Scot Women Win Sprint Portion of Allegheny Invitational

Sam Almy

The College of Wooster’s swimming and diving teams had strong showings at the Allegheny Invitational, which also included Geneseo State University, Grove City College, and the host Gators, in Meadville, Pa., on Nov. 7-8, highlighted by the women’s team winning the sprint portion of the annual meet. The Scot women also were runner-ups in the distance meet, while the men took fourth in both portions of the invitational.

Four first-place finishes were turned in by Scot women during Friday’s sprint meet. The 200 medley relay of sophomore Kim Chambers, junior Liz Whittam, and seniors Amy Clark and Sonya Tarasenkov won with a time of 1:54.21, while individual winners included Whittam in the 200 IM (2:13.67), Tarasenkov in the 100 freestyle (55.70), and Chambers in the 100 backstroke (1:02.02).

Junior Elizabeth Roesch led the way during Saturday’s distance races by already achieving a qualifying time for the NCAA Div. III Championships in winning the 500 freestyle (5:11.14). She added a first-place effort in the 1650 freestyle (18:18.71), and teamed up with Whittam, Chambers, and junior Nicole Greene to hit the wall first in the 800 freestyle relay (8:13.25). Other victors included Chambers in the 200 backstroke (2:13.66) and Whittam in the 200 breaststroke (2:31.16).

Additional notable swims from the Wooster women came from sophomore Noel Wells, who finished second behind Roesch in the 1650 freestyle (18:40.14), Clark and freshman Kathryn Lehner, who took fourth (2:23.74) and sixth (2:30.85), respectively, in the 200 butterfly, and sophomore Courtney Lee, who came in fifth in the 1650 freestyle (19:26.93).

Senior co-captain Sam Almy led the Scot men in the sprint meet by placing third in the 100 backstroke (58.28). Also on Friday, freshman Brandon DuGar hit the wall in 57.68 to finish fourth in the 100 butterfly, senior Jim Gilchrist placed sixth in the 200 IM (2:09.57), and the 200 freestyle relay consisting of senior Curtis Wolfe, freshmen Nathan Bray and Dan Noble, and DuGar teamed up to take fourth (1:33.36).

On Saturday, Wooster’s men’s squad was paced by sophomore diver Aaron Bergman, who placed second on both the one- (170.55) and three-meter (146.00) boards. Other notable performances came from Bray, who finished second in the 1650 freestyle (18:06.23), and junior Kevin Wolfe and Gilchrist who placed fourth (2:09.74) and sixth (2:13.56), respectively, in the 200 backstroke.

Both Scot squads will return to dual-meet competition this Saturday (Nov.15), as they will be hosting John Carroll University, with competition set to begin at 1 p.m.