The Red Devil men and women both won exciting contests against the rival Diplomats of Franklin and Marshall on Saturday, Feb. 2. The seniors, swimming in their last meet in the Kline Center, led Dickinson to victory, with both schools going neck and neck until the last relay race of the night. The men claimed second and third place in the 400 freestyle relay to seal the victory, as the women claimed the first place finish they needed in that event to win the meet.
Jason Adams ‘14 took home two victories on the afternoon, capturing the 50 yard free and swimming the lead leg of the winning 200 medley relay. Additionally, Adams took second in the 100 free with a time of 47.65. Theo Hubbard ‘16 swam incredibly well as expected. He hit a time of 4:53.65 to win the 500 free shortly after winning the 100 IM. Hubbard also anchored the 2nd place 400 free relay team that won the meet for the Red Devils. Hubbard was joined by Kevin Chibbaro ’13, Chris Miles ’15 and Alan Karickhoff ’16. Brian Sandrib ’13, Andrew Barrett ’14, Cameron Phillips ’15 and Brandon Gauthier ’14 comprised the 3rd place entry in the event that proved just as important for ensuring the victory. “There were so many races that you could have looked to and said if that wouldn’t have gone our way we would have lost,” said Zach Yocum ’13, one of the Red Devil co-captains. “Everyone on the team stepped up and did what needed to be done.”
The winning women’s relay featured, in order, Caitlin Klockner ’16, Carson Gannon ’14, Alex Melchiorre ’15, and Johanna Fleming ’15. They finished the race in 3:41.63, nearly five whole seconds in front of the second place team. Caroline Brennan ‘15 earned points for Dickinson in both the long and short distance races. After touching the wall first in the 200 fly, she went on to earn herself a second place finish in the 1000 free (10:56.43). Teammate Carson Gannon ‘14 helped out with 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the 500 and 200 free, respectively.
This meet also earned Head Coach Paul Richards his 400th career win. In his 19 seasons at Dickinson, Richards has recorded 292 victories. “It has been an honor to work under Coach Richards this season,” said Micah Smith ’15, who is aiding with the coaching staff due to injury. Richards’ squad competes again on Wednesday, Feb. 6, when they travel to Gettysburg in a meet that could determine the winner of the Centennial Conference’s regular season. On Saturday, Feb. 9, they conclude the regular season with a meet against Swarthmore. The conference championship starts on Feb. 22 at F&M. “I cannot wait for conferences to show everybody out there what we have been training all year for. Big things are still to come for Dickinson Swimming,” said Yocum.
