LEXINGTON, Va. – Dallas Disbro posted an NCAA zone qualifying mark in 3-meter diving, shattering the previous school record and leading VMI men's swimming and diving to a 155-135 win over the Limestone Saints Friday afternoon at VMI's Clark King Pool.
Disbro, who had set the school record in 1-meter diving earlier this season, posted a score of 327.75 points in the 3-meter discipline Friday to easily take the victory.
That was well over the qualifying mark of 310 points, and also shattered the previous Keydet best of 301.05 points, which had stood since 1982. The Keydet senior is now eligible for the NCAA Zone Diving Competitions, a meet held in Buffalo, N.Y. in early March. Should he be able to compete at that event, he will be able to battle for a berth at the NCAA Championships.
In addition to being the first NCAA qualifying mark achieved under head coach Bill Nicholson, Disbro's effort was also the top 3-meter performance in the CCSA this year, topping the previous best of 274.70, which Disbro himself set in October.
The senior also topped the 1-meter event Friday, recording 252.45 markers to earn the victory.With the victory, the Keydets wrap up their dual meet season at 6-3, their best mark in Nicholson's 10-year tenure.
“Since I've been here, we've traditionally been strong in the diving events,” said VMI head coach Bill Nicholson. “Our current volunteer assistant, Ray Porter, has brought in a new attitude, however, and has helped develop a winning structure for our diving program. It's been under his leadership that Dallas has flourished, and now has become an NCAA zone qualifier. This is quite the accomplishment for this program.”
A program freshman record also fell Friday, with John Kelly, Connor McMahon, Stephen Lloyd and Jake Shafer combining to set a new 400 free relay mark, 3:16.10. That was good for a runner-up finish.
James Goodwillie had a strong day on Friday as well, winning two races and finishing second in another. In the 100 back, Goodwillie rallied from an early deficit to best teammate Matt Dale by just over six-tenths of a second.
That finish repeated itself in the 200 back, with Goodwillie pulling away over the second half of the race to win in 1:59.29, nearly three seconds quicker than Dale. Finally, Goodwillie finished second in the 400 IM, posting a time of 4:21.42.
Dale did, however, lead the Keydets to a win earlier in the day, when he led off for the winning 400 medley relay team, consisting of Dale, Lloyd, Shafer and Kelly. That squad posted a 3:41.03 time, besting their teammates Goodwillie, McMahon, David Hayes and Thomas Brown's effort of 3:41.51.
Many of the aforementioned competitors posted strong results in their individual events as well, including Kelly and McMahon, who finished second and third respectively in both the 50 and 100 free. Kelly recorded times of 22.23 and 49.59 in the events, edging McMahon's 22.33 and 49.60 efforts.
Shafer, meanwhile, recorded a pair of podium finishes in the butterfly events. The freshman finished second in the 200 fly, recording a time of 2:02.80, and placed third in the 100-yard version, thanks to a 55.97 clocking.
Finally, Thomas Brown was second in the 100 fly (55.62), and David Hayes was edged late and took second in the 200 breast (2:18.20).
VMI men's swimming and diving will return to action Feb. 16, taking part in the opening day of the CCSA Championships in Athens, Ga.
