WHEATON, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University men's and women's swimming and diving teams got in the pool with some tough NCAA competition this weekend at the Wheaton College Invite, hosted by Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.
The Tigers competed against Wheaton College, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Whitewater, Barton Community College, Augustana, Loras, and North Central College. The ONU men picked up a sixth-place finish while the ONU women swam to a runner-up team finish at the Wheaton College Invite.
Women's meet
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Wheaton College - 761.5
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Olivet Nazarene - 732.5
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UW-Stevens Point - 642
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UW-Whitewater - 510
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Barton CC - 344
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Augustana - 234
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Loras - 142
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North Central - 59
The Tigers put forth great efforts in the relays. They got out to a hot start with second and seventh-place finishes in the 200 freestyle relay at 1:36.95 and 1:42.22, respectively. ONU then earned a first-place tie in the 800 freestyle, touching the wall at the exact same time as Wheaton College at 8:06.72. They followed that up with a decisive win in the 400-medley relay, besting the field by over six seconds at 3:54.08, the only team to break the four-minute threshold. In the 200-medley relay, the Tigers finished runners-up with a time of 1:48.92. The Tigers rounded out the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:33.75.
Allison Pearson continued her dominant sophomore season, taking the top-spot in all three of her individual events at the Wheaton College Invite. Pearson touched the wall first in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.48), 200 IM (2:07.42), and the 400 IM (4:34.24). She was less than a second off the meet record in the 100 breaststroke.
Halle Briner finished just behind Pearson in the 400 IM, clocking in at 4:40.88 for second place. Briner also placed fourth in the 100 backstroke at 1:08.80 and fifth in the 100 freestyle at 54.02. Megan Schroeder took second in the 100 breaststroke at 1:04.21 and also finished fifth in the 200 freestyle (2:01.23).
Julieta Vega finished inside the top-four in all three of her individual events. She took third in the 200 IM at 2:11.92 and finished fourth in the 100 butterfly (58.34) before finishing runner-up in the 50-freestyle sprint at 24.45.
Paige Howell took the top spot in the 100 backstroke at 58.40, the only swimmer to finish under one minute. She then clocked in at 2:08.03 to place second in the 200 yard backstroke. Howell and Taylor King finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the 200 IM. Faith Markley placed eighth in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:47.71. Sara Norman raced ato a seventh-place finish in the A-heat of the 200 breaststroke at 2:38.25 while Abbie Christensen finished fourth in the 100 backstroke at 1:01.31.
Grace Barnhart had a strong weekend in the pool. Barnhart took sixth in the 200 freestyle (2:01.43) and eighth in the 100 backstroke (1:02.54) before finishing first in the 500 freestyle. Her winning time of 5:10.97 is her best time of the season by nearly 10 seconds. Katelyn Inman turned in a season personal-best in the 500 freestyle at 5:19.91 for a fourth-place finish. Inman then took the bronze in the 200 freestyle at 1:58.13, one of only three swimmers to eclipse the two-minute threshold.
Men's meet
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UW-Stevens Point - 987
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Wheaton College - 604.5
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Barton CC - 528
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UW-Whitewater - 439
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Augustana - 402.5
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Olivet Nazarene - 392.5
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Loras - 122.5
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North Central - 18
ONU opened up their meet with a seventh-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay at 1:26.19. The Tigers then had a strong performance in the 800 freestyle relay, beating out UW-Whitewater by one-tenth of a second to take second place. In the 400-medley relay, the Tigers touched the wall at 3:32.01 to take fourth place in a tight race. ONU then collected fifth- and seventh-place finishes in the 200-medley relay at 1:34.89 and 1:35.82, respectively.
Nicholas Klenner took the top spot in the 100 backstroke, turning a season-best time of 50.90 to touch the wall first. Klenner also finished sixth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:52.81. Liam Kuiper then took eighth in the 100 breaststroke, breaking the one-minute threshold at 59.98.
Chase Aruskevicius found the podium in the 200 backstroke, touching the wall at 1:56.13 to take third place. He then finished seventh in the top heat of the 100 backstroke with a time of 54.85. Timothy Braun clocked in at 47.67 to place sixth in the A-heat of the 100 freestyle and finished seventh in the A-heat of the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.06.
Mason Beall took sixth-place overall in the 400 IM with a time of 4:20.71. Porter Hoffman then blitzed to a seventh-place finish in the 50-freestyle sprint with a time of 22.00.
ONU rounded out the meet with an eight-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay, touching the wall at 3:13.81
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Tigers will take a break to enjoy the holidays and will return to the pool in the new year with a dual meet against Davenport University on Jan. 14. The meet is set to begin at 2 p.m. CST.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu