Men Swimmers Place Third of Nine At Akron Invite

Wes Bennett

The College of Wooster men's swimming team was not able to match Wooster's women's teams' second-place finish or multiple school records and national-qualifying times at the Akron Invitational on Dec. 1-3, but it did turn in a very respectable third-place showing against some tough competition, including NCAA Division I and Division II institutions.

Westminster took home the team championship with 732.5 points, followed by Ashland (653) and Wooster (614).

Completing the men's nine-team field were Duquesne (407), Wittenberg (392.5), which the Scots had lost a dual-meet to earlier in the year, Baldwin-Wallace (335), John Carroll (331), Mt. Union (233), and Hillsdale (20).

Wooster's star senior, Wes Bennett, was the story once again, as he won three individual events. Bennett automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Buffalo, N.Y., in March in the 50 freestyle, while posting a first-place finish in that event (20.39). In fact, that is the fastest time in the nation in Division III so far this season.

Bennett also won the 100 freestyle with a provisional-qualifying time for nationals (46.41) and even lay claim to the 100 butterfly title (52.78) - an event that he usually doesn't even swim in. As part of the 200 freestyle relay team, Bennett combined with freshman Mike Moore, junior Eric Knauss, and senior Dale Edwards to place first in that event while recording a national cut time (1:25.48).

The Scots' other notable finishes came from freshman Jim Gilchrist, who came in third overall in both the 100 backstroke (1:57.55) and the 200 individual medley (2:00.18), junior Jody Herzog, who had a third-place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:15.32), and sophomore Alex Hastie, who took seventh-place in a competitive field in the 200 butterfly (2:06.40).