WINONA, Minn. — It's been quite a ride for Saint Mary's University freshman
Mark Ross (Dubuque, Iowa) at his first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.
On Thursday, the Cardinal freshman had a part in four school record-setting performances, placing 10th in the 200 IM (1:59.52) and teaming with
John Fox (Winona, Minn.),
Tim Tysk (St. Paul, Minn.) and
Tom Walsh (Prior Lake, Minn.) to break school marks in the 400 medley and 200 freestyle relay. Record No. 4 came in Ross' first leg of the 400 medley, where he shattered the 100 butterfly mark with a time of 26.33.
On Friday, Ross was at it again, trimming three seconds off the school record in the 400 IM, placing fourth in 4:16.78.
And on Saturday's final day, Ross wasn't about to go record-less, breaking the seven-year-old 200 backstroke record, touching the wall in 1:59.59 in the preliminaries, then re-breaking it hours later en route to a fifth-place finish with an NCAA National Championships B List time of 1:54.50.
Ross then added Record No. 7 in the final event of the evening, teaming with Fox, Tysk and Walsh to break the team's 400 freestyle relay record, stopping the clock in 4:17.61.
"What a great meet," said SMU coach
Eric Lindquist, noting that the Cardinals etched their names in the SMU record book 10 times during the three-day meet, while the men's sixth-place finish and 223 total points were also school bests. "We had so many outstanding performances, it's great to have the season close on such a high, high note."
Liz Flynn (Mahtomedi, Minn.), coming off a school record-setting performance in finishing fifth in the three-meter diving competition, earned a spot in the finals in the one-meter, as well, placing eighth with a score of 320.50.
