ERIE, Pa. – It all came down to the final event. The Gannon University men's swimming and diving team won the 400 free relay to narrowly defeated Penn State Behrend 155-138 in non-conference action on Tuesday night in the Junker Center.
In similar fashion to last year, the meet was neck-and-neck but this time the Golden Knights came out on top by winning the 400 free relay in 3:16.84 just one second faster than the Lions.
After dropping the first three events to Gannon, Dan Simon (Harrison City, PA/Penn-Trafford) won the 50 backstroke in 24.99 to earn nine points for Behrend. Jake Sherk (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown) followed with a first-place finish in the 50-yard breaststroke (29.11). Justin Pritchard (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) took third in that same event with a time of 29.17, not leaving much time to separate the top three spots.
Clay Altemose (Apollo, PA/Apollo-Ridge) and Brendan Miller (Aliquippa, PA/Central Valley) were second and third, respectively, in the 100 butterfly. Altemose clocked in at 53.85, while Miller had a time of 55.83.
Behrend claimed 2-3-4 in the 50 free with Hunter Backenstose (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East) leading the way with a time of 22.94 and .32 seconds behind Ethan Chase of the Golden Knights. Andrew Opalewski (Slippery Rock, PA/Slippery Rock) was second (22.95) and Everett Sargent (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland) was third (23.15).
The Lions swept the 1m diving competition. Lucas Kachurick (McKeesport, PA/Elizabeth Forward) came out on top with a score of 301.35.
The next event was the 100 free and there was .66 seconds separating first and second place. Opalewski came in second with a time of 49.88 for Behrend. Backenstose was fourth (50.73).
Simon and Altemose were 1-2 in the 100 backstroke. Simon had a winning time of 54.35 and Altemose swam in 55.41, helping the Lions stay close with Gannon.
The Golden Knights won the next two events, but the three that make up the diving team earned 16 points with another sweep of the 3m diving to let the meet come down to the last relay.
The Lions needed to place first and third to win the meet in the 400 free relay. The foursome of Simon, Opalewski, Backenstose and Pete Blazak (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley) placed second with a time of 3:17.34. The second relay for Behrend took fourth.
The Lions return to action on December 2 at the Fredonia State Invitational. Meet time is 6 p.m.
