Berrettini and Hesselberg earn MWC honors
12/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Dec. 5, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas - Jonathon Berrettini was named the Mountain West Conference Men's Swimmer of the Week, while R.J. Hesselberg earned MWC Men's Diver of the Week honors, the league office announced on Wednesday.
Berrettini put together an incredible performance last weekend at the 2007 Short Course National Championships and the USA Swimming Long Course Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., as the TCU senior set two new TCU records and qualified for the 2008 NCAA Men's National Championships.
The Lewisville, Texas, native opened the Short Course National Championships on Thursday by breaking the school record in the 50-free with a time of 20.10, earning a NCAA `B' time. Fellow Frog Scott McCracken took possession of the record in the finals later that day (19.99).
On Friday, Berrettini competed in the 100-back event, breaking his own TCU record of 48.90 set at the 2006 Mountain West Conference Championships. In the preliminary event, Berrettini recorded a time of 48.44, and followed with a blistering time of 48.28 in the finals. Berrettini's time of 48.28 tied a MWC record with Arunas Savickas of BYU, who set the mark in 2001.
On the final day of the Short Course National Championships, Berrettini led off the 400-free relay team, recording a split time of 44.70 to break a 10-year old TCU record. The 400-free relay squad placed fourth in a talented field of 22 teams.
Berrettini competed at the USA Swimming Long Course Invitational on Sunday, recording a time of 56.69 in the 100-meter back event to automatically qualify for the 2008 NCAA Men's National Championships in Seattle, Wash. When converted to yards, the time currently ranks fourth in the nation.
Hesselberg, a junior from Saskatoon, Canada, earned his sixth consecutive weekly conference award after recording two top-five performances last weekend in a talented field at the Texas Invitational, which included the top-three ranked men's programs in the nation.
Hesselberg set a personal best with a score of 292.50 to place third in the platform dive. The score surpassed Hesselberg's previous best of 285.15, which earned him All-MWC First Team honors in 2006. Hesselberg recorded a score of 311.40 to finish fifth in the three-meter event on Friday. Hesselberg also placed 12th in the one-meter diving event with a score of 255.50.
Hesselberg has now tied a MWC record with six selections in one season with former Utah diver Sterling Richards. Hesselberg has earned the weekly conference accolade 10 times in his TCU career.
The swimming and diving teams will return to action on Dec. 15 when they will compete at the Las Vegas Invite.
Players Mentioned
