The goal for Nathan Mecray at the NCAA Division III swimming and diving championships next week is clear.
Mecray wants to swim at night.
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A Bowdoin College senior from Cumberland and Greely High, Mecray is entered in three events for the meet in Indianapolis, which runs from March 21-24. He’s been to the NCAAs two previous years but never made it out of the morning preliminary swims.
His best finish was a 21st in the 50-meter freestyle. Applaudable, but Mecray’s looking for more.
“I’d really like to make it back and qualify for the top 16 at night,” Mecray said. “That means you qualify for All-American.”
Mecray’s best shot appears to be in the 100 breast stroke. His school-record time of 56.91 has him seeded 14th in the event. Mecray is seeded 18th in the 50 free and 40th in the 100 free.
The meet will culminate a career that has included nine school records (five individual events and four relays), as Mecray helped the Polar Bears to a best-ever fifth-place finish in the NESCAC league meet.
“It’s been an awesome year, a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s definitely the strongest team we’ve had in a while. The team is moving in the right direction.”
Coach Brad Burnham, a University of Maine graduate and former assistant coach at UCLA, took over the Polar Bears’ program in 2000. He said Mecray’s competitive nature sparked his improvement in college.
“Nathan was a very good swimmer as a senior in high school, but it didn’t take long for him to recognize that the NESCAC is loaded with talented swimmers,” Burnham said.
“He is very good at rising to the occasion and racing the most talented guys in the pool.”
Mecray, an all-state swimmer at Greely (as well as an all-conference baseball player), has set school records in the 50 free (20.61), 100 free (46.19), 50 breast (26.15), 100 breast (56.91), and 100 individual medley (53.98). He also has a share in record-holding relay teams in the 200 free (1:23.70), 400 free (3:08.13), 200 medley (1:32.75) and the 400 medley (3:24.78).
Junior E.J. Googins, the only other Mainer on the men’s team (Portland, Deering High), was also part of the 200-free relay record team.
When Mecray swims this week in Indianapolis, his parents Matthew and Julie will be there, like they have been at so many meets since Nathan was 6 and swimming for the Seacoast Swim Club in Cumberland, a short walk from their house.
Mecray said he initially didn’t plan to attend Bowdoin, having sent applications to out-of-state schools. But once he visited the campus and met Burnham, “I applied, was accepted and couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
Mecray, a math major with a minor in physics, will graduate this spring. What comes after that “is up for debate,” he said. “I’ll be looking for a job.”
But first, a few more laps in the pool.
BOWDOIN WILL have one other swimmer at the nationals. Senior Allen Garner of Philadelphia qualified in the women’s 200 IM (seeded 18th with a time of 2:06.58), the 200 free (1:53.43) and 200 backstroke (2:07.78).
IN THE NCAA Division III indoor track and field championships in Iowa, Bowdoin’s distance medley team won, and Ben Manning of Southern Maine finished seventh in the 800-meter run, also attaining All-American status.
The Polar Bears’ team of Coby Horowitz, Matthew Gamache, Colin Fong and Matthew Hillard not only won Bowdoin’s first national indoor track title, they broke the meet record by more than 6 seconds, finishing in 10:05.72.
The Polar Bears were in second place heading into the final lap before Hillard burst ahead.
Manning, a junior from Jericho, Vt., finished in 1:57.41. Teammate Julian Gazzelloni of Windham ran the mile in the preliminaries (4:24.76).
Two USM women also competed. Hannah Wiley of Arundel placed 14th in the triple jump (36 feet, 5 inches) and ran the 400 in the preliminaries (57.70). Molly Carl of York ran the mile in the preliminaries (5:18.41).
Erin Silva of Bowdoin placed 12th in the pole vault (11-9.75) and Annie Huyler was 14th in the pentathlon (3,154 points). Chantal Croteau (mile, 5:08.99) and Elsa Millett (400 meter, 57.53) competed in the preliminaries.
The Polar Bears’ 1,600-meter relay combination of Emily Clark, Emily Barr, Alee Wade and Millett came in eighth in 3:55.09.
DIVISION III women’s basketball enjoyed another fine year for the four local colleges, culminating in Bowdoin reaching the Round of 16, where the Polar Bears lost Friday to George Fox University, 71-55.
Bowdoin, Southern Maine, the University of New England and St. Joseph’s all won at least 20 games with a combined record of 84-30.
In their respective conference standings, there was one first place, two seconds and a third, plus three NCAA tournament berths.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or: kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: KevinThomasPPH
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