Rowan Males’s Swimming finishes fourth at NJAC Championships – The Whit

The Rowan males’s swimming crew positioned fourth within the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship this previous weekend on the Aquaplex in Hampton, Virginia. The crew completed with 913 complete factors. Merchant Marine, Salisbury, and first-place ending The College of New Jersey completed forward of the Profs. 

There are two methods to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championship in March, with two chosen instances generally known as the ‘A’ and ‘B’ Cut. These instances had been decided in September. Those who meet the ‘A’ Cut time of their efficiency routinely earn a spot on the NCAA’s, and those that meet the ‘B’ Cut time don’t instantly qualify, however qualify primarily based on the quickest instances among the many different ‘B’ Cut qualifiers. 

The Profs had a number of strong particular person performances, with Junior Braden Sheehan having a formidable weekend after performing persistently nicely all through the season. Sheehan earned a first-place crown within the 200 backstroke, incomes his third ‘B’ Cut qualification to cap off the weekend. 

Sheehan initially wasn’t going to take part within the 200 backstroke, however head coach Brad Bowser noticed a chance in Sheehan’s capability for the occasion after the crew’s journey to Villanova for the Sprintfest two weeks in the past. 

“I just felt that based on what I saw at the Villanova meet and then comparing times from others in the conference in 100 free and 200 back,” Bowser stated. “As a coach, I felt it was the best decision for him to swim the 200 back because it would give him the best shot at making NCAA’s, as well as possibly winning the event.”

Despite restricted coaching all through the season within the occasion, Sheehan knew he was going to depart all of it on the market when the time got here.

“When I took off to look at the board, I wasn’t really expecting to see the time I went in and what place I got,” Sheehan stated. “In my head, all I was thinking was, ‘What did I just do?’ There was a lot of emotion after that race. All the work I put in lingered in my mind the entire meet, and this one felt really good.”

Another robust particular person efficiency got here from Junior Gavin Danze. Despite a foot damage limiting his efficiency late within the season, Danze was in a position to end with a personal-best within the 1650 freestyle with a time of 15:46.01, incomes a third-place end and qualifying for the ‘B’ Cut. 

‘I felt that Gavin did really well, especially after dealing with some injuries the last couple weeks,” Bowser said. “He was really able to step up and put together a great 1650, which I’m very proud of since we had been actually specializing in that occasion all year long.”

Danze felt nice about his efficiency after overcoming quite a few obstacles all through his collegiate profession thus far. 

“My freshman year, I was super close to getting ‘B’ Cut. I went 15:52, ‘B’ Cut was 15:50. Sophomore year, I had a bit of a down year. I was sick going into the meet, so after getting the ‘B’ Cut, it felt really great. I’ve been working towards this for the last three years, so having a pretty down year last year and then overcoming all of that going into this year, it felt great,” Danze stated.

The remainder of the crew gave it their all all through the weekend as nicely. Another noteworthy efficiency got here from Senior Patrick Clemente, who completed with a private greatest within the 200 breaststroke with a time of two:04.08. Bowser felt a number of different swimmers of be aware carried out onerous exterior of Danze and Sheehan.

“There were a lot of great swims from a lot of the guys, but three that come to my mind are Micahel O’Leary, Josh Oliveira, and Patrick Clemente,” Bowser stated. “All three of those guys showed great grit and determination for reaching their goals.”

Sheehan felt the crew ambiance all through the weekend was nice, because the crew labored onerous not only for the sake of their very own particular person targets, however for the bond the crew as an entire constructed all through the season. 

‘Julian ]Huynh] gave a fantastic heartfelt speech within the locker room that acquired all people able to go,” Sheehan stated. “We swam for more than just individual success on Sunday, we swam for each other.”

With a number of Profs qualifying for the ‘B’ Cut, they now await the picks for the Division III National Championships, which can be selected Thursday, Feb. 26. 

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