LANCASTER, Pa.—With one day of the 2017 Centennial Conference Championships down, Swarthmore College Women's Swimming sits in second place with 151 points.
In the first finals event of the evening, the 200-yard freestyle relay, the Garnet collected the bronze medal as Liz Staton, Sayaka Vaules, Ashley Hwang and Sophie Moody combined for a time of 1:38.75. The third-place finish garnered 32 points for Swarthmore.
The Garnet's 400-yard medley relay squad of Emily Bley, Kyla Hallam, Sarah Solomon and Vaules raced to a fourth-place finish with a time of 3:58.17.
In individual events, the Garnet had three swimmers finish in the top eight. Clare Cushing battled to a fourth-place finish in the 500 free (5:08.86), earning Swarthmore 15 points. Emily Bley notched a fifth-place finish with a time of 2:12.18 in the 200 IM. And in the 50 free, Liz Staton posted a time of 24.97 to come in eighth. In the morning preliminaries of the 50 free, Staton tied for eighth with Ursinus' Alli Hemp with a mark of 24.75. The two swimmers later had to compete head-to-head in a swim-off to break the tie. Staton won the duel, clocking in at 24.68 to earn a place in the "A" heat of the finals. That time was a new lifetime best for Staton, and the third-fast sprint in school history.
Swarthmore continues the conference championship with 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. sessions on Saturday. The Garnet look to hold back Washington College (144 points) and Gettysburg College (141 points), who are creeping close behind in third and fourth, while gaining ground on leader Ursinus College (229 points).
Preliminary Results
Finals Results
