Franklin & Marshall Men
A strong team performance has allowed the men of the Franklin & Marshall swim team to hold onto fifth place at the conclusion of day two of the F&M Invitational. The Diplomats have so far earned 607 points, while leaders Delaware have tallied 1100.
F&M first flexed its' collective muscle in the only final of the morning, taking fifth in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team of Richard Perry, Matthew Murphy, Eric Lang, and Daniel Sanders finished with a time of 7:15.02 to claim 50 points for the Diplomats.
Another fine example of F&M's depth at work came in the 50-yard freestyle as the Diplomats advanced four swimmers into the finals. Sanders earned fifth (21.82), Murphy took 14th (22.61), Ryan Caffrey claimed 16th (22.70), and Keith Kamons finished 21st (22.72).
In the 100-yard butterfly, the Diplomats took sixth, 11th, and 22nd as a team. Perry led the charge, taking sixth overall with a time of 52.94. Cody Kalinowski took third in the B final, clocking a time of 53.84 to take 11th overall, and Tyler Zlupko rounded F&M's participation in the event, taking 22nd and finishing in 54.69.
A different trio of Diplomats followed the same script in the 100-yard backstroke, this time led by Timothy Gould who claimed seventh with a time of 54.36. Jack Currie's time of 56.24 was good for 14th, while Justin Atkinson took 22nd with a time of 58.42.
Other top performers on the day included the team of Gould, Lang, Perry, and Caffrey (eighth in the 200-yard medley relay) and Patrick Greaney (ninth in the 400-yard IM).
The Diplomats return tomorrow for the final day of the F&M Invitational, with the morning session set to begin at 9:00 a.m. and the final session taking place at 5:00 p.m.
Franklin & Marshall Women
After the second day of competition, Franklin & Marshall's women's swim team is fourth out of 12 teams at the F&M Invitational. The Diplomats have collected 468 points over the first three sessions, while the University of Delaware leads with 1148.
Melissa Mullin posted the lowest finish of the day for F&M, taking fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:26.60. In the same event, Michelle Wall posted a time of 2:31.49 to claim 12th. Meghan Hershey was 21st (2:37.85), while Erin Smith was 24th (2:39.33).
Mullin was also in action for the 400-yard IM, finishing with a time of 4:48.93 to earn seventh overall. She was backed up by Rebecca McCain, who took 14th with a time of 4:57.93.
Anna Hess turned in a strong performance in the 100-yard backstroke, recording a time of 1:00.28 to take eighth. In the 100-yard butterfly, it was Kellen McDonald shouldering the load for the Diplomats, earning 11th with a time of 1:00.55.
Today's relays also saw quality efforts from the Diplomats. In the 200-yard medley relay, the team of Hess, Mullin, McDonald, and Breann Cavanagh took 10th (1:53.03), closely followed by Smith, Taylor Mateja, Colleen Lawlor, and Alyson Campbell in 13th (1:54.90).
In the only final of the morning, the 800-yard freestyle relay, the F&M team of Jillian Albus, Grace Pereles, Cavanagh, and Courtney Collins took ninth in 8:05.33. Campbell, Diane Wagner, McDonald, and Katie Schick combined to take 12th in 8:13.38.
The Diplomats return to action tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. for the first session of day three, which will wrap up tomorrow night when the final session of the F&M Invitational begins at 5:00 p.m.
Frostburg State
Day two of the Franklin and Marshall Invitational proved nothing but successful for the Frostburg State men's and women's swim teams, as the Bobcats broke two school records and one meet record.
Sophomore Christian March not only broke Frostburg State's school record in the 200 breaststroke, but also the meet record for the F&M Invite as he led the Bobcat men in the second day of competition. His winning time of 2:03.91 broke the previous school record of 2:07.23, set by March last February.
March's time of 2:03.91 currently stands as the fastest in Division III this season and is also an NCAA "B" cut and an ECAC "A" cut.
Freshman Maddie Weinberger swam a record-breaking performance in the 200-yard breaststroke touching in at 2:28.41, crushing the previous school record of 2:31.36 set in 1994. Weinberger finished eighth overall in the event. Her time also is an ECAC "A" cut.
The Frostburg men finished the day with 260 points in eighth place, while the women sit in 10th with 147 points.
Sophomore Macey Nitchie also had a standout day for the Bobcats, as she made finals in both the 50 and 200-yard freestyle. Nitchie placed 10th in the 50-yard free in 24.83, just slightly off her school record of 24.79. She also placed 10th for the Bobcats in the 200-yard freestyle (1:57.20). Her times also qualify her for the ECAC Championships.
The 200-medley relay of freshman Emily Turner, Weinberger, senior Chrissy Alessandrini and Nitchie placed 15th overall in 1:55.46.
March and freshman Sidney Horton both placed in the finals for the Bobcats. March swam in the B final finishing 10th overall in a season-best time of 21.94, also an ECAC "A" cut. Horton swam in the C final placing 19th in his career-best time of 22.48.
Three Bobcat men competed in the C final of the 200-yard breaststroke, placing 20th, 21st and 22nd. Senior John Singleton touched in at 2:42.89; following right behind him was sophomore Taylor Wade (2:45.58) and freshman Gregory Thomas (2:46.15).
A pair of Bobcats also swam in the C final of the 100-yard backstroke tonight, sophomore James Williams took 19th overall in his career-best time of 57.81, while classmate Deionn Yarberough finished right behind him in 57.86.
The 200-yard medley relay team of Yarberough, March, Horton and Williams placed 10th overall in 1:41.29.
