BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University swimming and diving teams broke three pool records Saturday at the Hilltopper Invitational at Bill Powell Natatorium. Both the men's and women's teams finished atop the team standings after the final day of competition.
WKU senior Claire Donahue broke the pool record in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1 minute, 59.50 seconds. Sophomore Hilary Mishler posted a time of 1:58.81 in the 200 backstroke to better the previous pool record. Classmate Alex Van Oost also finished under the pool record with a time of 1:59.47. Both Donahue and Mishler picked up event wins in their record times.
The Hilltopper quartet of David Mechinger, Sean Shannon, Nick Slattery and Billy Kunkel ended the night with a first-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay with a pool record time of 3:02.29, a record that stood for 10 years.
Over the three-day meet, the WKU men's and women's teams combined to break 15 pool records in several different events.
"The key factor was the motto we've set for the year," WKU coach Bruce Marchionda said. "Which is: leave no man or woman behind. They've taken that to heart and really emphasized the team and the relays represent the team. And plus over the last couple of years, recruiting-wise, we've been trying to build that depth."
The final day of competition began with the 1,650 freestyle event. Junior Adam Pendry claimed first place on the men's side with a time of 16:19.33. Sophomore David Rayner (16:30.03) finished second followed by Elliot Lorson (16:49.86) in fifth. Samantha Holmes was the top finisher for the Lady Toppers, placing third a time of 17:44.68.
The Hilltoppers claimed the top four spots in the men's 200 backstroke. WKU sophomore Adam Dajka led the way, touching in at 1:48.51. Menchinger finished second in 1:50.85 followed by Chirs Housden (1:52.43) and Ethan Arave (1:55.55).
Senior Claire Alexandre and Kunkel led WKU to a sweep in the 100 freestyle event. Alexandre clocked in at 51.25 while Kunkel posted a time of 45.09.
WKU continued its strong performances with a pair of wins from Stephanie Martin (2:19.06) and Luke Musser (2:05.41) in the 200 breaststroke.
Senior Nick Slattery and freshman Lucas Zelehowsky finished 1-2 in the men's 200 butterfly. Slattery touched in at 1:49.92 followed by Zelehowsky in 1:53.46.
The Lady Topper relay team of Donahue, Kristiana Feeser, Mishler and Alexandre placed first in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:29.59.
"The team met almost all the expectations that I had this weekend," Marchionda said. "We were extremely pleased. There are six sessions in a meet like this and in the first four I could not have been more pleased. The fifth session this morning, however, was horrendous, and I told them that. Even though it may have been easy for a couple of them to put themselves in position, we are not going to be able to do that at the conference championships. I challenged them to come back tonight and finish on a really strong note, and they did that. I couldn't be more pleased with where we are at this time of year."
The Lady Toppers finished first on the women's side with a total of 1,161 points. Vanderbilt finished second with 899 points followed by Evansville in third with 596 and University of Arkansas-Little Rock fourth with 342.5 points. University of the Cumberlands, University of Mary Washington, Eastern Illinois University and University of the South complete the top eight.
The Hilltoppers placed first in the men's competition with 1, 347 points. Vanderbilt finished second with 616.5 points followed by University of the Cumberlands in third with 581 points and Evansville in fourth with 453 points. University of Mary Washington and University of the South complete the top six.
WKU swimming and diving will return to action Saturday, Dec. 4 with a dual meet against the University of Evansville at the Bill Powell Natatorium.
Final Results
Final Scores
