Aug. 14, 2014
IRVINE, Calif. – Three Georgia Tech swimmers — Ben Southern, Ricky Lehner and Mark Sarman — competed at the 2014 Phillips 66 National Championships in Irvine, Calif., last week, with Southern reaching the C-final in two events.
Southern posted top-20 finishes in both the long-course 100 fly and 200 fly to highlight the championship for the Yellow Jackets. Southern was clocked in 2:00.84 in the prelims of the 200 fly, which was good for 28th. The rising sophomore from Falls Church, Va., came back in the C-final and placed third (19th overall) in a time of 2:01.23.
He was also impressive in the 100 fly, clocking a 54.65 in the prelims, which was 44th. Southern shaved three-tenths in the C-final, and finished fourth in the event (20th overall) in a time of 54:34.
“I’m happy with the results from Nationals,” said head coach Courtney Shealy Hart. “Ben got two swims in finals at night that will be very valuable this upcoming college season. It’s always our goal to see more Georgia Tech representation in the summer to gain National experience.
Mark Sarman and Ricky Lehner each swam the long-course 50 and 100 breast, with Sarman, a rising senior, posting a 1:06.70 in the 100 and 29.63 in the 50. Lehner, a rising junior, was 47th in 50 breast (29.31) and 42nd in the 100 (1:03.45).
Lehner also time-trialed in the 200 breast and shaved four seconds of his previous personal best.
Two Tech swimmers – Yuval Safra and Nico van Duijn – are in action at the European Championships over these next two weeks in Berlin.
