gates at the wall
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Junior Melissa Gates helped the 400 freestyle relay set a school record.

Swimming Matthew Kifer, Sports Information Director

Vulcans finish third at PSAC Championships

Session 6 Results
Session 7 Results
Full Results

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (Feb. 20) – The California University of Pennsylvania swimming team tied its best finish in program history at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships, placing third in the team standings on Sunday night while competing at Cumberland Valley High School.

On the fourth and final night of the league championships, the 400 freestyle relay of freshmen Clarissa Enslin (Dalview, South Africa/St. Andrews School for Girls), Kelsey Nuhfer (Warren, Pa./Warren), Jess Machmer (Canton, Pa./Canton) and junior Melissa Gates (Leola, Pa./Conestoga Valley) broke the school record and finished second in the event after touching the wall in 3 minutes, 27.62 seconds. The mark broke the previous school record set at the 2009 PSAC Championships by over seven-tenths of a second and automatically qualifies the relay for the upcoming NCAA National Championships.

Individually, Gates and Enslin posted back-to-back finishes in the 100 freestyle, placing second and third, respectively, with NCAA 'B' times. Gates finished the event in 50.90 seconds and Enslin was close behind at 51.19 seconds.

In the 200 butterfly, sophomore Bruna Carvalho (Belem, Brazil/Milton Campos) posted a time of 2:08.98 seconds to finish seventh in the finals. Freshman Kate Mellon (Queensland, Australia/Mansfield State) also finished seventh in the 1650 freestyle after touching the wall in 17:37.74.

West Chester captured its fifth-straight PSAC Championship, posting a four-day total of 630 points. Clarion finished in second place for the fifth-consecutive season with 510 points, and Cal U (341) edged out IUP (340) for third place in the team standings.

The Vulcans, who placed fifth at last year's championships, previously finished third at the PSAC Championships in 2009.

Cal U concludes the season when it competes at the NCAA National Championships from March 9-12 in San Antonio, Texas.

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