Sangren wins MAC Championship Title as Swimming Completes Day Three

Freshman earns100-yard backstroke title

NASHVILLE, TN- University at Buffalo freshman Jake Sangren claimed his first MAC title as the MAC/Sun Belt Conference Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships continued Friday night. Multiple school records were broken during the preliminary events as Buffalo continued its winning weekend.

Jake Sangren

Zach Ruske broke his second individual record of the weekend, swimming to a life-time best 3:57.42 in the 400 IM during the preliminary heats. In finals, Ruske swam to a third-place MAC finish and earned eighth overall. Connor Vander Zalm also earned a life-time best time in the 400 IM, earning fourth place among MAC swimmers and 14th overall with a time of 4:02.71. Scott Woster placed second in the MAC and 14th overall in the 100 butterfly, flying to a speedy time of 49.89, but it was Kevin Schuster who broke the school record in the preliminary heats, swimming a 49.53 to claim the new record. Schuster placed third in the MAC and 16th overall in the finals. Chris Berloth earned bonus points in the 100 butterfly, taking 6th place in the MAC and 19th overall (50.53), as did Chad Miller who placed 21st overall and 8th in the MAC (50.93). Jared Heine was Buffalo’s top finisher in the 200 freestyle event, placing 13th overall and 5th in the MAC with a time of 1:40.07. Jordan Matthews earned a life-time best 57.71 in the 100 breaststroke with a 5th place MAC finish and earning 18th overall. But it was Sangren who stole the show as the freshman won the first MAC title for the Bulls, placing first in the 100 backstroke among MAC contestants. Sangren swam a 50.03 in the event, just two-tenths off his own school record. Andrew Tamchyna was close behind earning a second-place MAC finish and 11th overall with a time of 50.73.

In diving, Michael McDowell earned 321.30 points on the one-meter board, placing him second in the MAC and third overall.

Kevin Schuster

At the conclusion of day three, Buffalo stands in sixth place overall and second in the MAC with 456.5 points, just edging out MAC rival Miami who stands at 455 points. Eastern Michigan still leads the way for the MAC, holding strong at 728 points, while Ball State finishes the day in tenth place with 213 points. Denver leads the overall race with 864.5 points.

Competition continues through Saturday.