Cubberley, Stanley win conference titles to lead Men’s Swimming and Diving on Day 3 of 2023 OAC Championships
By Wes Mayberry
AKRON — Sophomore Holden Cubberley (Celina) and senior Jackson Stanley (Beavercreek) won Ohio Athletic Conference titles to lead the Ohio Northern men's swimming and diving team on the third day of the 2023 OAC Championships on Friday evening at the University of Akron's Ocasek Natatorium.
Cubberley won the 3-meter diving championship with a school-record and NCAA "B" Cut score of 527.30. He broke his own school record of 500.50, which he set as a freshman last season.
"Breaking the record last year was surreal, and I really worked on cleaning things up this year," Cubberley said. "Getting up there and hitting those last three dives like I did to break my record and push it to another level feels really good."
ONU head coach Austin Veltman was proud of Cubberley's performance.
"Holden perseveres through having to do those tough dives," Veltman said. "With 3-meter diving, there's a big fear factor involved, and he keeps working on those tough dives and did a great job. Everything was so consistent. He blew away his own record, which was awesome."
The 3-meter diving was the final event of the night, and Cubberley enjoyed cheering on his teammates beforehand.
"I'm always on the sidelines cheering on my teammates," Cubberley said. "We've been cheering really hard for each other, and I just knew I had to come out tonight and show out."
Stanley won the OAC title in the 100 fly with a time of :49.79, finishing just off his personal-best of :49.63, which ranks second all-time at ONU.
"Jackson is so diligent about everything, and coaching him for five years and seeing him win a conference championship is such a great feeling," Veltman said. "I don't know that an athlete can deserve to win more than him."
Freshmen Carter Detweiler (Newton, Pa./Council Rock) and Nathan Clark (Cleves/Elder) and senior Calob Cope (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) also brought home All-OAC honors.
Detweiler finished second in the 200 free in 1:42.20, which ranks fifth all-time at ONU.
Clark was second in the 100 breast in :57.35, which ranks sixth all-time at ONU.
Cope finished third in the 400 IM with a time of 4:08.65.
Stanley, Clark, junior Charlie Spyker (Harrod/Shawnee) and freshman Selby Wilt (Findlay) added a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:34.05.
The Polar Bears had seven more top-eight finishes on the day.
Freshmen Tyler Edmonds (Youngsville, La./Southside) and Long Huynh (Billings, Mont./West) finished fifth and sixth in the 400 IM with respective times of 4:14.87 and 4:15.46.
Sophomore Ben Starling (Mansfield/Lexington) and Edmonds were sixth and eighth in the 100 breast with respective times of :59.94 and 1:00.18.
Freshman Simon Bopple (Cleveland/Shaker Heights) and Spyker were seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 100 back with times of :52.99 and :53.09.
Wilt finished eighth in the 100 fly with a time of :52.86.
ONU has 422 points to stand third after 13 of the 20 events in the four-day championships meet.
John Carroll leads the team standings with 632 points, Mount Union is second with 428 points, Baldwin Wallace is fourth with 266 points and Wilmington is fifth with 200 points.
The top three finishers in the 15 individual events and the top two relay teams in each of the five relay events earn All-Conference honors, while the top 16 swimmers in each event score team points.
The fourth and final day of competition will be Saturday with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 5:45 p.m.
