Aleksi Again Makes Mark At League Championships In 500 Free

It's swimming and diving, not hockey, but on Friday (Feb. 18) night, Ashland University junior Franci Aleksi earned a hat trick.
 
On Friday, the third day of the four-day 2022 Great Midwest Athletic Conference/Mountain East Championships in Canton, Ohio, Aleksi not only won the men's 500-yard freestyle, but also earned a B cut for the 2022 NCAA Division II Championships, March 9-12 in Greensboro, N.C., and set a new meet record.
 
Through three days, the Eagle men are in second place in the 10-team field with 722.5 points. Findlay continues in first place with 1,504.5 points, and Notre Dame College is third with 703.5 points. On the women's side, AU is third (921) in the 10-team field, trailing only Hillsdale (1,218.5) and Findlay (1,189.5).
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Junior Abby Locke won the women's 100 breaststroke in 1:04.42, while second-place finishes were turned in by senior Matt Filsinger in the men's 500 free (4:35.42), senior Sydney Kermath in the women's 100 backstroke (58.05 seconds), and junior Makayla Tarkenton in the women's 100 breaststroke (1:04.95).
• Taking thirds on Friday were sophomore Sydney Porinchok in the women's 200 butterfly (2:10.91), sophomore Josh Hagan in the men's 200 fly (1:53.82), the women's 800 free relay team of Locke, junior Madi Baron, senior Cat Darnell and Kermath (7:56.49); and the men's 800 free relay team of senior Panos Nikakis, Hagan, Aleski and Filsinger (6:57.45).
• FOURTH PLACE – Aleksi in the men's 200 fly (1:55.25).
• SEVENTH PLACE – Junior Joe Cummins in the men's 100 back (52.52 seconds).
• EIGHTH PLACE – Senior Abigail Ellsworth in the women's 100 back (59.51 seconds).
• NINTH PLACE – Junior Amar Sapcanin in the men's 100 breaststroke (57.07 seconds).
• TENTH PLACE – Senior Morgan Gardner in the women's 200 fly (2:17.59) and 500 free (5:16.25), and senior Maddy Moates in the women's 100 breaststroke (1:09.19).
• TWELFTH PLACE – Freshman Weston Brown in the men's 500 free (5:03.01).
• THIRTEENTH PLACE – Sophomore Ben Voelker in the men's 100 back (54.61 seconds).
• FOURTEENTH PLACE – Junior Sydney Laughlin in the women's 100 breaststroke (1:10.34).
• FIFTEENTH PLACE – Freshman Holly Kraemer in the women's 200 fly (2:27.31).
• SEVENTEENTH PLACE – Sophomore Gabby Diehl in the women's 100 back (1:02.10).
• TWENTY-FIRST PLACE – Sophomore Mikaela Vojacek in the women's 100 back (1:02.53).
• In all on Friday, there were 11 more Eagle PRs.

"Today has been our best day so far," said Ashland head coach Kyle Walthall. "Our men scored 298.5 points, and our women scored 347 points in this session alone. Our day started off great with some fantastic dives from our two studly diving eagles, followed by a near PR by Morgan Gardner in the 500 free. After that great swim, our distance duo of Aleksi and Filsinger thew down some fast times in the 500, with Aleksi breaking the GMAC record, securing a B cut, and narrowly missing our school record.

"In the backstrokes, Kermath out touched her opponent by .05 to get second, and Ellsworth and Cummins rounded up their respective finals grabbing us some much needed points. I could not be happier with the results of our women's breaststrokes. Going one and two, Locke and Tarkenton did their jobs to secure us some great points and each of them missing the B cut by less than a second. The final individual event was a great showing, with both Gardner and Aleksi doing one of the toughest doubles there is by swimming the 200 fly final in the same session as their 500 free. Porinchok did a great job with a PR in the 200 fly, snagging the bronze, along with Hagan's PR for the men. The evening was finished up by the 800 free relay, where both squads stepped up and delivered as all of our relays have."
 
UP NEXT
The fourth and final day of the 2022 Great Midwest Athletic Conference/Mountain East Championships on Saturday (Feb. 19).