Limouze And Mercer Qualify For NCAA Nationals

Swimming Team Sets Records at Miami Invitational

Clear the lane: This Oberlin swimmer gets a bit of conditioning at the Carr pool. (photo by Hans Petersen)

Seven Oberlin swimmers traveled to Miami University this past weekend to compete in the seventh annual Miami Redhawk Invitational swimming meet. There were over 400 swimmers and divers in attendance. Results were mixed, but senior John Limouze and junior Celeste Mercer performed well enough to qualify for nationals.

Miami University, a Division I school, sets the qualifying times for attendance at the meet. 16 swimmers from Oberlin's team performed well enough to go, but with the mounting pressure of finals only seven chose to do so.

Limouze reasserted his status as a prominent Oberlin swimmer by assuring his spot at the NCAA championship for his fourth year in a row. He got an "A" cut time in the 200 Fly, guaranteeing himself a spot at the championships. He swam a time of 1:51.27 in a time trial on Friday night, taking the opportunity to qualify before engaging in the physically abusive meet. He also got a "B" cut in the 100 Fly, which although it doesn't guarantee him a spot at the championships, it does allow him to be considered. He did that with a time of 51.63, which is a new varsity record. He also set four new PRs for himself.

Mercer made the "B" cut in four different events and set varsity records in two events. On Friday Mercer was off like a rocket, setting a new varsity record in the 200 IM with a time that was three seconds under her PR. Her time of 2:10.90 was good enough for a "B" cut. Her second "B" cut time came just an hour later in the 50 free. Her time of 24.67 was within a couple of hundredths of her personal best. Later in the evening she would struggle in the IM. Despite feeling poorly the next day she set a new varsity record in the 100 fly breaking her own record of earlier this year and qualifying for a "B" cut time.

"[Mercer] was hot and cold," coach Dick Michaels said. "[Friday] night she was absolutely caca."

First-year Burt Betchart had a disappointing meet only because he did not make any qualifying times despite setting new PRs for himself. Betchart has set new personal best every time he swam this year. Betchart had never tapered before this event, at least never more than a week. For this meet he tapered for 21 days.

"He is still learning pace and made some fairly major mistakes in this meet that point to him being even better before the year is out," Michaels said.

In the preliminary 200 Free he got out to fast in the first 100 with a split time of 48.47, faster than he has ever gone before. Unfortunately, his time for the last 100 was almost nine seconds slower.

Senior Chris Dudley swam with only a few days of rest and without shaving but still managed to get a couple of personal bests. He got a PR in the 50 Free with a time of 23.48, the 200 Free with a time of 1:51.29 and the 100 Free with 51.05.

Junior Becky Ducore had a PR of 1:11.74 in the 100 Breast and the second best 200 Breast of her career. Sophomore Rania Khan had a season best in the 500 Free.

There are two more chances for swimmers to qualify for the national championships. Overall, the Miami Invitational showcased the individual talents of Oberlin swimmers.