Houston, Texas - The Minnesota State men’s swimming and diving team sits in 12th-place with 98.5 points after the third day of the 2009 NCAA Division II Championships. The event, which is held at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium on the campus of the University of Houston, is part of the NCAA Division II Winter Sports Festival.

Wayne State leads the field with 372.5 points.

Two Mavericks earned all-American awards in the 100-yard backstroke as senior Marty Wahle finished second with a time of :48.38, which was :00.30 out of first-place. Junior Ben Dowswell finished tied for third with Wayne State’s Sean Smith with a time of 48.72. In the prelims, Wahle was second with a time of :48.77, :0.15 out of first, while Dowswell was third in :48.86. Sophomore Billy Meyer finished sixth in the one-meter dive with a score of 389.40.

Also competing individually was senior Zac Ruzycki who finished 28th in the 10-yard backstroke with a time of :51.71. Sophomore Chris Gogel was 42nd in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:45.78

The four-day long event concludes Saturday.