Oilers Impress on Day One of Calvin Winter Invite
Grand Rapids, Mich.- The University of Findlay men's and women's swimming and diving teams traveled north to the Calvin Winter Invite, Thursday, Dec. 1. The meet features some of the best swim and dive programs in the region.
Women
The Oilers, who are currently ranked 23rd in the nation, sit in third out of seven teams. They trail no. 11 Northern Michigan who is in first and no. 2 Grand Valley State who is in second.
The morning prelims were highlighted by freshman Emily Mears-Bentley who finished first in the 50 yard freestyle. Her time of 23.35 was good enough to edge out Grand Valley State's Rebecca Farber by 0.20 seconds. Mears-Bentley then went onto win the 50 yard freestyle final, bettering her time as she clocked in 23.33. Both of her times in the event met the NCAA's B Standard. Her time in the finals tied the school record that was set by Amanda Stiegal in 2019.
The team of freshman Troie Grubbs, freshman Ella Hochstetler, sophomore Sydney Jones, and sophomore Macy May finished third in the 200 yard freestyle relay. They finished with a time of 1:34.21, just 0.38 seconds behind the team from Northern Michigan. Continuing with the relays, the Oilers finished second in the 400 yard medley relay. Sophomore Sasha Melnyk, Macy May, freshman Katie Susi, and Emily Mears-Bentley finished with a time of 3:47.23.
Men
Findlay, who is ranked eighth in the nation by the CSCAA, finds themselves in third after the completion of day one. The trail no. 5 Grand Valley who is in first place and no. 14 Northern Michigan who is in second place.
The Oilers found success in the relays tonight as they had two teams take the top spot. The team of sophomore Camillo Marrugo, sophomore Angel Margaritov, senior Tim Stollings, and junior Dags Bregis took first in the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:19.37 which meets the NCAA's B Standard. Findlay also took first in the 400 yard medley relay as the team of freshman Bruce Keener II, Tim Stollings, junior Daniel Garcia, and Camillo Marrugo clocked in with a time of 3:09.73 to surpass the NCAA's B Standard. The squad also broke the school record by two seconds which was set last year.
Daniel Garcia has certainly picked up where he left off as he won the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 1:45.86 to meet the NCAA's A Standard, beating Grand Valley's Roger Miret by nearly two seconds. His win in the event marks his twelfth individual win this season. Garcia also broke the school record with his time today, a record he set in 2022 with a time of 1:47.92.
Findlay had a good showing in the 50 yard freestyle as Tim Stollings and Camillo Marrrugo finished second and third. Stollings recorded a time of 19.84 while Marrugo finished in 19.92. Both Stollings and Marrugo met the B Standard.
Freshman Matteo Filippi, who has already proven to be an asset to the Oilers, finished fifth in the 500 yard freestyle as he recorded a time of 4:35.05.
The Oilers will be back in action tomorrow, Dec. 2 as they compete in day two of the Calvin Winter Invite. The meet will conclude Saturday, Dec. 3.