Findlay Wraps Up Historic Trip to Calvin Winter Invite
Grand Rapids, Mich. – The University of Findlay men's and women's swimming and diving team wrapped up the third and final day of the Calvin Winter Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 3 with another solid slate of record-breaking performances. The Oilers men, ranked eighth in Division II, finished third in the event behind Grand Valley St. and Northern Michigan while the women mirrored that result, also finishing third behind GVSU and NMU.
Quote from Coach Makepeace
"We've gone to this meet for ten years and this is the best team performance, top to bottom, where we walk away not thinking about missed opportunities but talking about the overall performance and how good it was", said head coach Andrew Makepeace. "It's easy to look at school records and NCAA cuts and those accolades, but we get to experience the entire team setting personal bests and that is incredibly special. We won't know for a couple days, but this meet has helped establish both of our teams as some of the best in the country and the best is yet to come."
The Highlights
Men
As he has done all weekend, junior Daniel Garcia, who this season is arguably the top swimmer in Division II, had another record-breaking day in the pool as he set a fifth UF record in just three days. Today it was the 200 yard breaststroke where he took first with a B standard and program record time of 1:55.94. That time is the second-best in DII this season and set new pool and meet records. Junior Luca Chiandussi also met the B standard in that event, finishing runner-up with a 1:59.97 while junior Marko Priednieks took third with a 2:00.59, also meeting the NCAA B standard.
Another record came in the men's 400 freestyle relay where junior Dags Bregis, sophomore Camilo Marrugo, sophomore Angel Margaritov, and senior Tim Stollings combined for a win, completing the event in 2:56.12. That time is good for an NCAA B standard and school record. That time was also a new pool and meet record.
Marrugo, as an individual, also finished runner-up in the 100 freestyle where he touched the wall in a time of 44.15, good for an NCAA B standard.
Another school record came in the 1650 freestyle where freshman Matteo Filippi took fourth in one of the most physically demanding events in any sport. Filippi finished the race in a time of 15.41.18, good for an NCAA B standard and a new program record.
Freshman Randy Keener II also met a B standard in the 200 backstroke where he finished in 1:48.09, a time which placed him in fifth.
Women
Freshman Emily Mears-Bentley has made a splash on campus this season as she has already put her name in the record book multiple times. On Saturday, she added to what has been an electric debut season with two more records. In the 100 freestyle, Mears-Bentley took first place with a time of 50.52 which set a new school record, met the B standard, and is the fourth-best time in DII this season.
She was also a member of the 400 free relay with freshman Troie Grubbs, sophomore Sydney Jones, and sophomore Macy May. That squad took second place with a time of 3:27.33 which set a new program record.
In the 200 backstroke, sophomore Mille Berg had a strong performance, finishing third with a 2:02.82, good enough to meet the NCAA B standard.
The Oilers will be back in action on Dec. 17 with a dual against John Carroll.