Men’s swim team claims second place at CCS National Meet
The Liberty men’s swim team brought its best to the water on a national stage, claiming a program-high second place finish among 128 teams on April 2 at the CCS National Meet in Columbus, Ohio.
The tournament was a three-day affair, in which the Flames entered the scene on day one with a splash. In the 800-meter free relay, Liberty swimmers senior Matt Davidson, freshman Dillon Delaney, sophomore Trent Kolter and senior Whitt Brown placed first overall with a time of 6:42.74, breaking both the team and meet record.
Another record was broken later that day as freshman Max Phillips, Kolter, Davidson and Delaney took the crown in 400 medley relay, finishing with a time of 3:19.23.
During the individual competition, Davidson, a native of Forest, Virginia, and a three-time national champion in his own right, broke a personal best and meet a record in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 48.55.
“Friday night was spectacular with so many different swimmers scoring,” Flames Head Coach Heath Grishaw told Club Sports media after the meet.
The scoring would continue on the second day of competition as the Flames kept pace, beginning with a top-three finish in the 200 medley relay and notching a team-best time of 1:29.87.
The Flames would capture another top-three performance in the 400 free relays, as Phillips, Davidson, Trent and Brown recorded a team record time of 3:03.57.
Individual events also saw many of the Flames swimmers place high. Davidson took first in 100-meter backstroke and third in 50-meter freestyle. Brown placed second in 200-meter freestyle while Delaney, the freshman from Williamsburg, Virginia, cracked the top five with a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke.
As the final day of the competition arrived, Grishaw’s group saw a culmination of what it had worked towards all season. In the individual events, Davidson, who captured first in the nation in the 100 backstroke the year before, was set to defend his title in the event on his 21st birthday.
“Today’s Matt Davidson’s birthday, but it was also his last race ever, so it was bittersweet,” Grishaw said.
Taking to the pool for the final day as a competitive swimmer, Davidson left nothing up to discussion, propelling to a time of 48.76 in the 100 backstroke and ending his career with a gold medal.
Davidson’s teammate Delaney later took part in the 50-meter breaststroke, finding a beautiful start and ending up second (25.38) behind Michigan State’s Travis Nitkiewicz.
In team events, the Flames continued setting CCS Championship records, winning the 800-freestyle relay in 6:42.74 and taking top spot in the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:19.23.
When the final swimmers exited the pool, the Flames had done enough to claim second overall with a total of 577 points. Purdue University, last year’s winner, took the title home once again with a total of 899.5 points.
Looking back at the course of the season, however, Grishaw feels his team should be nothing but proud of its performance.
“We’re really happy with what happened,” Grishaw said. “Absolutely, there have been a lot of highs and lows from injuries, to other team stuff we had to go through this year, and the guys battled through the adversity and came out on the other side. Finishing in second place is a testimony to all of the hard work these guys put in.”
Cote is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on Twitter