Men Set School Record in Relay; Yelinek Wins 1650 Free

CLARION--The Bloomsburg University men's and women's swim teams wrapped up competition at the 2006 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championships with some strong finishes.

For the men, the Huskies' team of Chris Rumfelt (Shamokin/Shamokin), Steve Withers (Doylestown/Central Bucks), Steve Post (Scranton/Scranton) and Travis Backenstoe (Walnutport/Northampton) broke a 27-year old school record in the 400-free relay with a time of 3:09.56. The old mark of 3:10.20 was established in 1978 by the team of Keith Torok, Wayne Richards, Steve Price and Stu Marvin,

In the 100-free, the Huskies went three-four with Backenstoe finishing third in 46.93 with Rumfelt fourth in 46.96.

For the women, Ashley Yelinek (Youngwood/Southmoreland) won the PSAC championship in the 1,650 free event with a time of 17:32.90. For the 66-lap race Yelinek started with a split time of 29:05 and finished with a split of 30.75. Yelinek also took second place earlier in the championships in the 1000-free for the Huskies.

In the 200-backstroke, Kari Pokrzywa (Fairless Hills/Pennsbury) was fifth in a time of 2:10.68, while Sara Lengler (Harrisburg/C.D. East) was ninth in 2:14.05. In the 100-free, Dianna Smith (West Grove/Avon Grove) was third in a time of 53.37 with Allie Reed (Selinsgrove/Selinsgrove) taking ninth in 54.10.

In relay action, the Huskies' team of Courtney Dean (Lancaster/Hempfield), Jackie Gribbin (Richboro/Council Rock North), Reed and Smith took third in the 400-free relay in 3:35.78.

Overall, the women's team finished fourth with a total of 489 points, while the men were fifth with 196 points. Clarion won the women's title with West Chester capturing the men's title.