Miami (OH) Men
In the third and final day of the 22nd Annual Miami Invitational, Miami University’s men’s swimming and diving saw impressive swims across the board. The RedHawks wrapped up the competition in third place with 1,736 points.
It was a back and forth race in the 200-yard breaststroke between senior Evan Bader and Ryan Stevenson of Denison University. Bader came out on top, clocking an impressive 2:03.11, beating out the competition by two-tenths of a second. The next nearest RedHawk in that event was sophomore Hutch Blackstone in tenth.
Junior Lucas Brock led Miami in the 100-yard freestyle with a sixth-place finish, touching the wall in 45.71. Junior Jack Strauss also competed in the event finishing tenth followed by sophomore Ross Westrick in 11th.
Senior Davis Staley earned eighth in the 200-yard backstroke with his time of 1:53.71 with freshman Jake Precious, senior Sean Neri and senior Jake Prodehl in tenth, 11th and 12th, respectively.
Freshman Robert Newman clocked a division three qualifying time in the 200-yard butterfly, touching the wall at 1:53.56, earning tenth with sophomore Ross Rybakowicz right behind in 11th.
It was another race between Miami and Denison in the final event of the evening, the 400-yard freestyle relay. In the first leg of the relay, Denison led Miami by just a few strokes which Straus made up for in the second leg to make it neck and neck. Senior Christopher Dieter swam the third leg to give Miami the edge which Westrick saw through to a third-place finish. The relay squad swam to a D3 qualifying time of 3:04.25.
Miami goes on an extended break until its next meet after the New Year against Cincinnati on Jan. 13, 2016 back in the Nixon Aquatic Center. Until then, the RedHawks will travel to Coronado, Calif. for their annual winter training.
Standings
1. Denison, 3188.5
2. Emory, 1807
3. Miami, 1736
4. Urbana, 267.5
Miami (OH) Women
Miami University women’s swimming soared to a victory at the Miami Invitational in a crowded field.
The RedHawks finished with 2240.5 total points after three days of competitive swimming. They defeated Emory (1590), Toledo (1571), Denison (1451.5), Ball State (891.5) and Urbana (168.5).
Shay Spelman kicked off the night with a splash, going wire-to-wire with a Denison swimmer in the 1650-yard freestyle. She ended up winning the race with a time of 16:44.81.
The RedHawks swept the 200-yard backstroke. The trio of senior Michele Rielly (1:59.32), junior Brittany Dudzinski (1:59.95) and senior Emma Szczupakiewicz (2:00.44) finished first, second and third, respectively.
Sophomore Stephanie LeMire won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:13.86, 2.28 seconds in front of the second-place finisher. Sophomore Ana Maria Castellanos finished the event in fifth place (2:19.93) and sophomore Lainey Massaro finished eighth (2:21.66).
Freshman Allison Pierce clocked in fourth in the 200-yard butterfly (2:04.47). Szczupakiewicz placed seventh (2:05.68) and freshman Grace Van Fossen placed ninth (2:06.67).
Seniors Natalie Rohr and Sara Krueger both placed in the 100-yard freestyle. Rohr placed fifth with a time of 51.16 and Krueger placed seventh with a time of 51.43.
The 22nd annual Miami Invitational ended with the team of senior Natalie Rohr, LeMire, senior Gabby Veri and Krueger taking third in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:25.05).
The RedHawks have a long break, as they aren’t back in the pool until Wednesday, January 13 at 6 p.m. when they take on Cincinnati in the Nixon Aquatic center.
Standings
1. Miami, 2240.5
2. Emory, 1590
3. Toledo, 1571
4. Denison, 1451.5
5. Ball State, 891.5
6. Urbana, 168.5
