DeGayner Crowned Co-Champion in 200 Free at National Meet

Jordan DeGayner '12 center

Jordan DeGayner ’12 came from behind on the final leg of the 200-yard freestyle to tie Tyler Harp from the University of Redlands for first place at the 2012 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships at the Indiana University Natatorium.

DeGayner finished in a school-record time of 1:37.51, which was .83 seconds faster than his previous standard of 1:38.34 at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships in February.

DeGayner, CC’s first national champion in a swimming event, covered the final 50 yards in 24.96 seconds to pass Kenyon’s Zachary Turk and Denison’s Sean Chabot.

The swimming and diving teams combined for 17 school records en route to their best-ever showings at the SCAC championships.

Led by DeGayner, who was named Swimmer of the Meet for the second year in a row, the CC men finished second out of eight teams. DeGayner set school records while winning three freestyle events (50, 100, 200), and added a fourth with a 100-yard butterfly prelim clocking that was .39 seconds faster than the event winner’s.

DeGayner joined Kevin Dorff ’14, Matt Nadel ’15, and Devin Wahl ’12 in the first-place 800 free relay. He, Dorff, Flynn McGuire ’13, and Michael Bennett ’14 also claimed victory in the 400 free relay while breaking a school record in the 200.

Austin Howlett ’15 was named Diver of the Meet after finishing first in the 3-meter diving and second in the 1-meter. Head Coach Anne Goodman James, with assistants Chris Sullivan and Ellen Walker, repeated as Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Colorado College women set seven school standards and recorded season bests in all 14 swimming events en route to a program-best third-place finish.

Danielle Wahl ’15 established individual marks in the 200 butterfly, as well as the 500, 1,000, and 1,650 freestyle events. She also joined Emily Houghton ’15, Abby Sawyer ’14, and Brenna Day ’14 for a record-smashing effort in the 400 medley relay. Day, who won the 100 freestyle, posted school records in that race and the 200.

DeGayner qualified for three individual events at the Division III national championships, where Dorff, Nadel, and Devin Wahl joined him in their “national” debut for the 200, 400, and 800 free relays. Danielle Wahl earned an NCAA spot in the 1,650 free, 500 free, and 200 fly.

Men’s Basketball

Ryan Milne '14

Point guard Ryan Milne ’14 was named to the All-SCAC First Team and forward Chris Lesnansky ’15 was introduced as Newcomer of the Year at the conference’s post-season tournament. Milne, who led the league in scoring (19.0 per game) and assists (5.0), was honored for the second consecutive season after earning third-team and newcomer accolades in 2010-11. Lesnansky led all SCAC rookies in rebounding (6.2 per game) and scoring (11.4). He and junior forward Ian Rewoldt ’13 were honorable- mention all-league selections after CC finished with a 12-13 overall record and 8-8 mark in conference play.

Women’s Basketball

Becky Luetjen '12

Becky Luetjen ’12 repeated as an All-SCAC First Team selection after finishing among the league’s top 10 in six statistical categories – scoring (17.2 points per game), minutes played (33.2), rebounds (9.5), blocked shots (1.0) and free-throw percentage (.798).      She also was eighth in field-goal percentage (.444) and 14th in steals (1.8). Luetjen,    who started all 102 games during her four seasons as a Tiger, is No. 3 on the program’s all-time chart with 90 blocked shots. Now No. 4 on CC’s all-time charts with 1,552 points, 827 rebounds and 227 assists, as well as No. 5 with 181 steals, she is the first player in program history to rank among the  top five in all five categories. Jordy Stephenson ’12 earned honorable mention as Colorado College finished 14-12 overall, captured second place in the SCAC West Division at 10-6 and earned its third conference tournament appearance  in four years.

Hockey

Two days after completing his sophomore season with the Tigers, two-time All-WCHA selection Jaden Schwartz ’14 signed a contract with St. Louis of the National Hockey League. The Blues’ No. 1 draft pick in June 2010 wasted no time making his presence felt in the NHL, scoring the game-winning goal late in the first period of his professional debut, a 3-1 victory at Tampa Bay. Schwartz amassed 88 points (32 goals, 56 assists) in 60 career games at CC.

Women’s Soccer

Six recruits committed to join the Tigers next fall. The 2012 freshman class will include defender Sam Curran (Austin, Texas), midfielder/defender Kendall Kultgen (Colorado Springs, Colo.), midfielder Alexis Long (Oak Hills, Calif.), goalkeeper Kate Scheele (Seattle, Wash.), goalkeeper Heather Seeley (San Ramon, Calif.), and defender/midfielder Sam Zarling (Alamo, Calif.). Twenty-two players also will return from the 2011 team that won nine of its final 13 games (9-3-1) and finished second in Conference USA with an 8-2-1 league record. CC kicks off the 2012 season in Greeley, Colo., on Aug. 17, meeting the University of Denver in the Colorado Cup opener.