Fiala claims second gold medal on final day of ACC Championships

The senior from Centreville takes home three total medals from the conference meet

March 2, 2017

	F
(12) Duke	3
(19) Virginia Tech	7
Box Score

ATLANTA - Senior Brandon Fiala turned in another historic performance at the ACC Championship on Thursday night as he broke the ACC, ACC Championship and program records in the 200 breast to win his second gold medal of the week for the Virginia Tech swimming and diving program.

Fiala’s record-breaking swim of 1:52.39 also gave him an NCAA automatic qualifying time. Overall, the H₂Okies accumulated 883.5 team points to place fourth, its eighth-straight top four finish at the conference meet. With Virginia placing sixth at the event, the H₂Okies also claim the men’s swimming and diving points in the Commonwealth Clash, presented by Virginia529.

“I am proud of this men's team and everything they represent,” head coach Ned Skinner said. “They gave us 100 percent and we have no regrets. That team race for third was tight and even though we ended up in fourth we have so much in which to be proud of. Zach Switzer merits so much praise for switching to breaststroke a month ago and make the A final tonight. We are very proud of our seniors and what they mean to our program.”

For Fiala it was his third medal of the week to go along with his gold medal swim in the 100 breast and his silver performance in the 200 IM. His five ACC conference titles are the most in the history of the Virginia Tech swimming and diving program.

Also reaching the A final of the 200 breast and competing in his final ACC Championship was senior Zach Switzer who posted a 1:56.33. Sophomore Justin Edwards competed in the B final where he swam a 1:58.14.

Owen’s performance in the A final of the 200 back nearly gave him his second podium appearance of the week but nearly missed out on a third place finish. His fourth place time of 1:40.88 was an NCAA invite time from 2016.

Sophomore Michael Craddock, who came in with a mile time if 15:46.33, swam a B cut time of 15:07.16 to finish fifth in the 1650 free. Classmate Norbert Szabo had a strong showing in the 200 fly B final where he led for the most of the race and came out with a time of 1:45.59.

Sean Workman continued to score in his second conference championship as he finished second in the B final with a time of 1:43.10. Sophomore Jake Lamparella placed fifth in the event with a B cut time of 1:43.92.

The H₂Okie men will next compete at NCAA Championships in Indianapolis from March 22-25. Tech’s men’s divers will also compete next week at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championship held at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center from March 6-8.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_SwimDive