The Saint Louis University swimming and diving teams completed
their seasons last weekend with several school record-breaking
performances at the Conference USA Championships in Houston. The
men’s team finished in fifth place overall and the women’s team
finished seventh, respectively.
The meet, held on the University of Houston campus at their new
Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, saw the Billikens break
school records 24 times in 18 different events, including all five
women’s relay teams.
The records fell early and often on Friday, the first day of
competition, with sophomore Chris Johansen getting things started
by breaking the school record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time
of 4:38.89, which was good enough for a fourth-place finish in the
A-final for the event. Another record fell when sophomore John
Stoneburner posted a time of 1:53.89 to set a record in the
200-yard individual medley, finishing sixth in the event’s
A-final.
The men broke one more record on the first day when the 400-yard
IM relay team of freshman Josh Stephens, Stoneburner, senior Rich
Sheridan and junior Ryan Poss claimed a fourth place finish in the
event with a record time of 3:31.60.
Junior Megan Capellupo got the ball rolling for the women’s team
with a record time of 2:07.67 for a seventh place finish in the 200
IM A-Final event.
Senior diver Tessa Truesdell claimed seventh place from the
three-meter board with a score of 362.90. The final record on the
first day was set by the Billikens when the 400-yard IM relay team,
composed of Capellupo, sophomore Kelly Tessar, sophomore Alice
Altepeter and freshman Jenny Lutzen, lowered the school record with
a time of 3:58.80.
The records continued to fall on the second day of the meet. One
of the clear highlights happened in the prelims for the 100-yard
backstroke, with Capellupo breaking the school record with a time
of 59.19, which made her the first Billiken woman to post a sub
one-minute time in that event.
The final record of the day for the women came in the 800-yard
freestyle where the relay team of freshman Emily Oberjohn,
Altepeter, sophomore Maggie Norton, and Lutzen posted a time of
7:53.28.
On the men’s side, Stoneburner significantly slashed his own
school record in the 400-yard IM, finishing in 4:02.92, which was
an entire four seconds lower than his previous record. He added
another record to his resume along with Johansen, Poss and freshman
B.J. Brungardt in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a mark of
7:00.58.
Just as in the previous two days, records continued to fall on
the third and final day of competition. Stoneburner and Johansen
both broke school records, with Stoneburner coming in eighth in the
A-Final of the 200-yard backstroke and Johansen placing third in
the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:14.13. Points were also
accumulated when Sheridan finished second in the B-Final of the
200-yard butterfly, with sophomore Carter Fitzgerald finishing
fourth.
For the women, Capellupo continued her outstanding meet by
lowering her school record in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing
fourth with a time of 2:19.38. In the B-final of the same event,
Tessar claimed victory with a time of 2:20.91. Another record in a
relay was broken when Lutzen, Altepeter, Norton and Oberjohn posted
a time of 3:35.70, which put them in seventh place for the
event.
In her final meet of an illustrious collegiate career, Truesdell
claimed a fifth place finish from the 10-meter platform with a
score 273.35.
“It’s been a great year and a great career,” Truesdell said. “I
attribute it all to our coach ( Amy Gosney).”
The women’s team finished their season with a record of 17-4.
The 17 wins were the most of any women’s Division I swimming and
diving team. The men also finished their season with a winning
record, posting a record of 11-9.
