Syracuse, NY - Sophomore Mike Rowe (Glenville, NY) posted three top-10 finishes over the weekend for the Clarkson University Swim team as the Golden Knights' men placed 11th among 16 teams at the annual UNYSCSA regional meet held at Nottingham High School.
The Golden Knights had a solid final day to finish with 326 points at the meet, ending with a 400 freestyle relay team of Robert Stevens (Lakewood, NY), Rowe, Mitchell Maciuba (Clarence, NY), and Paul Telesca (Liverpool, NY) breaking the school record by just 1/100th of a second in 3:14.51.
Rowe was the top finisher for the Knights on each day, bettering his place as the weekend went along. On Friday, Rowe finished the 500 freestyle in 4:47.45 to finish in 10th place. On Saturday, the sophomore came in sixth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.23, just 22/100ths off his own school mark. He then finished out his individual events with a fourth-place showing in the 200 backstroke in 1:54.61, gaining a NCAA "B" cut in the process.
Junior Brendan Hofler (Glen Gardner, NJ) was nearly as impressive, placing in the top 13 in three individual events. Hofler came in 12th in the 500 freestyle (4:49.85) on Friday, placed 13th in the 400 individual medley (4:20.65) on Saturday, and finished ninth in the 1650 freestyle (17:04.75) on Sunday.
Several other individuals gained points for the Knights throughout the weekend, many of them underclassmen. Junior Robert Stevens claimed two top-20 finishes, ending in 18th place in the 100 butterfly (53.64) and 20th in the 100 backstroke (55.65). Sophomore Aaron Cubells (Hamden, CT) also had two finishes that gained marks for the Knights, coming in 16th in the 500 freestyle (4:52.15) and 21st in the 200 backstroke (2:02.26). Freshmen Sean Parnett (Clifton Park, NY) came in 14th in the 200 butterfly (2:00.97) and Stephen Maxwell (Latham, NY) placed 21st in the 100 backstroke (55.96), competing well in their first regional meet.
Besides the record-breaking 400 freestyle relay squad, several other relay teams competed well. The 200 freestyle relay foursome of Telesca, Devin Hallam (Schenectady, NY), Rowe, and Nick Clemens (Loweville, NY) placed 11th in 1:28.72. That same day, the 400 medley relay team of Maxwell, Dan Mandle (Chelmsford, MA), Aaron Kreher (Clarence, NY), and Hallam took 13th in a time of 3:45.29. Saturday's 200 medley relay race saw the Knights come in 12th with a time of 1:40.15, thanks to Rowe, Mandle, Stevens, and Telesca, while the 800 freestyle relay had the best finish of all the group offerings, coming in ninth in a time of 7:16.89 with Parnett, Cubells, Hofler, and Rowe racing in that event.
