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Jayhawks Up To 36 Medals In Florida

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The Jamestown Community College swimming & diving team is scheduled to return home from the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championships on Sunday.

The way Coach Todd Conklin’s athletes are performing, they may just decide to stay in the Sunshine State.

“It was another outstanding day,” Conklin said Friday night.

The remark was not an overstatement.

With one day of competition remaining, the Jayhawks are in possession of 36 medals.

“The men still have an outside shot of becoming (nonscholarship) national champions and the women, as long as they don’t do anything dumb … and if they continue to swim like they’ve been swimming, it will be a lock. I don’t want to take anything for granted, but we’ve put ourselves in a very good spot after three days.”

The women added three more All-American performances as freshman Tia Moppert (Gowanda/Gowanda) and Jade Vidas (Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa/Parkstown HS for Girls) placed in the top eight in the 100-yard individual medley, earning All-American status. In the prelims, Moppert had a time of 1:08.73, breaking the school record held by Vidas. In the championship round, Moppert improved her time to set the school record once again, posting a time of 1:07.11 to finish seventh.

In the prelims, Vidas posted a time of 1:11.21 to move onto the championship round. In the championship round, Vidas posted a time of 1:10.60 to finish eighth.

Freshman Lillian Baer (Jamestown/Maple Grove) also competed in the 100-yard individual medley, finishing with a time of 1:16.04 in the prelims. In the championship round, Baer improved her time to 1:14.82 to finish ninth.

In the 100-yard backstroke, freshman Anna Burt (Jamestown/Jamestown) posted a time of 1:10.11 in the prelims. In the championship round, Burt posted a 1:08.87, a personal best, to finish 12th. Freshman Alyssa Hanesworth (Randolph/Randolph) also competed in the 100-yard backstroke, posting a time of 1:29.71 to finish 14th.

Competing in the 100-yard breaststroke, Megan Stang (Perrysburg/Gowanda) had a time of 1:23.09 in the prelim round. In the championship round, Stang improved her time with a personal best 1:22.21 to finish ninth.

Baer also competed in the 100-yard breaststroke, posting a time of 1:27.06 in the prelims. Moving onto the championship round, Baer finished with a time of 1:25.31 for a 10th-place finish.

To cap off the night in the 200-yard medley relay, the team of Burt, Stang, Vidas, and Yuchnitz swam a time of 2:02.95, securing All-American status. The quartet’s time also qualifies as a new school record.

As a team, the Jayhawks are in fourth place with 242 team points. The Jayhawks will wrap up their week today.

MEN

Continuing to set new personal bests, the Jamestown CC men’s swimming team currently sits in eighth place with 97 points.

To lead the pack, freshman Matthew Fennell (Fourways Garden, Johannesburg, South Africa/King Edwards VII School) set a school record in the 100-yard individual medley with a time of 1:05.52 to finish 18th. Fellow teammate Eathan Johnson (Panama/Panama) was close behind, setting a personal best with a time of 1:05.92 to finish 20th.

Freshman Colby Pantall (Jamesown/Maple Grove) continues to swim his best, this time posting a time of 5:39.03 in the 500-yard freestyle, also a personal best. Jackson Vanstrom (Jamestown /Southwestern High) also had a personal best in the 500-yard freestyle, posting a time of 6:01.03 to finish 21st.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Eathan Johnson finished with a time of 1:09.39, a personal best, to finish 19th. Fennell also posted a personal best in the event with a time of 1:12.06, finishing 21st.

To wrap up the day, the team of Elliot Johnson (Panama/Panama), Eathan Johnson, Pantall, and Fennell competed in the 200-yard medley relay, posting a time of 1:52.29 to finish eighth.

The Jayhawks will compete in the final day of the national championships today, starting at 9:30 a.m.

THURSDAY

The men’s team had multiple swimmers post personal bests Thursday.

Leading the pack for the Jayhawks was Elliot Johnson finished in 20th place in the 200-yard freestyle, posting a time of 2:01.01.

Pantall posted a new best time in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:05.13 to finish 22nd. Pantall took nearly seven seconds off his previous personal best which he posted at the ECC Quad-Meet. Vanstrom finished not far behind, taking 23rd with a time of 2:11.35.

Jamestown CC also competed in the 200-yard freestyle relay with the team of Eathan Johnson, Fennell, Pantall and Vanstrom finishing in 1:39.66. The team finished in seventh place.

The Jayhawks wrapped up day two in the 400-yard medley relay where the team of Eathan Johnson, Pantall, Fennell and Vanstrom finished in seventh place, posting a time of 4:27.56.

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