Shalamanov Finishes as Runner-Up in Two Events
KINGS POINT, N.Y. – Goucher's Georgi Shalamanov (Velingrad, Bulgaria/St. St. Kiril & Metodi) placed second in a pair of individual events and third in another at the 2009 Landmark Conference Swimming & Diving Championships, which concluded tonight.
Shalamanov Finishes as Runner-Up in Two Events
Gophers Earn 181 Points, Beat Out Drew for Fifth Place
February 15, 2009
KINGS POINT, N.Y. – Goucher's Georgi Shalamanov (Velingrad, Bulgaria/St. St. Kiril & Metodi) placed second in a pair of individual events and third in another at the 2009 Landmark Conference Swimming & Diving Championships, which concluded tonight.
Erik Johnsen from Merchant Marine was the only faster swimmer than Shalamanov in Friday's championship finals in the 500-yard freestyle. Johnsen's winning time was 4:47.10 and Shalamanov was clocked at 4:48.73, which is a new school record.
Shalamanov's other second-place performance came tonight in the 200-yard breaststroke, which he completed in 2:14.57. His third-place effort was in Saturday's championship finals in the 200 free (1:46.56).
Shalamanov wasn't the only Goucher swimmer to break a school record at the conference meet over the weekend. Kyle Williams (Andover, N.J./Newton) did it tonight in the 200 back. He placed fifth in the event with his time of 2:01.47.
On Saturday, Williams took fourth place in the 100 back (:55.23), and on Friday, he placed 10th overall in the 50 free (:22.83).
Charlie Rooney (Sea Bright, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) and Sasha Verin (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) also secured points for the Gophers with their performances in individual events. Rooney placed ninth in the 200 free (1:53.00) and 10th in the 100 free (:49.98); Verin placed ninth in the 200 butterfly (2:06.83).
None of Goucher's relays placed higher than fourth until the final event of the meet where the 400 free unit composed of Rooney, Verin, Williams and Shalamanov grabbed third place with its time of 3:17.20. On Saturday, even though they only finished in fourth place, the same four swimmers posted a combined time of 1:41.02 in the 200 medley relay, which matches the all-time fastest time in that event in the history of Goucher's men's swimming program.
At last year's Landmark meet, head coach Tom Till's Gophers wound up in sixth place, two points behind Drew. This year, they secured 181 points to finish in fifth place in the final team standings, 78 points ahead of the sixth-place Rangers.