Short-Handed Swimmers Earn Fourth at NESCACs

Author: David Freedman

The Middlebury men's swimming and diving team earned a fourth place finish this past weekend at the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships. The Panthers, who only had 22 swimmers to bring to the meet out of the allotted 24, fought hard with a squad full of young talent and only three seniors.
Head Coach Peter Solomon said, "I couldn't have been happier with how well each and every swimmer performed. Their time drops are what all coaches hope for in a season." By the end of the three-day competition Middlebury's swim team saw three varsity records fall, one meet record set, and seven NCAA qualifying times achieved.
Rob Hillas '06 surprised most of the field with a 29-second drop in the 1000-meter freestyle for a Panther record, a personal best and fifth place in the conference. In the 1,650 meter freestyle Hillas knocked off another 49 seconds from his personal best to finish fifth again and set yet another varsity record. Alex Demas '06 put his name on the map with a second place finish in the 200-meter breast and a third place finish in the 400-meter Individual Medley (IM), with NCAA qualifying standards in both races. Austin Krissoff '06 got personal best times in all his events by placing sixth in the 500-meter free and third in the 200-meter free. Jamie Lamere '06 swam just as well as his classmates by taking eighth place in the 1000-meter free, 10th in the 500-meter free, and 11th in the 1,650-meter free. Jon Ellis '06 broke the two-minute mark in the 200-meter fly for the first time in his career. Scott Atkinson '06 proved to be the only true sprinter in the Class of 2006.
In the first event of the weekend, the 200-meter Free Relay, Atkinson posted a 20.9 to anchor Middlebury's relay squad. In the last event of the meet, Atkinson finished just as fast with a lifetime best 46.8 second split. With the youth of the team swimming well, Solomon and the Middlebury athletic community have plenty of reason to feel confident about this team's future.
Solomon, however, credits the leadership and effort of the three senior captains for the team's success. "Andrew Sterling, Ricky Barfuss and Stephen Kinney took the lead early in the season and finished their swimming careers on fine notes."
Kinney became the conference champion in the 100-meter IM and set a meet record in the event; he finished second in the 50-meter Breast as well. In the 200-meter medley relay, Kinney had a split of 25.6 seconds in the 50-meter breast, becoming the only swimmer in the meet to get under the 26 second mark. Barfuss saved his best times of the season for last as well by placing ninth in the 50-meter back, seventh in the 100-meter fly, and 19th in the 100-meter free. He anchored the 800 free relay squad that was later to be disqualified, but in the final race of his career he led off the 400-meter freestyle relay with a time of 47.99 seconds. Sterling got back to old form early in the weekend by dropping 11 seconds in the 500-meter free and placing 12th amidst his first-year teammates in that event who placed sixth, ninth, 10th, and 13th. Later in the weekend, Sterling qualified ninth in the 1000-meter free, and saved one last walk up to the podium with his eighth place finish in the 1,650-meter freestyle.
"To watch the weekend unfold the way it did seems like a dream at times," Solomon said. "I'm so proud of the team's effort and attitude all weekend."