McLean Repeats in 500 Freestyle

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. Sophomore Matt McLean repeated as the 500 freestyle champion and broke his own Atlantic Coast Conference record, clocking a time of 4:10.00 as the 2009 ACC Championships continued Thursday in College Park, Md.

After day two of the league championships, Virginia continues to lead with 277 points. Florida State is second (221.5) and Georgia Tech is third (192.5).

“All-in-all it was a very good night,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “We have a lead that we have to hold onto now. Tomorrow is going to be a critical session in the morning.”

McLean’s NCAA automatic qualifying time is the fastest in the nation in the event this year and is only 1.4 seconds away from the American record. He clocked a prelim time of 4:13.90 that had been the previous conference, school and meet record. Peter Vanderkaay of Michigan is the American record holder; he clocked a time of 4:08.60 at the 2006 NCAA Championships in Atlanta, Ga.

“I just wanted to let it happen,” McLean said. “I know I can race out front. I knew I had the conditioning to back up whatever I wanted to do. I knew my teammates would do the same thing.”

Joining McLean on the medal stand was classmate Taylor Smith, who took third with a mark of 4:15.91, an NCAA B time. John Snawerdt (4:16.41, B) took fourth and Darren Anksoko took fifth (4:17.79, B) as the Cavaliers took four of the top-5 spots in the race.

“Our 500 men were wonderful,” Bernardino said. “That says a lot for the job that Doak (Finch) has done with that group and how solid of a unit those athletes are.”

Junior John Azar placed second in the 200 individual medley, finishing with an NCAA B time of 1:45.53. Pat Mellors was fourth (1:46.24, B), Tim Hayes sixth (1:47.07, B) and Pat Reams seventh (1:47.37, B) overall. In the consolation finals, Tony Colella finished 10th with a time of 1:47.83.

“John had a wonderful swim,” Bernardino said. “That kid is tough. He has a lot of heart and he races with courage.”

Scot Robsion also took second, finishing with an NCAA B standard of 19.61 in the 50 freestyle. Peter Geissinger placed 12th overall (20.01, B) while Lee Robertson was 13th (20.03) after competing in the consolation finals.

“Scot had a tremendous effort in the 50, coming up just a hair short, then bounces back and leads the relay in a time that would have won the 50,” Bernardino said. “He carried the relay on his back to a very surprising second-place finish. We needed that spark leaving the building tonight.”

The Cavaliers took second in the final event of the session, the 200 freestyle relay, with an NCAA time of 1:18.21. Robison, Robertson, Geissinger and Eric Olsen swam for the Orange and Blue.

Day three of the ACC Championships continues Friday with preliminaries scheduled for 11 a.m. ACC Select will provide live video streaming of the championships starting tonight at 5:15 p.m. There is no charge to watch the webcasts. ACC Select coverage will continue Friday at 5:15 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. Live results from the championships are available by clicking here.