The men’s and women’s swimming team traveled to Lexington, Ky this weekend, competing in the Transylvania Invitational. The men’s team accumulated 117 points, good for a seventh-place finish, while the girls finished with 48, placing them in eighth. Highlights of the meet included the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay team of Tristan Wolfe, Carson Barteau, Conner Page and Andrew Taflinger placing sixth in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, Wolfe placing 14th overall in the 50 Yard Freestyle, Milly Hensley taking home 11th place in the 200 Yard Freestyle and the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay team of Emma Maubach, Elissa Austin, Kara Mustard and Hensley finishing seventh.
Garrett Cooley, the reigning HCAC Conference Championship Most Outstanding Athlete, set a new indoor AU record with a long jump of 7.16 meters. Quick to credit new Head Coach Sol Stephens, Cooley believes the hard work during practice is beginning to pay off. “I think the training regimen the team is going through is working. I believe people are going to see more records broken by the team this year.”
The previous record of 7.15 meters was set in 1990 by Brad Lamb. This is the second school record belonging to Lamb that has fallen this year. Cooley won the long jump event easily, as the next closest finisher jumped 6.63 meters. Cooley’s best jump last season was 6.88 meters.
The women’s basketball team improved to 2-0 in HCAC play as they defeated Earlham 58-53. Picked to finish 10th in the preseason HCAC poll, the Ravens are exceeding expectations with their 4-3 overall record.
Alyssa Zook, Kaycee Strunk, Olivia Love and Tatum Minier led a balanced offensive attack, scoring 15, 14, 13 and 12 points respectively. Minier was 2-of-2 from the field and knocked down all eight free-throw attempts. She collected her first collegiate double-double, hauling down 10 rebounds. Jireh Hart again led the team on the glass with 12 rebounds. The Ravens defeated Mount St. Joseph last Wednesday to pick up their first conference win.
AU afforded #22 ranked Mount St. Joseph a rude welcome into O.C. Lewis arena, sending them packing with a loss as the men picked up their first conference win of the year last Wednesday. The Ravens trailed by as many as 14 points with 10:49 left, before coming back to win 78-74. Trevor Lucas led the Ravens with 24 points while Cole Hartman added 17.
The Ravens were victorious on Saturday as well, defeating Earlham 85-70. Lucas again poured in 24 points and brought down 14 rebounds. Stanley Duncan had a big night, scoring 22 points.
Lucas picked up HCAC Player of the Week honors after his strong week. He averaged 24 points, 11 rebounds and two assists for the week.
Now 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in HCAC play, the Ravens host NAIA opponent Marian tonight at 7:30.