Feb. 17, 2011
ATLANTA – Behind two school record-breaking efforts by Brandon Makinson and the 200-Free Relay team, the Georgia Tech swimming and diving squads had a successful day two at the ACC Championships adding another 43 points to their total entering day three.
“I am very excited for Brandon and Helen in their diving success today,” said Head Coach Courtney Shealy Hart. “As a team, we competed well this morning and did a good job tonight. We know that we have to swim fast in the morning to be able to score points at night, and we know that we have get better each day. I am looking forward for what tomorrow is going to bring.”
After an outstanding preliminary run, Makinson bested his mark from earlier in the day with a school record mark of 408.10, as the first Georgia Tech athlete to make his way up to the podium at this year’s championships. The mark broke Evan Stowers’ mark of 395.25 set in 2006. Also competing on the day for the Jackets was Christopher Khosravi, who finished 17th with a score of 313.85.
“Brandon has been right on the verge of breaking the school record all season, and actually did at Canadian Nationals, I think that he is still riding on that high in this meet,” said Head Diving Coach John Ames. He had a very solid meet today, maybe slightly missing on just a couple dives, but outstanding overall. Chris started out well today and I thought he was going to pull it out. We know that he has it in him, but he is a platform diver. That is where he shone last year. Points on springboard for Chris are a bonus.”
On the women’s side of things, transfer Helen Alvey was very successful on the day for the Jackets earning a spot in the one-meter finals after a sixth place finish in the prelims. Alvey, also finished sixth in the finals with a score of 295.25, a season best. Freshman Ashley Hardy earned an 18th place finish in the event with a score of 244.80.
“Helen is a great story,” continued Ames. “Her transfer process from South Carolina was a long one and we weren’t even sure if we were going to get her here. But for her to final in the ACC meet her first time out among a great field of girls, is unbelievable. I am so happy for her. Ashley, as a freshman, has competed at such a high level at the dual meets all year. This is a new experience for her in this atmosphere and she struggled on her first three dives, but was able to turn it around and come back at the end and I am proud of that.” In the swimming events, the 200-Free Relay team of Lexi Weber, Jessie Mason, Kate Riley and Keren Siebner earned an eighth place showing, just a half a second shy of sixth, but still a school record breaking time, beating last year’s 200-Free Relay time by five-hundredths of a second.
Lexi Weber’s 10th place time of 22.96 seconds in the 50-Free was her career best, knocking off .29 seconds from her season best set at the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational this year, and earning seven points for the Jackets. Jessie Mason took home 21st place in the same event, after setting a career best in the preliminary round (23.30), with a time of 23.53 seconds.
Heidi Hatteberg was another point getter for the Jackets with her 16th place finish in the 500-Free, in a time of 4:53.54. Also earning a spot in the finals for the Jackets was Morgan Trickett who took 20th place in the 200-IM with a time of 2:03.38, the third fastest time in school history, and a career best for the sophomore.
The Jackets will be back in action on Friday for Day Three of the ACC Championships here at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Make sure to check out the live blog for up to the minute results.
