John Carroll University Athletics

Day Three  Individual Event Capsules

 
Women’s 1650 Freestyle
 
This event will lean toward experience with seven of the top eight seeds having a past history in this event. Two of these returning swimmers are nationally ranked and are also seeded first and second --  Dana Lautenschleger (Mount Union) and Megan Leibensperger (Mount Union). Seeded based on 1,000 yard freestyle times, Lautenschleger is currently seeded with a 10:51.73, followed by Laibensperger at 11:16.83. Each were able to keep their top two slots after finishing in that order a year ago. Lautenschleger is looking to better her previous time of 17:34.28 from 2015. 
Lautenschleger and Leibensperger are followed by their teammate Rebecca Oblak in third with a time of 11:22.61. Oblak has been a competitor in this race all four years, with her best showing fifth place last season.
Jordyn Miller of Baldwin Wallace hopes to prove she deserves her placement after finishing 9th last year. She is currently seeded in 5th clocking in at 11:31.38. 
The top tandem out of John Carroll, Alexandra Iosue and Jane Verdi, are seeded 4th and 6th respectively with times of 11:23.42 and 11:26.36. Verdi finished sixth in 2015.
Rounding out the top eight veterans is Transylvania’s Anna Balassa, who has been a perennial top ten finisher in her four years. She is seeded 8th with a time of 11:37.48.
Ohio Northern’s Kasey Mucher is the top newcomer to this event. The sophomore is seeded 7th, going in with a time of 11:37.00.
Looking for a surprise from the afternoon session? Keep eyes on Hailee Sautter of Ohio Northern (seeded 9th, 1:38.69) and Emma Connell of John Carroll (seeded 10th, 11:39.79). Neither have swam in this event before but both have top ten seed times.
Veterans to pay attention to in the afternoon swim include three-time participant Lauren Lammlein of Mount Union (who was the 2013 champion in his event and is currently seeded 11th) and Ohio Northern’s Brianna Tingley (who has twice earned All-OAC honors in the mile and is seeded 14th … although her 1650 time is seventh best in the field).
 
Men’s 1650 Freestyle
 
Can anyone knock off Tom Pacak from John Carroll? The rookie has earned the top seed (10:01.88) and also has the fastest 1650 time on record in the OAC this season by nearly 15 seconds. 
From then on, seeds two through four consist of two seniors and one junior, in that order.  Marcus Zappa of Mount Union enjoyed a big jump in performance since finishing 10th last year, as he is currently seeded second with a time of 10:15.46.
Zach Martin of Ohio Northern is seeded third and is looking to earn all-league honors after placing fourth and fifth the last two years he participated.
Baldwin Wallace’s Jacob Burk, the 2014 OAC champion in the mile, is seeded fourth at 10:20.00. He also has a third place finish to his credit in 2015.
Alec Bryson of John Carroll (6th, 10:31.74), Ben Parker of John Carroll (7th, 10:31.87) and Brandon Tirado of Wilmington (8th, 10:42.46) are all newcomers to the mile and round out the night time competitors.
Dangerous swimmers lurk in the afternoon. Matthew Kitze of Wilmington is seeded ninth (10:38.19), and Kevin Hartenstein of Baldwin Wallace is seeded 10th (10:41.72). Andrew Oktavec is seeded 11th after placing 10th in both 2013 and 2015.
If mile experience matters, then keep locked in on the efforts of Transylvania’s Taylor Petersen (seventh in both 2014 and 2015), Wilmington’s Curtis Richards (seventh in 2013, fourth in 2014 and sixth in 2015) and Ohio Northern’s Joey Mullen (ninth in 2014, 13th in 2015).
 
Women’s 200 Backstroke
 
Another battle looms between two of the best swimmers in the league. Ohio Northern’s Allison Lohnes is seeded first for this event with a time of 2:06.02, even though she did not swim the 200 backstroke in 2015. In her first two seasons, she placed within the top three, with her first place winning time in 2014 being 2:03.81. Carly Adams from John Carroll is projected to be close behind, seeded second at 2:07.81. Mount Union will have a say in this race, as Sarah Gonda is seeded third (2:11.99) and Lauren Oktavec is fourth (2:12.59).
Kierra Watson of Ohio Northern is another rookie to watch. She is seeded fifth (2:15.05).
Teammate and sophomore Kasey Mucher is seeded eighth (2:15.85).
Julia Johnson is in the field, and that makes her a threat to everyone. Seeded sixth (2:15.49), she has finished third (2014) and fourth (2015) in her previous two championship finals.
That same line of thinking applies to Alex Hamit of Mount Union. She has been an A finalist all three previous seasons, and had her best finish last season when she took fifth. This year, she is the seventh seed (2:15.82).
Margaret Zagrobelny is better known for her work in the 100 Back, but she is the ninth seed in the 200 (2:17.48) and shouldn’t be overlooked. She has placed ninth in 2014 and eighth in 2015 in her two previous OAC Championships.
 
Men’s 200 Backstroke
 
Seeded first for the men’s 200 backstroke, with a time of 1:56.65, is Mount Union’s Tyler Fry, the reigning champion. 
Newcomer Jack Garrow of John Carroll is the top threat, as he is seeded second at 1:57.03, followed by Mount Union’s Will Turnbull, seeded third with 1:57.53.
Sam Mullen of Transylvania has placed within the top three in each of the last three seasons, twice finishing as the league runner-up (2013 and 2014). He is projected to place fourth in 2016 (1:58.30).
Another swimmer who knows how to perform in this race is David Spraul from Wilmington (seeded fifth, 1:59.43). Twice an All-OAC honoree in the 200 back, he was second in 2015.
Ohio Northern swimmer Sean O’Neill was a third place finisher in 2013 in this event, and is anticipated to come in eight place this year at 2:01.22.
Other swimmers to watch are Ian Simpson of Ohio Northern (seeded sixth, 1:59.84), Brian Walker of Mount Union (seeded seventh, 2:00.48), Alex Morrow of Baldwin Wallace (seeded ninth, 2:02.08), and Alec Bryson of John Carroll (seeded tenth, 2:03.42). No other swimmer has a seed time below 2:09.
 
 
Women’s 100 Freestyle
 
With many new faces swimming the 100 freestyle, there are only a few swimmers that have experience being in the top 10.
Leading the field is Jillian Chapman from Ohio Northern, who is not only looking to continue her streak of being in the top three for the third consecutive year, but to break through and capture the title. She is the top seed (52.95).
Challenging Chapman in this race will be Rose Aldo of Mount Union, Amanda casamatta of John Carroll and Emily Uhrin of Ohio Northern. Aldo finished seventh in this race back in 2014, but is making a big jump up to the second seed this year (54.73). Casamatta is trending up as well. A tenth place finish in 2014 was followed by a sixth place showing last year. This season, she is the third seed (54.75). Uhrin, the fourth seed (55.13), has been an A finalists the last two championships, with her best showing fourth place in 2014.
Outside the top four, most likely to crash the party will be Jenna Kassinger from Mount Union (55.66) and Sydney Veon of Ohio Northern (56.18), seeded 5th and 6th, respectively. Kassinger is much improved after a 12th place finish in 2015.
Anne Crowley of John Carroll (seventh, 56.34) and Kiali Jelinek of Transylvania (eighth, 56.68) are projected A finalists.
 
Men’s 100 Freestyle
 
Ohio Northern loves the 100 Free, and the 100 Free loves Ohio Northern. The top four seeds are all Polar Bears.
Eric Chen is seeded 1st at a time of 46.96 after being in the top ten for the past two years. He earned All-OAC status by placing third in 2015.
Junior Logan Pfeifer, twice a runner-up in the 100 Free, is seeded second (47.26), while senior Mitchell Murphy is twice a top five finisher and is seeded third (47.36).
Michael Parent is the rookie of the bunch, and is seeded fourth for ONU (48.17).
Another dangerous Polar Bears lurks at the number nine seed, as Peter He has shown his potential already this season in many other events. In this race, he clocks in at 48.89.
With all that being said, there is no one more dangerous in the field than David Hawk. The pride of the Quakers is primarily a 50 specialist, but his speed alone is worth taking note of, and as the fifth seed (48.46) could make waves.
Hawk’s teammate Andrew Stewart is seeded sixth (48.66).
Anyone with a seed time under 50 needs consideration in a sprint event such as this, so keep watch on Mount Union’s Alex Machovina (7th, 48.86), Transylvania’s Cameron Brewer (9th, 48.99), Ohio Northern’s Justin Chapman (10th, 49.29) and Gabe Rastatter (11th, 49.76), Wilmington’s Erik Spraul (12th, 49.77) and Brandon Tirado (13th, 49.80) and John Carroll’s John Scantling (14th, 49.81). Of this group, only Scantling has swam in an A final in a prior championship (6th in 2015).
 
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
 
A very strong field will be taking the blocks for this year’s Women’s 200 Breaststroke competition. Morgan Cyrus from Transylvania is leading the field with a time of 2:23.94 after winning the race in both 2014 and 2015.
John Carroll’s Lindsey Fano is seeded second (2:27.81) after finding a home for herself in the top five during her four years of swimming.
Chloe Ruggerio from JCU is an impressive swimmer built for the distance breaststroke event. She is seeded third (2:29.69).
Three other freshmen have also been impressive in 2015-16 -- Mallory Glenn from Mount Union (fourth, 2:29.81), Lauren Chaney from Ohio Northern (fifth, 2:29.88), and Regina Saxton from Mount Union (sixth, 2:30.51)
Jess Swanson of Mount Union will look keep her streak of top five the past three years alive as she is seeded seventh (2:31.07).
Jessica Morrow of John Carroll is making her debut in this race, seeded eighth, with a time of 2:31.07. She will have to battle Molly Wheeler from Ohio Northern (ninth, 2:32.34) and Peyton Kranz from Mount Union (10th, 2:33.85) for a spot on the award stand. Wheeler is a two time A final swimmer in her career, while Kranz placed 12th in her debut in 2014.
 
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
 
Back in the day, a young man named Drew Keriazes ruled the OAC world in the 200 Breaststroke.
Now, younger brother Trevor Keriazes is looking to do the same. The Ohio Northern sophomore has the top seed time 2:07.69.
Following shortly after, Anthony Ferrell also from ONU seeded second with a time of 2:11.57.
Only a second off of Ferrell’s time, David Kirtek from JCU, ranked third with the time of 2:12.81.
The margin between the next four swimmers is razor thin. Coming in fourth with a time of 2:14.31 is Tom Golba from Ohio Northern. Egan Paul from JCU is next in line with a time of 2:14.61. Jack Ineson of Mount Union is sixth (2:14.88).
The swimmer in the seventh spot holds the most intrigue. Tyler Moore of Mount Union is the two-time defending champion. His seed time of 2:15.08 is eight seconds off his winning pace of last year, but Moore will definitely factor into the this year’s event.
Baldwin Wallace Tyler Thompson, whom placed 3rd in 2015 is seeded eighth this year (2:17.47).
Seth Evans, a three-time B finalists from Mount Union, gets one last shot at an A final in 2016. He is seeded 13th.
 
 
Women’s 200 Butterfly


Julia Johnson, Junior at Transylvania currently holds her school record for the 200 Butterfly event and is the defending OAC champion in this event. She is the prohibitive favorite at 2:08.11
Freshman Sophie Kocheff of John Carroll is the closest challenger in terms of seed time (2:15.58.).
 The rest of the top 10 competitors are closely bunched. Mount Union teammates, Caroline Buehl (2:18.17) and Jessica Hirsh (2:20.96), are seeded third and fourth, respectively. Elizabeth Davis of Transylvania is next in line with the time of 2:20.96.
Senior Chandler Ashbaugh from Baldwin Wallace may be the most intriguing figure in this event outside of Johnson. The consolation race champion in 2014 and the championship runner-up in 2015, Ashbaugh quietly lurks in the sixth spot (2:23.51), but it would be hard to discount her chances.
Sarah Krupp of BW (7th, 2:24.17) and a pair of Polar Bears -- Alyson Rohrer (8th, 2:28.10) and Brianna Tingley (9th, 2:28.29) – are the only other swimmers under 2:30.
Outside of 2:30, keep an eye on Kasey Mucher of Ohio Northern, seventh a year ago in this race
 
 
Men’s 200 Butterfly
 
Gavin Rundell from Mount Union wants to knock the door down. He has been knocking on it for many years. After a fifth place showing as a freshman, he has been All-OAC each of the last two seasons 93rd in 2014, 2nd in 2015). Now, he is the top seed in 2016 with a time of 1:54.30.
John Raker and Peter He of ONU came in close with the times of 1:57.96 and 1:59.13, and are seeded second and third, respectively. Raker was the 2014 runner-up in this race.
Following right after is John Carroll sophomore Brian Hulseman, who clocks in as the fourth seed with a mark of 2:00.45.
Mount Union’s Brian Walker is seeded fifth at 2:02.71, while JCU’s Corey Kehm (2:03.84) and Peter Neal (2:04.19) trail closely behind on the chart.
Joey Mullen is the eight seed (2:04.89), and has two A finals to his credit. Michael Drake of ONU took seventh place last year, and is the ninth seed this year with the time of 2:05.24.
Rounding out the top ten seeds in the Men’s 200 Butterfly event iss Mount Union senior, Nik Barkley with the time of 2:07.92. He is a three-time veteran of this event, with his best showing sixth place as a freshman.
 

Women’s 1-meter diving
 
There are seven divers returning to this year’s 1-meter board competition but only one has placed in the top three in recent history. Maddie Fortune of Baldwin Wallace returns to defend her title this year with stiff competition coming from Sara Fountain of Mount Union, who placed fourth last year.
While these two placed well last year, Ashley Creasap (JCU) and Ally Roskos (MC) may prove to be divers to watch. Roskos is new to the conference this year but comes in with a score that seeds her first.
 
 
Men’s 3-meter diving
 
The men’s 1-meter competition loses two competitors from last year taking the competition from seven to five. Nathan Levengood of Mount Union is the only male diver returning to the 1-meter diving board that placed in the top three last year.
Kevin Henderson of Ohio Northern, who placed seventh last year returns with teammate Braden Kuhn, who placed fourth last year.