Scot Men 6th From Start to Finish at Wooster Invitational

Andrew Olsen

The College of Wooster men’s swimming and diving team saved its most productive day for last at its own Wooster Invitational hosted by Wooster High School at the Ellen Shapiro Natatorium, but it wasn’t enough as the Fighting Scots finished sixth among the 11-team field when it was all said and done Saturday evening. Wooster tallied 371.0 points on the final day, giving it a three-day total of 864.5.

Westminster (Pa.) College won the event with 1,600 points, followed by Case Western Reserve University (1,412), Ohio Northern University (969), Ashland University (961), and West Virginia Wesleyan College (879). The Scots followed right behind in the No. 6 spot, with Oberlin College (487), John Carroll University (402), St. Vincent (Pa.) College (254.5), and Lycoming College (150) bringing up the rear.

Wooster held down sixth from start to finish of the three-day event, but Saturday was far and away its best scoring day. The Scots made their presence felt in the day’s first event, the 1650 freestyle, as first-year Andrew Olsen and sophomore Joe Witkowski both finished among the top-10, placing seventh (17:45.33) and 10th (18:01.63), respectively.

Junior Dan Noble posted Wooster’s best finish over the three days for an individual in the 100 freestyle on Saturday, first qualifying for the finals with a time of 49.07, and then touching the wall sixth overall in 49.31. Other top Scot finishers on the final day included David Brumbaugh in the 200 backstroke (11th, 2:05.59), Mateo Chinchilla in the 200 breaststroke (14th, 2:22.06), and Matt Dominski in the 200 butterfly (13th, 2:05.90).

The finale was a conclusion of a productive meet for several Wooster swimmers, including Olsen and Noble. Besides the 1650 freestyle, Olsen was the top Scot in the 500 and 200 freestyles, finishing 10th (5:01.63) and 15th (1:52.85), respectively, while Noble shaved nearly four seconds off his 200 IM time to win the bonus heat (2:04.78), finishing 17th overall, as well as touching the wall first in the consolation finals (ninth overall) in the 100 butterfly (53.99).

Noteworthy, Chinchilla placed 13th and 11th in the 400 IM (4:43.48) and 100 breaststroke (1:03.49) on day two and Brumbaugh completed the 100 backstroke in 56.84 for 11th overall.

All five Wooster relays finished among the top-10 in their respective races, with the team of Kyle Oaks, Brumbaugh, John Cushing, and Noble placing a Scot-best sixth in the 200 freestyle relay.

The first half of Wooster’s swimming and diving season is now complete and the Scots will return from the winter break for a pair of league dual meets with Hiram College and Ohio Wesleyan University on Jan. 13 and 14, respectively.