Women Move Into Lead at Wooster Invitational

WOOSTER, Ohio – Senior Ollie Bream swam away from the field in the 400 individual medley, while Bream, junior Emma Humbert, sophomore Kate Peck, and senior JP Timken capped Friday's finals with the winning time of 7:56.45 in the 800 freestyle relay. The College of Wooster depth vaulted the Fighting Scots' women to the top of the nine-team leaderboard at the program's annual midseason invitational, while the men remain in second-place.

Bream scored her second first-place finish of the midseason invitational, touching at 4:32.00 in the 400 individual medley, which was the winning time by 6.72 seconds. Humbert was sixth in the 400 individual medley, stopping the clock at 4:47.25. In the consolation final, Wooster posted a one-two finish, with senior Mariam Zayour (4:51.91) and first-year Maggie Layne (4:58.41) leading that heat.

Top-two individual showings continued for Wooster's women in the 100 butterfly. First-year Elizabeth Theobald moved up from third to second over the final 50 yards en route to a time of 59.63. First-year Alex Hein won the consolation final at 1:02.27.

Friday night started with a third-place 200 medley relay showing for Wooster. Senior Hallie Findlan, senior Izzy Bellefleur, Theobald, and sophomore Keara Wiley went 1:49.62. Wooster added a ninth-place time of 1:54.87 from the quartet of sophomore Charlotte Helm, senior Vicky Maumbe, Hein, and Timken.

Theobald and Bellefleur qualified for the championship final of the 100 breaststroke. There, Theobald swam to the fifth-place time of 1:09.20. Bellefleur's 1:09.29 ranked seventh in the field. Layne's 1:09.66 was the winning effort in the consolation final.

Wooster's final top-five finish of the night came from junior Bailey Nickols, Zayour, sophomore Anna Lundquist, and sophomore Rachel Frank. They went 8:25.97 in the 800 freestyle relay.

Peck cruised to a near-two-second win in the consolation final of the 200 freestyle, touching at 1:59.26. Frank was not far behind, placing 12th overall at 2:02.11. Later, Wooster went one-two in the consolation final of the 100 backstroke. Helm's 1:02.18 edged out Findlan's 1:02.25.

Senior Cady Eakins led Wooster in the one-meter diving competition, scoring 242.10 points for an eighth-place showing. First-year Guin Oliver was right behind, with 221.25 points, which equated to a ninth-place finish.

Senior Isaac Shaker's 4:09.16 was the runner-up time in the men's 400 individual medley. Shaker was backed up in the championship final by senior Tucker Andrewjeski's third-place 4:11.27 and sophomore Ryan Stokes' sixth-place time of 4:21.88.

Junior Will Laymon shot up Wooster's top-10 list in the 100 backstroke, with the runner-up 51.53 ranking as the fifth-fastest in program history. Laymon started the day 10th at 52.97 and moved up to fifth with a 51.69 prelim swim. Senior Max Likins led a trio of consolation final qualifiers with the 11th-place time of 54.28.

Later, sophomore Callum Glover, junior Will Laubacher, junior Boston Sullivan, and senior Ryan Gross capped Friday's session with a 7:04.46 in the 800 freestyle relay, which was the third-place time. Shaker, Andrewjeski, sophomore Philipp Drappatz, and senior Nathan Ferrence secured two top-five placements for Wooster in the event with a time of 7:14.64.

In diving, junior Noah McDonald scored 327.70 points for a third-place finish on the three-meter board.

Sullivan lowered the second-fastest time in program history in the 100 breaststroke with a 57.48. That topped Sullivan's 57.81 from earlier in 2024. Sullivan was the fourth-place finisher on Friday. Stokes took 12th-place with a 1:00.98 in the consolation final.

Glover's fifth-place time of 52.04 led Wooster in the 100 butterfly. Laymon was just as impressive, winning the consolation final with a near-identical 52.44. Fifth was Wooster's highest showing in the men's 200 freestyle. Gross was the placer, touching at 1:45.32. Laubacher captured the consolation final, racing to the finish at 1:45.34.

Laymon, Sullivan, sophomore Ethan Neuner, and Laubacher teamed up for Wooster's No. 1 200 medley relay. The quartet's 1:35.90 was the fifth-place time.

Wooster's 1,011.5 women's points are followed up by Ashland University's 964. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology holds a 1,096.5-974.5 lead over Wooster, while Ashland is right behind with 972 points.

The Wooster Invitational wraps up on Saturday, December 7. Prelims start at 10 a.m. with finals at 5 p.m. Diving takes place on Wooster's campus at 2 p.m.