Yamashiro has won five of the last six backstroke events in which he has competed.
Day was a runner-up in the 100 breaststroke, clocking in at 57.82, while classmate Spencer Butt (Sterling, Va.) finished second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:09.98. Three sophomores also added runner-up performances, as Robert Dawson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) came in second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.96, while Gunn placed second in the 100 butterfly with a mark of 51.61. In the final individual event of the day, Josh Hammervold (Sugar Land, Texas) finished second in the 200 IM, clocking in at 1:57.75.
For the divers, juniors Kyle Van Valkenburg (Tucson, Ariz.) and David Arlington (Eagle River, Alaska) finished first and second, respectively, in the 1-meter event, while the positions were switched at 3-meters. Meanwhile, senior Randy Rogers (Fort Worth, Texas) placed third in both events to lead an Air Force sweep.
For the women, senior captain Jane Hwang (Irvine, Calif.) was again the top performer, winning a pair of individual events. Her mark of 1:55.53 in the 200 freestyle was good for first place in the event, while she also touched first in the 200 IM with a mark of 2:09.72.
Also scoring an individual victory for the Air Force women was junior Becky Gleason (Ballwin, Mo.), who registered a time of 2:14.37 in the 200 butterfly to finish just ahead of teammate Katharine Ernst (Fr., Folsom, Calif.). In addition to her second-place finish in the 200 fly, Ernst was also the runner-up in the 100 fly, notching a time of 1:01.68.
Four other Falcon women placed second in their respective events as well. Julie Grabarek (Fr., Laguna Niguel, Calif.) came in second in the 1650 free with a mark of 18:56.40. In the 50 freestyle, Alison Ceranski (Fr., Marinette, Wis.) was the runner-up, with a time of 25.32, while senior Laken Stogner (Bowdon, Ga.) took second in the 100 free, clocking in at 55.12. Meanwhile, Lauren Shetley (Fr., St. Louis, Mo.) led the divers with a second-place showing at 3-meters, posting a personal-best score of 273.30.
The Air Force swimmers are off next week, but the divers will host the annual Air Force Diving Invitational, Jan. 30-31, at the Cadet Natatorium.
Players Mentioned
