GREENSBORO, N.C. – A trio of Cal Lutheran swimmers head to Greensboro, North Carolina this week for the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships on March 20-23 at the Greensboro Aquatics Center.
Holding things down for Regals, senior Grace Sanchez qualified in the 50-free (23.48) and was invited to compete in the 100-free (52.31). The sprinter qualified for the same events last season, and earned All-American honors in both.
This year, Sanchez picked up a pair of first place finishes in the 50-free in the regular season while finishing in the top five in every meet for the 100-free. At the SCIAC Championships, Sanchez came out of the preliminaries as the top qualifier in the 50-free at 23.48, just .04 off the school record she set last year at the NCAA Championships, and went on to finish fourth in the finals at 23.78 later that night.
On the men's side, junior Ben Brewer qualified in the 500-free (4:29.36) and 1650-free (15:34.47), and was invited to compete in the 400-individual medley (3:59.10) – the same three events the distance specialist qualified in last year.
Brewer took first in the 500-free in every conference dual this season, except in the tri-meet versus Whittier and Redlands when he fell to teammate Stephen Blaauw. He additionally claimed first in every 1000-free and 1650-free SCIAC matchup this year. At championships, Brewer took second in the 1650-free (15.34.47), just .02 seconds behind first, and third in the 500-free (4:29.36) and third in the 400-individual medley (3:59.10).
Rounding out the group is 2018-19 SCIAC Men's Swimming Athlete of the Year, sophomore Andreas Nybo. Nybo qualified in the 200-indiividual medley (1:49.43) and 200-butterfly (1:47.85), and was invited to compete in the 100-butterfly (49.15).
Nybo led Cal Lutheran to a fourth place finish in the team standings and earned four all-conference distinctions during conference championship weekend. Individually, he not only claimed gold in the 200-individual medley, but also set a new meet record with a time of 1:49.43. He also finished first in the 200-butterfly at 1:47.85, third in the 100-butterfly at 49.15, and third in the 800-free relay alongside McCallum, Brewer and Blaauw, clocking in at 6:49.36.
Events begin at 10 a.m. EST on Wednesday, March 20, and conclude the evening of Saturday, March 23. For more information, head to NCAA Division III's Tournament Central.
Championship Central: Schedule, Results and Live Stream
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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director
