Michael Schultz earns bid to compete at NCAA Championships

Michael Schultz

By Tim Glon

ADA — Freshman Michael Schultz will compete in three events at the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships March 20-22 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Schultz qualified as the 16th seed out of 22 in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:00.82.

As a 1650 qualifier, he will also be able to compete in the 500 free and 200 free events.

His 4:36.38 time in the 500 free has him seeded 19th and his 1:44.14 time in the 200 free has him seeded 36th out of 43 in the event.

He is the school record holder in all three events. He was named the OAC Men's Swimmer of the Year and won OAC titles in the 500 free, the 1650 free and the 100 butterfly as well as in three relay events.

Schultz will compete in the 500 free on Thursday, the 200 free on Friday and the 1,650 free on Saturday.

Each day, the preliminary heats will begin at 11 am and the finals session will start at 6:30 pm.

Junior George Chesney surpassed the NCAA "B" Cut in the 1- and 3-meter diving, but did not receive a bid to compete at the NCAA Championships.

Ohio Northern captured its fourth consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference Championships title in 2008 and won the OAC Regular Season title with a perfect 4-0 mark.

The Polar Bears were 5-4 overall on the season.