Swimming: Sarradet makes national meet

      ARVADA, COLO. Joseph Sarradet has made history by becoming the first UTPB swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships.
      The sophomore from Cleburne swam qualifying times in the 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley Thursday through Saturday during the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships at the Colorado School of Mines’ Meyers Pool.
      Sarradet swam an automatic qualifying time of 1 minutes, 52.12 seconds, in the 200 backstroke while finishing third. He also advanced with “B’ cut times of 50.30 in the 100 butterfly (third place) and 1:55.01 in the 200 individual medley (second place).
      “I will have to train hard for another month and get ready for these races,” Sarradet said in a news release. “I think it will help me to be able to focus on that race on that day instead of several races at one meet.”
      The NCAA Division II Championships are scheduled for March 10-13 in Canton, Ohio.
      While no previous UTPB swimmer had qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships, several had qualified for the NAIA Championships before the athletic department’s change in membership in 2006.