NCAA D-II NATIONALS

CLARION WOMEN 8TH/MEN 10TH AT DIVISION II NATIONALS

            (Buffalo, N.Y.): Clarion women’s swimmer Denise Simens (So. Hollister, Ca.) and men’s diver James Kane (Jr. Plymouth) led the Golden Eagles on Friday night at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving National Championships.

            Held at the Flickinger Center in Buffalo, New York, Simens placed sixth in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.91 to lead the women’s team. She was joined by teammate Lori Leitzinger (Jr. State College) who placed 14th in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 59.42. The women’s 800 free relay team of Brittany Hanzl (Sr. Whitehall), Kristy Clarke (Sr. Campbell Hall, N.Y.), Sari Cattoni (Jr. Lewis Run) and Rebecca Burgess (Fr. Gibsonia – Pine Richland) ended the night with a fourth place finish in the 800 yard free relay with a time of 7:39.69.

            Clarion’s women currently stand in 8th place at the nationals with 147.5 points. Drury continues to lead the team competition with 478, Truman State is second with 397 and San Diego is third with 243.

            Diver James Kane had his best performance ever at nationals with a 5th place finish in the one meter diving event. Kane totaled 396 points. He also finished 7th on three meter on Wednesday night, his first two All-America placings at Clarion.

            Mike Kerr (Jr. Lansadle – North Penn) also earned a 13th placing in the 100 yard backstroke. Kerr swam a time of 51.96.

            The men’s 800 free relay team of A.J. Claypool (So. Kittanning), Ryan Thiel (Fr. Ligonier), Mike Kerr and Rich Eckert (Fr. Versailles – McKeesport) placed 11th with a time of 7:08.64 to end the evening for the men.

            Clarion’s men are currently in 10th place with 120 points, while Drury leads the title chase with 483, North Dakota is second with 382 and Wayne State is third with 287.

            The D-II Nationals end on Saturday with all eyes on Clarion women’s diver Jamie Wolf, as she tries to win her 7th national championship in her final event, 3 meter diving. It will be her last event at nationals and she has already set a new NCAA record with 6 national titles in 7 tries.