Air Force Academy
WAC Championships
Falcons win WAC title --- again
2/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
By Quinn Horner
HOUSTON, Texas -- The Air Force Academy men's swimming and diving team won the Western Athletic Conference Championship for the second consecutive year, holding off Wyoming, on Saturday, Feb. 25, in Houston, Texas. Air Force finished with 794.5 points. Wyoming was second (754), followed by Grand Canyon University ( 563), UNLV (525.5) North Dakota (357) CSU Bakersfield (300) and Seattle (220). Earning additional honors were Ben Brockman for WAC Freshman of the Year and Rob Clayton for WAC Men's Swim Coach of the Year. The championship is also the second in the history of Air Force men's swimming and diving.
The night opened with the final heat of the 1650 free in which three Falcons scored. Andrew Faciszewski swam for silver in a time of 15:05.70. Collin Green placed fifth with a personal best of 15:25.77, while Garrett Glaudini took sixth in 15:29.61.
In the 200 back final, Kris Tillery earned a fourth-place finish in 1:46.21 and Joey Gebhart took seventh in 1:48.79. Brockman, swimming in the consolation final, finished in 1:48.37.
In the 100 free, another school record was broken as well as top times in school history and personal bests were achieved. With three Falcons swimming in the final heat, Steffen Mount tied for silver with a time of 43.22 and recorded the fastest time in school history. Jordan Dahle, now the third fastest in school history, placed fifth with a personal best of 43.71. Michael Hannigan also posted a personal best with a time of 43.88 for sixth place. Devon Davis and Lars Knutson, both in the consolation final, placed 13th (45.15) and 16th (46.06).
All four Falcons in the 200 breaststroke final were under two minutes, each improving their standing on Academy's Top 10 list. Silver went to Zach Knoche in 1:56.48, earning him the second fastest time in school history. Kevin Fanter took bronze (1:57.28) and maintained his third fastest time on the list. Zach Nelson was fourth with a personal best of 1:59.57, capturing the fifth fastest time in school history, and Derek Brecht (1:59.59) took seventh with the sixth fastest 200 breaststroker in Academy history.
The sole swimmer scoring for the Falcons in the 200 fly was Kevin Pollard who swam in the consolation final. In a tough heat, Pollard fought for his 11th place finish in a time of 1:49.43.
After a day off, the divers returned for a powerful performance on platform. In finals, AJ Eckebrecht took silver with a score of 302.35 and not far behind was Nicholas Piontek in fourth (291.55). Scoring for the Falcons in prelims, Erich Drollinger placed ninth (210.90) and in 14th was Kevin LeCours (194.55).
The Falcons confirmed their team victory and a second WAC title with a strong finish in the 400 free relay, which consisted of Mount, Hannigan, Dahle and Davis, bringing home a bronze medal in 2:55.20.
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Players Mentioned
