BUFFALO, N.Y. - The final race of the 2012 Atlantic 10 Swimming and Diving Championship was one of the best races in Saint Louis swimming history. The all freshman men's 400-yard freestyle relay team of Zack Billingsley, Patrick May, Justin Pasquesi and Patrick MacArt captured the first and only gold medal for the Billikens in what head coach Jim Halliburton called "The most exciting race I've ever seen." It is the first time any SLU relay team has won first-place at the A-10 Championship. They also broke the school record in the event by a full six seconds. To top it all off, their time of 3:00.83 meets the NCAA "B" cut-line. It is the first time in SLU history a relay or individual has reached the national standard.
In addition to the 400-yard freestyle relay, Billingsley placed third in the 100-yard freestyle with his record-setting time of 45.24. It was his second foray into the championship heat of the A-10 Championships.
Junior Taylor Streid continued to excel in the meet. She broke the school's 200-yard backstroke record at 2:03.47. She finished sixth in the event.
Freshman Whitney Gould finished 11th in the grueling 1650-yard freestyle. Her time of 17:32.03 is also a new standard at Saint Louis.
The women's 400-yard freestyle relay also had the best time in school history with a time of 3:29.48.
In total, 29 school records were rewritten at the A-10 Championships. The eventual women's champion was Richmond, with the Billikens finishing 10th. For the men, Massachusetts took the title, with the Billikens taking home seventh place.
