AKRON — Sophomore Lauren Halle (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) won the 200 I.M. in school-record fashion to lead the Ohio Northern women on the first day of the 2018 Ohio Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships on Thursday at the University of Akron's Ocasek Natatorium.

Halle edged John Carroll's Gwyn Ledrick in the 200 I.M. by just .42 of a second, winning in 2:08.26. Her time broke the previous mark of

Senior Sydney Veon (Riverside, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) earned All-OAC kudos in the 50 free, finishing third in :23.99.

Junior Kierra Watson (Brownsburg, Ind.), Halle, freshman Marissa Taylor (Granite Falls, N.C./South Caldwell) and Veon earned All-Conference honors with a second place finish in the 200 free relay in 1:38.30.

The top three finishers in each individual event and the top two relay teams earn All-Conference honors.

The Polar Bears are gunning for their eighth OAC Championships crown under 14th-year head coach Peggy Ewald and are third of seven teams through five of the 20 events.

John Carroll leads the team standings with 225 points, Mount Union is second with 171 points, Ohio Northern is third with 132 points and Baldwin Wallace is fourth with 113 points.

Day two of the three-day championships is Friday with prelims at 10 am and finals at 6 pm and the final day is Saturday with prelims at 10 am and finals at 5:30 pm.