Dec. 3, 2011
AKRON, Ohio -
Freshman swimmer Samantha Schuckles broke the school record in the 100-yard backstroke for the 3rd time this weekend at Saturday's finals, in the second day of the Zippy Invitational. The Redbirds hold a solid fourth place with 634.5 points, with one day of competition to go.
Schuckles broke the school record for the 100-yard backstroke Friday night (57.09), while leading off for the 400-yard medley relay, only to come back and break her own record Saturday morning during the prelims (56.93). She competed in the finals Saturday night, breaking the record yet again with a time of 56.37, to finish second.
"Sammy had a phenomenal swim in the finals," head coach Steve Paska said. "It was a close and exciting race to watch. She prepared well for the race, and I am very excited and proud of her accomplishments so far this weekend."
Schuckles also led off for the 5th place finishing 200-yard medley relay team (A), alongside junior Sarah Rendek, Morgan Buechele, and freshman anchor Katherine Nelson in the first event of Saturday's finals, with a season best time of 1:46.05.
Freshman Cecilia Holmes earned a personal best time in the 400-yard IM (4:30.88), shattering her previous record by just under eight seconds. Valerie Jones came up right behind Holmes, earning the 11th place spot and a personal best time of 4:31.56. Senior Jillian Olson also earned a season best time in the event, with a time of 4:43.04, to place 23rd in finals.
"Valerie and Cecilia both had excellent time drops in the finals from their prelims," Paska said. "They had outstanding performances tonight, earning them both personal best swims."
Holmes also anchored the 800-yard freestyle relay with junior Danielle Schumacher, freshman Valerie Jones and junior Tori Alland, to end Saturday competition. The Redbirds held a third place spot until Holmes pulled through to a second place finish. The relay team was just behind the school record set last season (7:31.62) at conference.
"This was a fantastic way to finish Saturday's final session," Paska said of the relay. "The exciting 2nd place finish gives us momentum going into the final day of the Zippy Invite. We held our ground today and gave a lot of great performances."
Junior Sarah Rendek gave a season best performance in the 100-yard butterfly, swimming a 57.08 at finals. Jeanette Nolte also swam a season best time of 57.57 in the event, to place 12th. Senior Jessica McGee swam to a personal best time of 59.03 to place 22nd in the finals.
Juniors Danielle Schumacher and Tori Alland qualified for finals in the 200-yard freestyle. Alland swam to a season best time of 1:52.83 in the preliminary round. Schumacher's time of 1:52.99 gave the Lemont, Ill., native a 4th place finish, earning 26 points for the Redbirds. Alland swam to 10th place finish with a time of 1:54.16.
With two days left of competition, the Rebirds trail behind Ohio (1053 points), Toledo (869 points) and Buffalo State (757.5 points). Competition resumes with preliminary events Sunday at 9 a.m. eastern, and the finals scheduled for 4 p.m.
Live video streaming from the event can be found at http://mac-sports.com/Schools/Akron/LiveStreaming.aspx.
Live results can be found at http://www.wagonwheelchallenge.com/swimstats/.
Saturday Prelim Results 
Saturday Final Results
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