CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Feb. 19, 2023) – The last three days were a showcase of what is to come for the Loras College men's swimming and diving team as the Duhawks placed third out of five teams at the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Championships.
The end-of-season A-R-C meet had been an invitational meet in the past, but swimming and diving recently became an officially sponsored conference sport to make this the first ever conference championship meet. Luther College claimed the championship with a total team score of 652 points while Nebraska Wesleyan took second with 574 points. The Duhawks finished with 363 points to take third.
Loras was a strong presence on all three days of the meet, which spanned from Thursday, Feb. 16 to Saturday, Feb. 18. A host of Duhawks earned podium finishes as five different relay teams and four total individual podiums led to a top-three finish for the team.
Freshman
Caden Gillmore had been one of the top Duhawk swimmers all year and capped his impressive freshman campaign with five Third Team All-Conference honors. During the finals session of day one, Gillmore placed third in the 500-yard freestyle race, clocking a 4:46.98 to rank him second all-time at Loras.
Of the Duhawks' five relay teams that earned Third Team All-Conference honors, Gillmore was a member of four of these teams, tying him with junior
Brad LaGrange for a team-leading five all-conference honors.
Two other Duhawks swimmers earned Third Team All-Conference honors in individual races, both of which came on day three. LaGrange took third place in the 100-yard freestyle finals with a 48.78 while junior
Noah James was third in the 200-yard butterfly with a 2:09.03. Both Duhawks clocked their season-best times to earn all-conference honors.
Junior diver
Gannon Harrington earned a pair of podium places as well, taking Third Team All-Conference honors in each the one-meter and three-meter dives. Harrington's score of 280.20 in the 1M finals marked a season-high, as did his 293.00 in the 3M preliminaries.
The full all-conference list for Loras is below.
Caden Gillmore
500 Free – 3
rd
200 Free relay – 3
rd
200 Medley relay – 3
rd
400 Free Relay – 3
rd
400 Medley relay – 3
rd
Brad LaGrange
100 Free – 3
rd
200 Free Relay – 3
rd
200 Medley Relay – 3
rd
400 Free Relay – 3
rd
400 Medley Relay – 3
rd
Joey Kock
200 Medley relay – 3
rd
400 Medley relay – 3
rd
800 Free relay – 3
rd
Brian Day
200 Medley Relay – 3
rd
400 Medley Relay – 3
rd
800 Free Relay – 3
rd
Austin Jorgensen
200 Free Relay – 3
rd
800 Free Relay – 3
rd
Connor Smith
800 Free Relay – 3
rd
Charles Holmes
200 Free Relay – 3
rd
Noah James
200 Fly – 3
rd
Gannon Harrington
1M Dive – 3
rd
3M Dive – 3
rd
