Feb. 26, 2009
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Texas A&M's pair of sub-20-second 50-yard freestylers highlighted the Aggies' second day at the 2009 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships on Thursday at the University of Missouri Aquatic Center.
After two days of action, the Aggies are in second place with 265 points. Defending champion Texas leads with 397, while the host Tigers are in third with 241 points.
Junior All-American Casey Strange flew to career-best 19.63 clocking and third place finish in the 50 freestyle, while two-time Hungarian Olympian Ozzie Gardner's 19.49. Adding points in the 50 free consolation final were senior Brad Raiford (3rd, 20.36), junior Jason Bergstrom (4th, 20.62), freshman Sean O'Shea (5th, career-best 20.74) and senior John VanNatta (7th, career-best 21.14).
"Casey just continues to get better and better," Aggie head coach Jay Holmes said. "Last year at this time, Casey's time would have set our school record. He works extremely hard every day, and that dedication is paying off for him. Both those guys showed good speed tonight."
Another highlight for the Aggies was the 400-yard medley relay that placed second with the second-fastest time in school history. The A&M foursome of Bergstrom, sophomore Bryan Snowden, sophomore Boric Loncaric, and sophomore Balazs Makany hit the wall in an NCAA "B" cut time of 3:11.01.
"That was the second-fastest we've ever done in the 400 medley relay, but I think we're a little better than that and wanted to go a little faster," Holmes said. "Jason Bergstrom led us off with his best-ever backstroke leg (47.24), and that got us off to a great start."
Junior Nikita Denisyako flirted with his school record in the 200 IM, but fell .07 short with an NCAA "B" cut time of 1:47.52 as he placed fifth in the race. Also in the Championship final, A&M junior Tyler Welch (1:48.99), freshman Kyle Holland (1:52.02) contributed valuable points with 2-3-4 place finishes. The times from Welch and Fonua were career bests and Welch's 1:48.99 puts him No. 5 in A&M's record book.
Senior Ryan Loney took eighth in the Championship final of the 500 free in a time of 4:30.21. Earlier in the day, Loney swam a career-best 4:25.47 in the prelims, which ranks as the second-fastest 500 free in school history. Sophomore Boris Loncaric took first in the consolation final with a career-best time of 4:27.72 (No. 10 in school history).