MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The pool at West Virginia University's Natatorium proved to be a progressive place Friday.
Villanova swimmer Ryan Murtha and West Virginia diver Alex Obendorf are both out publicly as gay. On Friday during their teams' dual meet, each won, possibly marking the first time two out LGBT athletes captured victory in the same NCAA competition.
"I feel like it's a great accomplishment," Obendorf said Sunday in a phone interview. "Some people say negative things about gay people. But in the long run, I feel like we're just the same and have the same abilities as straight people."
Murtha, a senior, swam on Villanova's 200-yard freestyle relay that won with a time of 1 minute, 29.2 seconds.
Obendorf, a sophomore, won the 1-meter springboard with a score of 304.35 points.
"I was happy with it," said Obendorf, who hit the board during last year's Big 12 Championships on 1-meter and came back to take second and third on platform and 3-meter, respectively. "I'm definitely a better diver than I was last year."
The 1-meter springboard was Obendorf's only event Friday. Murtha, who did not respond to interview requests, also swam three individual events Friday and took seventh place in all three: 50 freestyle (23.07 seconds), 100 freestyle (50.27 seconds) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.51).
Obendorf followed Friday's meet with a meet Saturday at Ohio State with Michigan and Buffalo. He took fifth on 3-meter springboard (281.70) and sixth on platform (245.05).
For the Hudson, Ohio, native, Saturday's meet provided the opportunity for his parents and six other family members to see him compete.
"Seeing my family would be the top moment [of the weekend], just because I haven't seen them in a while," said Obendorf, who hadn't seen his family since Dec. 29 when he rejoined his team. "It was a motivator for me."
Names in bold are people that have announced publicly they identify as LGBT.
Division I
Schuyler Bailar (freshman, Harvard men's swimming) competed in four exhibition races during a meet Friday and Saturday against Yale and Princeton.
Alex Clark (senior, East Carolina men's diving) finished sixth and seventh in 3-meter and 1-meter springboard, respectively, during Saturday's meet against South Carolina.
Sean Collins (sophomore, Penn men's track and field) took eight in pole vault (10 feet, 10 inches), ninth in long jump (19-5 1/4), and ran the 4×400-meter relay during Saturday's Wesley Brown Invitational at Navy.
Konrad Eiring (freshman, Illinois men's track) went to Kentucky and finished 13th in the 800 meters (1 minute, 52.39 seconds) and eighth in the 4×400-meter relay at the Rod McCravy Invite on Jan. 22 and 23.
Taylor Emery (freshman, Tulane women's basketball) scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 72-54 loss to Temple on Jan. 26. The loss ended the Green Wave's three-game winning streak. For Emery, she bounced back after two points and zero points in the preceding two games against SMU and East Carolina. Tulane (15-6 overall, 6-3 AAC) sits fourth in the American Athletic Conference.
Derrick Gordon (senior, Seton Hall men's basketball) helped the Pirates (15-6 overall, 5-4 Big East) beat St. John's and Creighton after losses to No. 4-ranked Villanova and No. 5 Xavier. Gordon played consistent in the four games the last two weeks by averaging 6.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists — a dip in scoring but a rise in rebounding and assists from his season average.
Connor Griffin (freshman, Fordham men's swimming) took fourth Saturday in both the 200-yard breaststroke (2:19.25) and 200 individual medley (2:04.85) at Massachusetts. That's after a Jan. 22 home meet against LaSalle and Iona where his best finish in three races was fifth in the 400 IM (4:23.42).
Fred Hartville (senior, Illinois men's gymnastics) competed Saturday for the first time since winning the 2015 Big Ten vault title. Hartville tore his Achilles tendon warming up for the 2015 NCAA Championships. On Saturday at Penn State, Hartville finished third on vault with a score of 14.800 for the No. 4-ranked Illini.
Bree Horrocks (sophomore, Purdue women's basketball) needed to be helped off the court during Saturday's double overtime win at Penn State after she "went down yelling in pain," according to the Centre Daily Times. Purdue coach Sharon Versyp told the Lafayette Journal and Courier that Horrocks suffered a MCL injury and it's unclear when she will return. Purdue (16-5 overall, 7-3 Big Ten) went 2-2 the last two weeks, and Horrock's best game was nine points, five rebounds, one blocked shot, one assist and one steal in a win against Iowa on Jan. 23.
http://www.centredaily.com/sports/college/womens-basketball/article57500028.html
Liam Huffman (junior, George Washington men's swimming) finished second on the 200-yard freestyle relay, second in the 500 freestyle (4:43.86), and third in the 200 freestyle (1:45.74) in a dual meet at George Mason on Jan. 18.
Nick Jessee (junior, St. Louis men's swimming) swam three meets the last two weeks. He helped earn a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay against Truman State on Jan. 22. His best individual finishes were three times taking second, which came in the 1,000 freestyle (10:13.17) on Jan. 22 then twice Saturday against Eastern Illinois in the 100 butterfly (54.28 seconds) and the 100 freestyle (48.07 seconds).
Ayrton Kasemets (sophomore, Oakland men's swimming) competed in four events Saturday against Cleveland State and his best finish was fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke (58.55 seconds). Kasemets also took fourth in both events he swam Jan. 23 at Michigan State: the 200 breaststroke (2:08.82) and 200 individual medley (2:05.21).
Austin Parrish (junior, Eastern Illinois men's swimming) swam two events Jan. 23 at Valparaiso with his best finish a fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:27.55). He did three events Saturday at St. Louis, highlighted by fourth place in both the 200 breaststroke (2:23.96) and 1,000 freestyle (10:48.53).
Tanner Williams (senior, Oklahoma men's track and field) produced a seventh-place finish in pole vault (15 feet, 11 1/4 inches) on Jan. 23 in a quadrangular meet at Texas A&M. On Saturday, he took eighth in pole vault (16-1 1/4) during the Razorback Invitational at Arkansas.
Chris Burns (assistant coach, Bryant men's basketball) endured an 0-4 record the last two weeks, including Saturday's 72-71 loss at Sacred Heart.
Galen Dodd (assistant coach, Southern California men's volleyball) saw the Trojans (1-7 overall) win their first match Jan. 26 against No. 8-ranked Pepperdine, 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 21-25, 15-11.
Patrick Jeffrey (diving coach, Stanford men's and women's diving) had two men's divers each take runner-up on springboard against Arizona on Jan. 23 and also against Arizona State on Jan. 22. For the women divers, Alex Clay won both springboards Jan. 30 vs. Southern California, and a week earlier, Gracia Leydon-Mahoney won 3-meter springboard on consecutive days against Arizona and Arizona State.
Randy Lane (assistant coach, UCLA women's gymnastics) helped prepare the No. 5-ranked Bruins to beat Arizona 196.800-196.475 on Jan. 23.
Lee-J Mirasolo (assistant coach, Harvard women's hockey) witnessed the Crimson (12-8-1 overall) go 2-2 the last two weeks, which includes beating No. 9 Princeton and losing to No. 4 Quinnipiac and No. 1 Boston College.
Ryan Mizner (assistant coach, Central Michigan men's basketball) helped his team (12-9 overall, 5-3 Mid-American) to a three-game winning streak since a Jan. 19 loss at Northern Illinois.
Simon Thibodeau (head coach, UC-Santa Barbara women's tennis) experienced a rough start to the spring season with three 4-3 losses against No. 2 Southern California, Utah, and
Division II
LeQuan Chapman (senior, Shippensburg men's track and field) took ninth in long jump (23-0 3/4) and 13th in triple jump (46-2 1/2) at the Penn State Invitational on Friday and Saturday. That came after he won triple jump (46-3 1/4) and took second in long jump (22-9) at Bucknell's Gulden Invitational on Jan. 23.
Austin Olivares (junior, Lindenwood men's swimming) captured a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.34), sixth in the 500 freestyle (4:54.79), and third on the 200 freestyle relay Jan. 22 against Washington University-St. Louis.
Javier Ruisanchez (freshman, Gannon men's swimming) swam three events at the Pidgeon Memorial Invitational in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on Friday and Saturday. He took seventh in the 200-yard butterfly (2:03.89), ninth in the 100 butterfly (56.08 seconds), and 10th in the 50 freestyle (23.71 seconds).
Austin Shupp (sophomore, Shippensburg men's track and field) tied for 16th in the triple jump (45-9) and took 21st in the 60-meter hurdles (8.46 seconds) at the Penn State Invitational on Friday and Saturday. On Jan. 23, Shupp earned a pair of third-place finishes in triple jump (45-5 1/4) and 60-meter hurdles (8.42 seconds) at Bucknell.
Division III
Greg Arther (sophomore, Wisconsin-Platteville men's track) took seventh in the 800 meters (2:02.50) during Saturday's Platteville Select meet. On Jan. 23, he snared a fourth place in the 800, running 2:00.46 at Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Chris Cassingham (sophomore, Mary Washington men's swimming) finished top three in both individual events Saturday at York, Pennsylvania. He took second in the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:02.95) and third in the 500 freestyle (4:53.17).
Michael Drougas (sophomore, Oberlin men's tennis) won his singles match 6-1, 6-4 to help Oberlin beat Indiana Tech 5-2 to open the spring season Saturday.
Max Korten (senior, Moravian men's track) ran the 5,000 meters Saturday at the Lehigh Covert Classic, and he finished 15th in 17:41.42.
Mark Kroll (senior, Coe men's tennis) competed at No. 3 doubles Saturday at University of Chicago and lost 8-0 playing with teammate Zack Decker to start the season.
Nathan Rommel (senior, Hope men's swimming) placed third in both the 100 butterfly (55.01 seconds) and 200 butterfly (2:05.29) to highlight the four events he swam Jan. 23 at Albion College.
NAIA
Andres Bustani (senior, Lewis-Clark men's tennis) opened the year with losses in singles and doubles during his team's 7-0 loss to Portland State on Friday. He came back with a 6-1, 6-2 singles win Saturday against Willamette in Lewis-Clark's 9-0 win. On Sunday, Bustani won 6-1, 7-6 at No. 4 singles, but he lost 8-4 at doubles and his team lost 4-3 to UC-Riverside.
Jesse Taylor (sophomore, Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball) played three minutes in his team's 104-66 win over Mt. Marty on Jan. 27. Dakota Wesleyan (18-7 overall) went 3-1 the last two weeks.
Nick Clark (head coach, Clarke men's volleyball) guided his team to a 5-0 start to the season. Only Siena Heights has pushed No. 6-ranked Clarke to a fifth set, and the Crusaders won that Jan. 23 match 25-17, 24-26, 25-16, 22-25, 15-13.
Upcoming televised competitions involving LGBT college athletes and coaches that have announced their sexuality publicly. (All times are Eastern.)
Tuesday, Feb. 2
Bree Horrocks, Purdue women's basketball vs. Maryland; West Lafayette, Ind., 6 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Wednesday, Feb. 3
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball vs. Marquette; Newark, N.J., 8:30 p.m. (FS1)
Saturday, Feb. 6
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball vs. Georgetown; Newark, N.J., 9 p.m. (CBSSN)
Monday, Feb. 8
Bree Horrocks, Purdue women's basketball at Wisconsin; Madison, Wis., 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Wednesday, Feb. 10
Derrick Gordon, Seton Hall men's basketball vs. Butler; Newark, N.J., 6:30 p.m. (FS1)
Erik Hall can be reached via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @HallErik or on Facebook. If you are an out LGBT athlete or coach and want your accomplishments recognized, email Erik.
