Ostrander sets NEC record, grabs 2nd gold
OSTRANDER WINS SECOND GOLD, BULLDOGS IN THIRD AT NECs
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Junior Casey Ostrander (Yarmouthport, Mass.) set a Northeast Conference record and qualified for the Division I "B" finals with a time of 54.92 in the 100 back, and the Bryant University women's swimming and diving team is in third place after three days at the NEC Swimming and Diving Championships.
The Bulldogs currently have 389 points after three days of competition, trailing Central Connecticut (488) and Saint Francis (PA) (481).
After capturing the gold medal in the 50 free on Thursday, Ostrander set her sights on the 100 back on day three. Aiming to attain her third-straight gold medal in the event, Ostrander led from the first stroke to the last, setting the conference record in the event and earning a qualification in the "B" flight at the Division I level. She became the first swimmer in program history to make the "B" cut.
Ostrander's second gold highlighted another strong day for the Bulldogs in the pool. She was one of 17 Bryant swimmers to final on the day and one of two that earned a medal. The Bulldogs' other individual medalist was sophomore Taylor DeBever (Denver, Colo.). Looking to defend her title in the 200 free, DeBever led for a majority of the race but Central's Taylor Friedmann made a late move to touch the wall first, giving DeBever the silver. The Bulldogs also earned a bronze medal in the 400 medley relay, finishing behind SFU and CCSU. Ostrander, Kaitlin Buckley (Duxbury, Mass.), Brianne Dwyer (Hicksville, N.Y.) and Mara Valenzuela (Bridgewater, N.J.) completed the event in 3:53.72, setting a new school record.
Other finalists for the Bulldogs included Molly Smith (Belmont, Mass.), Katherine Unger (Orangeburg, N.Y.), Buckley, Abby Whittaker (Salisbury, Mass.), Cassandra Jones (West Greenwich, R.I.), Valenzuela, Caitlin Hanahoe (Prairie, Minn.), Kim Carballeira (East Setauket, N.Y.), Amy D'Olympia (Mattapoisett, Mass.), Dwyer, Alexandra Morreale (Short Hills, N.J.), Jennifer Leckie (Corbeil, Ont.) and Samantha Hilton (Fairfield, Conn.). Smith and Unger both finaled in the 400 IM as Smith finished fifth (4:32.39) and Unger finished 15th (4:48.44). Buckley advanced the finals in two different events, finishing fifth in the 100 fly (58.88) and 11th in the 100 back (1:00.92). Joining Buckley with multiple finals appearances on the day was the rookie Hanahoe. She finished 10th in the 200 free (1:55.37) and 13th in the 100 back (1:01.98). Whittaker and Jones both advanced to the finals in the 100 fly with Whittaker finishing sixth (59.21) and Jones taking 14th (1:01.25). Carballeira, Valenzuela and D'Olympia joined DeBever and Hanahoe in the 200 free finals, finishing 12th, 7th and 15th, respectively. Bryant also featured four finalists in the 100 breast as Dwyer finished fourth with a new school-record time of 1:06.80, Morreale finished sixth (1:07.33), Leckie finished 10th (1:08.50) and Hilton finished 15th (1:09.83).
The final day of the NEC Swimming and Diving Championships begins at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and finals will take place at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night.