BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Western Kentucky University swimming and diving team broke three pool records Sunday 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.
“I was extremely pleased with how we finished the meet today,” WKU coach Bruce Marchionda said. “And knew the challenge before them was being able to maintain their focus and stamina over a three-day meet when they’re not rested and the ability to be able to go race when they’re tired and they just did a great job of racing this weekend. They did a nice job of being competitive and our times showed that and so we are very excited just about where we are at this point.”
WKU freshman Ashley Forsyth broke the pool record in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16 minutes, 57.42 seconds. Her 1,000 split also represented a pool record. Freshman Allie Duff posted a time of 1:58.11 in 200 backstroke to better the previous pool record. Junior Alex Van Oost also finished under the pool record with a time of 1:58.11. Both Forsyth and Duff picked up even wins in their record times.
Over the three-day event, the WKU men’s and women’s team combined to break nine school record in 10 different events and one school record while posting three NCAA provisional qualifying times. The Hilltopper Invite represented the first three-day meet for the 19 freshman on the WKU roster.
“They did (get good experience) and they handled it pretty well,” Marchionda said. “There were a number of them that couldn’t believe how exhausted they were after the second day but they did a nice job of preparing themselves in the warm-ups and getting themselves ready and they raced well.”
The Lady Topper quarter of Hilary Mishler, Hannah Runyon-Hass, Susan Marquess and Georgia Smith ended the meet with a first-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:27.39. Hilltoppers Heitor Rodrigues, Jordan Vorst, Drew Cato and Billy Kunkel turned in a time of 3:04.03 on their way to an event win.
The final day of competition began with the 1,650 freestyle event. Freshman Seth Musser claimed first place on the men’s side with a time of 15:59.58. Senior Adam Pendry finished second with a time of 16:13.43 followed by David Rayner (16:17.59) third, Elliott Lorson (16:22.85) fourth and Sam Dalton (16:23.37) fifth. Sam Holmes finished behind Forsyth on the women’s side, placing second with a time of 17:11.17.
The Lady Toppers claimed the top three spots in the 200 breaststroke, led by senior Stephanie Martin with a time of 2:18.40. Freshman Hannah Runyon-Hass finished runner-up in 2:19.34 and classmate Claire Conlon placed third in 2:20.30. Fellow freshman Whitney Spain also posted a strong time of 2:23.70 to finish seventh.
Junior Billy Kunkel won the 200 breast on the men’s when he stopped the clock in 2:05.63. Freshman Sam Dalton place second followed by Tyler Groneck third.
Cato picked up an event win in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:50.65. Senior Georgia Smith placed second in the 100 free with a time of 51.92 while junior Jordyn Vorst touched in at 46.39 to clinch the win for the Hilltoppers. Musser followed in second at 47.23.
In the 200 butterfly, sophomore Heitor Rodrigues touched in at 1:56.60 to finish first followed by Loui Little (1:53.16) second and Lucas Zelehowsky (1:54.61) in third.
The diving competition concluded Saturday with the women’s 1-meter event and the men’s 3-meter event. Junior Caitlin Dean posted a score of 245.00 to win the 1-meter while senior Vinnie Rominger captured the 3-meter with a score of 295.90. Johnny Field and Jim Ritter led the Hilltoppers to a 1-2-3 finish in the event.
“I think our divers had a very slow start on the year and kinda went back to basics and they seemed to be coming around right now so they showed some real good promise by posting some higher scores this weekend,” Marchionda said.
The Lady Toppers finished first on the women’s side with a total of 1,648.5 points. Vanderbilt finished second with 1,333 points followed by Evansville in third with 1,104 and Arkansas-Little Rock fourth with 353 points. University of the Cumberlands rounded out the top five with 291.5 points.
The Hilltoppers placed first in the men’s competition with 1,838.5 points. Vanderbilt finished second with 1,118 points followed by University of the Cumberlands in third with 861.5 points.
WKU swimming and diving will return to action Saturday, Dec. 3 with a dual meet against Marshall and Fairmont State at Frederick A. Fitch Natatorium in Huntington, W. Va. A select group of swimmers will also head to Atlanta, Ga., to compete at the AT&T Winter Nationals, Dec. 1-3.
