WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT – The St. Joe's men's swim team sits in 13th place with 53 team points after two days at the 2011 New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving (NEISDA) Championships.
The Monks' point total through two sessions more than triples the program's combined total over the last two seasons. Saint Joseph's garnered six points in 2009 as a first-year program and eight last winter at the NEISDA event.
The Monks have advanced to the finals in seven competitions with team-record-breaking performances in all seven events. Kevin Towne '12 (Shrewsbury, MA) became the first SJC men's swimmer to earn a top-ten finish on Friday when he placed eighth with a 2:11.40 effort in the 200-Back. His 2:08.64 time in the prelims stands as a new team record in the event.
Towne also set a new team-best with a 59.24 time in the 100-Back. He earned a 12th-place finish with his performance.
Thomas Smith '14 (New Hartford, CT) placed 13th with a 30.99 time in the 50-Breast and broke the team record with a 30.80 effort in the prelims. Adam Gaulin '14 (Belfast, ME) shaved nearly three seconds off his 100-Breast time and placed 12th with a 1:03.52, also a new team best.
The Monks topped the team-records in three relay events as well. The 200-Free relay squad, featuring Towne, Brian Grasser '12 (Groton, CT), Smith and Gaulin broke the SJC record with a 1:38.36 time in the prelims and placed 13th with a 1:38.47 effort in the finals. The same quartet of SJC swimmers broke the team relay records in the 200-Medley (1:49.49) and 800-Free (8:16.67) and placed 12th in both events. The Monks obliterated the latter mark by nearly 43 seconds.
Keene State sits atop the team standings with 701 points, well ahead of current runner-up Bentley, which has 514 points through 34 events.
