Wooster Swim Teams Register Strong Showing at Allegheny Invite
It was significant weekend for the College of Wooster men's and women's swimming and diving teams this past weekend at the Allegheny Invitational in Meadville, Pa. The Scots were very successful in the two-day affair with the women finishing first on both Friday and Saturday, and the men finishing second on Friday and third on Saturday.
The men's team dominated the sprint meet Friday evening. In the 100-yard freestyle, junior Wes Bennett finished first, senior Steve Bayuk was third, senior Kagan McKittrick was fourth, and junior Dale Edwards placed fifth in the 18-swimmer field. In addition, Bayuk, Edwards, sophomore Eric Knauss, and Bennett won the 200-yard freestyle relay, beating the competition by several body lengths.
The sprint meet exemplified the women's strength as well as Wooster won the competition by over leading 100 points. The 200 medley relay consisting of sophomore Jessica Ritchie, sophomore Beth Starling, freshman Erin Popelka, and junior Michelle Cady started off the meet by placing first. Cady, junior Jamie Pullin, senior Laura Dunn, and Ritchie also won the 200 yard freestyle relay. Individually, in the 100-yard breaststroke, Starling finished first, freshman Jenny Bayuk was second, Popelka was third, and freshman Leslie Hahn finished fifth. Also, Ritchie won the 100-yard backstroke.
On Saturday, freshman Alex Hastie led the men's squad as he won the 200-yard butterfly, beating the competition by eight seconds with a time of 2:08. 27. He also placed second in the 500-yard freestyle with a personal-best time of 5:03. 65. In addition, sophomore Jody Herzog had a personal-best and placed 10th in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:54.71. Bennett, Bayuk, sophomore Jason Maines, and Hastie finished the meet by winning the 800-yard freestyle meet in a time of 7:37.84.
The women were just as dominant on Saturday as they were on Friday. An especially notable swim was turned in by senior Leah Becki as she won the 400-yard individual medley and qualified for nationals with a time of 4:44.46. In the 200-yard breastroke, the women swept the competition when Starling placed first in a time of 2:30.01, Becki was second with a time of 2:30.91, Popelka finished third with a time of 2:31.60, and Bayuk was fourth in a time of 2:33.95. Also, Ritchie won the 200-yard backstroke in time of 2:16.24 and Dunn finished in a close second with a time of 2:18.15.
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