Lacey Shumate becomes ONU's first 4-time winner to lead Women's Swimming & Diving on Day 2 of the OAC Championships

By: Tim Glon

AKRON — Ohio Northern women's swimming & diving team broke three OAC records and set three school records on Day 2 of the 2011 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships.

The Polar Bears lead the team standings with 203 points. Mount Union is second with 142, John Carroll is third wirh 97, Baldwin-Wallace is fourth with 89 and Wilmington is fifth with 42.

Senior Lacey Shumate became Ohio Northern's first four-time event champion, winning the 400 I.M. for the fourth time in her career.

Shumate won the 2011 title in 4:41.42, breaking her own school record by .97 of a second.

Shumate had previously won the 2007, 2008 and 2009 400 I.M. titles.

Senior Hannah Bukowy won her third OAC and second in a row in the 100 breast, touching in an OAC and ONU record and NCAA "B" Cut time of 1:05.96.

Freshman Kasey Munro earned All-Conference accolades by finishing second in an NCAA "B" Cut of 1:06.38.

Three ONU freshmen finished 1-2-4 in the 100 fly.

Lindsay Rayhill won the OAC title in 58.90, Cait Munro earned All-OAC honors by finishing third in 59.60 and Jamie Garbash was fourth in 1:01.66.

Senior Cassie Fennell earned All-OAC honors in the 100 back, finishing third in a school record 1:00.59.

Sophomore Amy Elmer earned All-Conference honors in the 1-meter diving, placing third with a score of 388.80 points.

Junior Kaitlyn Early and sophomore Mackenzie Hoffman earned All-OAC honors in the 200 free, finishing second and third in 1:56.82 and 1:56.93, respectively.

Northern ended the evening by winning the 800 free relay for the third consecutive season.

Junior Michelle Eggers, Early, Rayhill and Hoffman shattered the OAC and ONU records by more than two seconds, winning the title in 7:52.83.

The Championships will conclude Saturday with the third and final day of the meet. Preliminaries begin at 11 am and the finals are slated for 5:30 pm.