Poets Continue SCIAC Competition at CMS

Whittier College swimming and diving continued their SCIAC schedule on January 19 when they traveled to Claremont, Calif., for a face-off with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.  Manny Sanchez '08 and Sam Benedum '09 turned in solid performances for the Poets with two first place finishes apiece.

Sanchez finished first in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:59.02, over ten seconds faster than the nearest competitor.  He dominated the 100-yard breaststroke as well, turning in a time of 58.88 seconds and winning the event by nearly eight seconds.  Benedum swept the freestyle events, winning the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.36 seconds.  He broke the 50-second mark in the 100-yard freestyle, reaching the finish line in 49.39 seconds, a season-best. The pair teamed up with Chris Villanueva '09 and Will Jackson '11 to finish second in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:46.40. 

On the women's side, Sara Wolff '11 finished second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 58.63 seconds.  Catherine Gouge '08 was less than one second behind the top finisher in the 100-yard breaststroke, coming in with a time of 1:14.17.

The Poets travel to the University of La Verne for their next meet on January 26.  The event is scheduled to start with diving at 10:30am, followed by the swimming competitions at 11:00am.