Tag: Men’s swimming

By Colin Fields

Contributing Writer

Matt Segar ’12 broke a school record in the 200-yard freestyle that had stood for 23 years en route to victory as the men’s swimming team competed at the ECAC Championships in Pittsburgh last weekend. Thomas Brown ’12 also broke his own school record in the 200 backstroke, and the Bison 800-free relay team brought home a victory in one of the most successful Eastern Championships in school history.

Segar broke a record that was set by Bison hall-of-famer Jim Harvey, who set the record in the 1988 NCAA Championships. Segar’s time of 1:38.41 in Trees Pool Saturday beat Harvey’s time of 1:38.63 over two decades earlier.

“It feels awesome to break a record. It’s really an honor to break a record that’s been held by one of the most accomplished athletes in Bucknell history. It was a goal that I had for over a year now, and it’s nice to finally achieve it,” Segar said.

With his victory, Segar took home the first ECAC title of his career and Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week honors.

“Going into the meet placing in the top eight was my main goal,” he said. “I definitely didn’t expect to win. Ideally I wanted to swim a little faster, but overall I’m happy with how I finished.”

Brown finished third in the 200 backstroke. At the Patriot League Championships a week earlier, Brown swam the 200 back in 1:48.04, breaking the school record. Brown did it again this week by swimming it in 1:47.85, shaving .19 off his own record.

Segar and teammates Christian Treat ’13, Trevor Reitz ’14 and Matt Ramey ’14 won the 800-free relay in the final event of the night on Saturday. The quartet’s time of 6:47.12 was fourth-best in Bison history, despite having two first-years in the relay. Ramey also reached the finals in the 200 back and the 400 IM.

“It was a good atmosphere,” Ramey said. “I enjoyed being at a familiar location like Pittsburgh because it’s close to my home. It felt great to be on the winning relay, and I think it just makes you even more excited for next year’s competition.”

The Bison boasted winners in multiple events at the Eastern Championships for the first time since 1993, an outstanding conclusion to the year for the men’s swim team.

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

Mike Nicholson ’14 transcended his team’s third-place finish in this past weekend’s Patriot League Championships in Kinney Natatorium, setting new school records in the 200 and 400 meter individual medleys. Navy won the championship for the eighth consecutive year.

“Getting a team record [at Bucknell] is a huge honor considering all of the great swimmers that have swam here,” Nicholson said. “Winning the 400 IM was probably the biggest thrill of my life.”

Nicholson’s record-breaking performance in the 200 IM secured him third place in the event, but by winning the 400 IM, he became the first first-year in four years to win an individual event in the Patriot League Championships.

Thomas Brown ’12 set another school record in the 200-meter backstroke. In the prelims he swam a record time of 1:48.04, coming in third for that event. In the finals, he finished in second with a 1:48.95.

Matthew Segar ’12, Christian Treat ’13, Trevor Reitz ’14 and Eric Sokolosky ’12 combined to break a third Bison record in the 400 free relay. With a time of 3:00.87 the team came in second place.

Overall, in the three-day championships, the Bison recorded program top-ten times in an outstanding 17 events.

The series of top-ten records did not help the team compete with Navy, who beat the Bison by 490 points. Navy finished the meet in first by far with 1056 points. The battle for second was much more competitive, Army finishing in front of the Bison by 37.5 points. Army finished with 603.5 to the Orange and Blue’s 566.

“Our main goal heading into the meet was to beat Army for second place,” Nicholson said. “Our meet was far from a failure though. We saw many team records drop, on both the swimming and diving sides of the meet, and we ravaged the top-10 lists in many events.”

The winter season for the team as a whole ended this past week, but the ECAC Championships will take place this weekend for those swimmers privileged enough to qualify.

The team will be motivated in future seasons by the results of the championships. “Getting third was definitely a disappointment, but I know it will only motivate us in the spring and next year to make sure we don’t lose to those kids again,” Nicholson said.