March 20, 2008

Whitbeck earns All-America, sets school record

OXFORD, Ohio -- Grove City College junior sprinter Tim Whitbeck (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) earned his seventh career NCAA All-America honor Thursday night by placing third in the 50 freestyle at the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at Miami University of Ohio.

Whitbeck posted a time of 20.23 seconds in the finals to earn third place. Washington & Lee senior Alex Sweet won the national title with a Division III-record time of 19.85 seconds.

As a sophomore, Whitbeck won the 2007 national title in the 50 free with a time of 20.25 seconds.

Whitbeck entered the Championships as the top seed with a season-best time of 20.37. In Thursday morning's preliminaries, he set a new Grove City record in the 50 with a time of 20.19. That broke the previous mark of 20.22, set by Caleb Courage in 2007.

Sweet posted a 19.99 clocking in the preliminaries to earn the top seed in Thursday's final. Whitbeck entered the finals as the No. 4 seed.

Friday, Whitbeck will compete in the 100 backstroke at the NCAA Championships. He will then compete in the 100 freestyle Saturday.

Whitbeck previously earned All-America honors in his career in the 200 and 400 free relays in both 2006 and 2007. He also earned NCAA All-America status in the 400 medley relay in 2006.

During the 2007-08 regular season, Whitbeck helped Grove City to an 11-3 dual-meet record and the program's first Presidents' Athletic Conference championship since 2004. Whitbeck earned the conference's Most Valuable Performer award after winning the 50 free, 100 free and 100 backstroke at the Grove City Invitational/PAC Championships Feb. 14-16.

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