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Men's 400 Freestyle Relay Clinches Meet, Harrington's 200th Dual Meet Win as Wooster's Head Coach

 
 

Needing a first-place finish in the men's 400 freestyle relay to secure the win – and veteran head coach Rob Harrington's 200th dual meet win at The College of Wooster – the quartet of junior Ryan Campbell, first-year Wyatt Foss, and juniors Max Koch and Cameron Gelwicks delivered just that with a 3:15.79, nearly seven seconds ahead of the University of Mount Union's top relay as the Fighting Scots swept the Purple Raiders by scores of 147-133 (men) and 187-97 (women) on Saturday afternoon at Timken Natatorium.

In fact, the Scots actually had the top two times in the 400 free relay with junior Burke Poeting, sophomores Eli Samuelson and Trey Schopen, and first-year Jordan Oss teaming up to turn in a 3:21.33, which also bested the Purple Raiders' top relay that clocked in at 3:22.60. Wooster carried a 132-131 lead into the final race.

Harrington, now 200-94 in dual meets as the Scots' head coach, saw his squads combine for a 16-5 record this season, including a phenomenal 9-2 showing on the women's side.

Junior Griffin Campbell was a double-winner in Saturday's meet. The Scots' sweep over the Purple Raiders gave Rob Harrington his 200th win as Wooster's head coach.

Campbell led the way with four first-place finishes on the day. The junior book-ended the meet as part of winning relays, as he anchored the Scots' 200 medley relay that checked in at 1:39.01, less than half of a second ahead of the Purple Raiders' top quartet. In individual events, Campbell sprinted to the finish with a blue-ribbon time of 22.11 in the 50 free, and edged out Mount Union's Cole Ellsworth 4:54.97 to 4:54.99 in the 500 free.

Sticking with the men, Gelwicks emerged as a triple-winner, thanks to a strong closing split in the 100 free that saw the freestyle specialist overtake Mount Union's Logan Palochak down the stretch to claim first-place honors at 48.52. In the 200 free, Gelwicks methodically pulled away from the field with his 1:45.10 ranking as the best time by over five seconds.

Griffin Campbell and Trey Schopen rounded out the double-winners on the men's side. Both sophomores were a part of the Scots' winning 200 medley relay with Campbell going on to win the 100 breaststroke (1:01.94) and Schopen earning top billing in the 200 butterfly (2:00.22).

Senior Maggie Layde delivered a memorable final home meet with a quartet of first-place finishes. Similar to Ryan Campbell, Layde book-ended her "senior day" with first-place relay efforts. The Scots' women's team logged a 1:54.42 in the meet-opening 200 medley relay and closed with a convincing 3:45.23 in the 400 free relay, the best time in the field by nearly six seconds.

In between the relays, Layde led the way in the 50 free with a time of 25.57, and her 1:00.41 in the 100 fly was quickly backed up by first-years Anne Bowers and Leah Jorn.

Bowers was a double-winner by meet's end, thanks to a strong contribution of the Scots' winning 400 free relay and a stellar 2:16.97 in the 200 fly, the top time by nearly six seconds.

Other double-winners in the swimming events included junior Emma Fikse, and first-years Lexi Riley-DiPaolo and Michelle Sayre. Fikse picked up wins in the 100 free (55.65) and as the leadoff leg of the 400 free relay, but her signature race of the day came in the 1000 free, where her 10:51.69 ranked just behind three-time All-American Dana Lautenschleger's 10:49.22. Riley-DiPaolo swam a leg on both winning relays, while Sayre's efforts in the backstroke events netted her a first-place finish on the Scots' 200 medley relay and in the 100-yard race (1:01.43).

In the diving well, sophomore Cleo Potter won the one-meter event with 190.30 points, and turned in a nearly identical score of 190.50 in the unopposed three-meter event.

Now, Wooster shifts its attention towards preparing for the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, one of the preeminent meets in Div. III swimming and diving. The first session of the four-day championship is set for Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m.