YORK, Pa. – The Shippensburg University men's swimming team posted its third consecutive sixth-place finish at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships on Sunday, completing a successful four days of competition from the Graham Aquatic Center.
 
Shippensburg totaled 222 points – its highest amount in four years – to post a 50-point margin over Edinboro. The Raiders were 55 points behind fifth-place Gannon.

"It was such a fun meet for our guys," head coach Tim Verge said. "We had more people come back and swim at night than we have had in a long time. A lot of them were our new swimmers, and they placed really well."

The Raiders finished the weekend with 16 individual scoring performances – including four 'A' championship finals appearances. SU's top finish came from one of those new swimmers -- freshman Jeff Beyer -- who placed fourth in the 1,650-yard 'mile' freestyle event on a time of 16:11.52 that improves him to seventh all-time at SU in the event. Beyer's swim was one of optimal consistency, as 30 of his 33 splits were clocked between 29 and 30 seconds.
 
Beyer completed his debut conference meet as a four-time individual place-winner: finishing fourth in the mile, seventh in the 500 freestyle, ninth in the 1,000 freestyle and 16th in the 200 freestyle.
 
Junior Kristian Voulopos also had a heck of final day at the conference meet, placing eighth in the 200-backstroke for his second straight Top 8 finish in the event. He came within .04 seconds of his collegiate PR that has him sixth in school history. Voulopos swam 1:53.32 at night after qualifying in 1:53.73.
 
Even more impressive was Voulopos's outstanding opening split on SU's 400-yard freestyle relay that concluded the meet. Voulopos swam 100 meters in 46.63 seconds – the third-fastest opening leg amongst a field whose winner (Bloomsburg) broke the conference record. The time is not only a huge PR for Voulopos, but it also ties him for sixth on SU's all-time list in the event. He is the first Raider in seven years to crack the Top 10 in the 100 freestyle.
 
Sunday capped off a terrific weekend for junior Quinton Beck, whose conference tournament included the first three PSAC scoring performances of his career. Beck swam more than 2,000 yards in the pool on Sunday – the fourth and final day – by placing 15th in the 1,650-yard freestyle (mile) on a time of 17:05.25 (a 25-second season best) and taking 16th in the 200-yard breaststroke on a time of 2:11.92.
 
Beck made the 'B' final by virtue of a morning PR of 2:12.45, then swam the mile, and yet still got five-tenths of a second faster on his second 200-yard breaststroke of the day – an impressive achievement.

SU's freshmen made a significant impact this weekend and were integral to the team's increased point total. Freshman Nick Bloom had two consistently strong swims Sunday in the 200-yard backstroke – qualifying for the 'B' final in a collegiate PR of 1:55.68 and then finishing 12th overall in 1:55.69. For the weekend, Bloom was a three-time PSAC place-winner, finishing 11th in the 400-yard IM and 12th in the 100-yard backstroke.
 
Freshman Callum Hamel had an outstanding evening swim in the 200-yard breaststroke. Despite finishing 15th, Hamel swam 2:10.25 – a 2.6-second improvement from his morning prelim qualifier – to slot just .06 seconds outside of SU's all-time Top 10 for the event.
 
Freshman Adam Fox paced five Raiders in the 100-yard freestyle on a collegiate personal-best time of 47.60 seconds. Senior Shaun Smith swam 48.55 seconds, while senior Mike Gyurisin broke 50 seconds for the second time this season by touching the wall in 49.90 seconds.

"This team really worked, so it was really great to see that pay off for them," Verge said of the 2017 PSAC squad. "I know they're excited about moving forward, and we have some good people coming in who are going to be a part of this, and we're really excited for the future."
 
The meet concluded with Voulopos, Fox, Beyer and Shaun Smith finishing the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:09.89. Sunday marked the conclusion of the collegiate careers for SU's seniors: Smith, Gyurisin, Tyler Clisham, Alex Gallagher and Chandler Johnson.

"It was really exciting and they battled really hard," Verge said. "We swam well in the morning, came back at night, kept racing, and stayed consistent with our times. It was really fun to be a part of."

100 Free
Adam Fox 47.60
Shaun Smith 48.55
Evan Smith 49.43
Mike Gyurisin 49.90
Chandler Johnson 53.12
 
200 Back
8. Kristian Voulopos 1:53.32 (1:53.73p)
12. Nick Bloom 1:55.69 (1:55.68p)
Alex Gallagher 2:10.92
 
200 Breast
15. Callum Hamel 2:10.25 (2:12.81p)
16. Quinton Beck 2:11.92 (2:12.45p)
 
1650 Free
4. Jeff Beyer 16:11.52
15. Quinton Beck 17:05.25
 
400 Free Relay
7. Kristian Voulopos, Adam Fox, Jeff Beyer, Shaun Smith 3:09.89