Men’s Swimming Finishes 3rd At Mount Saint Mary College Invitational

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NEWBURGH, NY – Elms College sophomore Zach LeBarron (Bennington, VT) took second in the 50-yard freestyle and 50-yard butterfly events to help pace the Blazers to a third place finish out of five teams in the 2009 season-opening swim meet at the Mount Saint Mary College Invitational on Saturday.

William Paterson University (522.5) claimed top honors for the men, while SUNY Maritime College (383.5) finished second. Behind Elms was Mount Saint Mary College (170) and SUNY Cobleskill (29).

LeBarron clocked a time of 22.78 in the 50-yard freestyle, and finished in a time of 26.21 in the 50-yard butterfly to secure his second place finishes. LeBarron also finished third in the 100-yard freestyle (50.74).

LeBarron teamed with senior Jason DiMauro (New Hartford, CT), and freshmen Joe Strzempko (Westfield, MA) and Mark Gehring (West Springfield, MA) to capture third in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:36.56.

Gehring turned in a time of 5:23.22 to place third in the 500-yard freestyle, and finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle, swimming the event in 2:01.16.

Sophomore Garrett Brune (Lakeville, MA) registered a time of 31.51 in the 50-yard breaststroke to finish third, and placed fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:10.26). Brune also teamed with senior Mike Starke (Chicopee, MA), sophomore Nick Provost (Three Rivers, MA), and Strzempko in the 200-yard medley relay. The team finished fourth with a time of 1:54.23.

Eight of Elms' nine swimmers have now qualified for the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA) Championships.

Elms returns to the pool on Saturday, Nov. 14 at St. Joseph’s (ME). Meet time is slated for 1:00 p.m.