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Swimmers stay afloat against Division I teams
By Jeff Tejcek
jtejcek@mscd.edu

Metro state men’s swimmers Paul Bunge, Jake Haffner, Justin Terasas and Evan Venrick won the 200-yard freestyle relay Oct. 20 and 21 at the Early Bird Invitational at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

Overall, the ’Runners men’s team finished fourth, putting up 444.50 points, while the women’s team placed seventh with 83.50 points.

Head coach Winthrop Dyer was pleased with his team’s effort.

“We beat Wyoming, we beat CSU and we beat CU. We beat the Division I teams,” Dyer said. “The men, in general, just did really great.”

The Early Bird Invitational draws swimmers from all around the region. Other colleges competing at the meet were the University of Wyoming, the University of Northern Colorado, Air Force and Colorado School of Mines.

Diver Chelsea Bates finished ninth on the 3-meter springboard and placed eighth in the 1-meter dive. Men’s diver Ken Rhoades took fourth in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events.

Kathy Lind finished ninth in the 50-yard freestyle sprint, and men’s swimmer Ben Carr placed fourth in the 1,650-yard endurance.

More than half of Metro’s team members are freshman and because of their lack of experience, Dyer said, the swimmers need to work on some basic skills.

“We have a lot of work to do, but it’s just technique-type stuff,” Dyer said. “I’d rather have to work on that stuff than conditioning and strength training.”

The ’Runners submerge again Oct. 27 at the University of Denver against Air Force, Mesa State, Colorado School of Mines and DU.