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Tanner with Swim seniors
Quinn Orloff

Men's Swimming & Diving Shatters Records in 5th Straight OAC Title

| By: Kyle Kelly, Senior Staff Writer
GENEVA, Ohio -- A new coach, a pandemic and a fifth straight Ohio Athletic Conference championship.
 
After a year of uncertainty, the John Carroll University Men's Swimming and Diving Team left no doubt with a 1,020-point performance that garnered a first-place finish after three days at SPIRE Institute on Saturday, March 27. This is JCU's 18th OAC Championship in school history.
 
The Blue Streaks edged out Mount Union (717), Ohio Northern (651), Baldwin Wallace (317) and Wilmington (265) to win the conference crown. JCU claimed first place in four of the seven events on day three. However, it was the final event of the three-day slate that put the icing on the cake for a record-setting weekend.
 
In the 400 Free Relay, the quartet of Jonah Venos, Michael Heller, Forrest Campbell and Liam McDonnell dug deep in event No. 40 to set a new OAC record with a time of 2:59.93. Not only did they set a new OAC record, but they also held off second-place Ohio Northern by more than seven seconds.
 
McDonnell was the last one to commence, as he sealed the deal during the final stretch. In addition to the 400 Free, McDonnell also was a part of the record-setting 200 Medley Relay Team that swam on Friday.
 
"It was especially great to finish off that relay and break three minutes," McDonnell said. "We were really excited about setting a new record. But we are already looking forward to swimming even faster next year."
 
As a result of his stellar individual performance, McDonell earned OAC Male Swimmer of the Year honors. In the first two days, McDonnell not only earned gold in the 100 Fly and 100 Back but he set records in both events as well. McDonell also won the 50 Free.
 
With McDonnell's award, the Blue Streaks have now taken home the Male OAC Swimmer of the Year honors the last two years. In 2019, Erik Sriubas won the trophy and Campbell was recognized last year.
 
"We have a very strong men's class," Head Coach Tanner Barton said afterward. "Liam had a weekend for the books. We talked before the meet about putting him in the 50 Free and he went for it. His underwater is money. So, we said, 'Let's put you in the 50 and start off on a high note on day one and that 100 Fly and 100 Back on day two really cemented the deal."
 
In Barton's first season as head coach, the Blue Streaks became the first team in OAC history to exceed 1,000 points over championship weekend. Individually, JCU won 10 of 13 swimming events over the course of three days.
 
"It's all about training hard every single day and making sure that we are performing at our peak," McDonnell said. "Coach Tanner says, 'to win each day' and its performance to focus on the day in front of you. That's what we did this weekend."
 
The reigning OAC Swimmer of the Year, Campbell, capped off his weekend with a victory in the 100 Free. Campbell clocked a time of 45.04 seconds, over 1.5 seconds better than the second-place finisher. Michael Heller came in third with a time of 46.02.
 
In the 200 Back and 200 Breast, the sophomore duo of Jonathan Simoes and Jonah Venos, both finished first in their respective event. Simoes' time of 1:49.07 set a new conference record and also held off teammate River Flatley (1:52.83) by over three seconds. Venos finished only .65 seconds away from breaking the OAC Record in the 200 Breast but still held off second place by 1.5 seconds.
 
Venos also raced in the 200 Breast and finished third with a time of 2:06.56. He finished just .2 seconds behind Adam Lenz, who won silver. Joseph Kaiser and Dane Bozsvai rounded out the scoring with their respective seventh and eighth finishes.
 
John Carroll's 2019 OAC Swimmer of the Year, Sriubas, earned silver in the 1,650 Free with a time of 16:16.30. Nicholas Mudry (16:39.45) and Aidan O'Neill (16:44.99) came in fourth and fifth, respectively; Benjamin Rancilio (17:12.48) placed seventh.
 
Sriubas also slotted into second place in the 200 Fly with a time of 1:54.20. Flatley (1:55.87) took bronze. Rancillo came in sixth and Max Campbell was eighth.
 
For the divers, Jack Lausin had the best Blue and Gold performance, as he totaled 409.85 points in the 1-meter dive. Lausin's output earned him second place. Christian Litwinowicz came in sixth by finishing with 290.60 points.
 
As a team, the Blue Streaks set six new conference records, won 10 individual events and all five relays.
 
"The energy these last three days was infectious," Barton said. "I take pride in being a high energy coach and they're a high energy group of student-athletes. When you combine that with hard work and dedication, there's no limit to what we can achieve.
 
 
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