Buoyed by the phenomenal performance of Ben Byers ’07, Rob Mitchell ’06, and Josh Tanz ’06, the Cardinals finished sixth out of eleven teams in the weekend’s NESCAC Finals. The team’s final score of 825.5 was well behind Williams, the eventual winner, but Byers’ performance in the 1000 and 1650-yard freestyle events gave Wesleyan their first swimming champions ever. Additionally, eight team records fell.
A second-place finish in the 500 on Friday snapped Byers’ undefeated streak that had lasted all season. On Saturday, however, Byers rocketed through the water in the 1000 to become the NESCAC champ in the event, the first in the history of Wesleyan. Furthermore, Byers’ 9:29.22 paces broke his own team record in the event. Mitchell came in fourth, a mere 19 seconds back, as the duo formed the best distance combo in the conference.
“The 1000 was an amazing race; one of the best I’ve ever been in,” Byers said. “It was decided by two tenths of a second, which would be equivalent to a difference of one one-hundredth of a second in a 50-yard freestyle. The last 100, I knew I was going to win, because there was no way I was going to let my teammates down.”
In Sunday’s 1650 the duo also excelled. Byers’ time of 15:51.69 shattered the old mark and automatically qualified him for the NCAA Finals. Mitchell again finished fourth, and his 16:23.96 clip met the provisional B cut for the finals. Byers’ runner-up time in the 500 made the B cut as well.
“I came into the meet knowing I had already qualified for nationals,” Byers said. “What I was more worried about was the fact that freshman year, I choked pretty badly at NESCACs, losing to several Williams swimmers in the 500, 1000, and 1650. This year I got my revenge, beating Steve Spinelli, Williams’ top distancer, in both the 1000 and the 1650. It was a really good feeling to be able to go back to my team and hold my head high, knowing I had gotten what I needed to done.”
Tanz also had a brilliant weekend, highlighted by his final individual race of the meet, a fourth–place finish in the 200-yard butterfly. His time of 1:55.02 set a new Cardinal record and also met the NCAA B cut. Tanz also took part in the first event of Saturday’s races. In the 200 medley relay, he, Will Hasty ’08, Dan Devine ’06. Tom Cleveland ’05 came in sixth. In the process they prepared to put their names on the Wesleyan record board as another mark fell. Hasty continued to display the form that made him one of the backstrokers to watch, finishing in the top ten in his individual races and rewriting the standards in the backstroke at all distances.
“We scored about 250 more points than we did at last year’s NESCACs, which is a huge improvement, despite being unable to move up a spot in the standings,” Byers said. “This huge point gain, almost a fifty percent improvement, is due to our team’s depth, rather than outstanding swimmers. Everyone on the team made a difference through their swimming and their support of all the members of the team.”
Byers will swim at the NCAA Division III Finals over the weekend of March 10-12 in Holland, Michigan.
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