Scots Successful in Return to Competition

ADA, Ohio – Depth emerged as a key factor when The College of Wooster swimming & diving program returned to competition on Friday evening at Ohio Northern University's Sports Center. Wooster's men comfortably downed Ohio Northern 137-94 despite only having a 7-6 edge in first-place finishes. Elsewhere, the men cruised past Bluffton University 192-7, and the Fighting Scots' women upped the dual meet winning streak to 28 with 169-66 and 190-24 wins over the Polar Bears and Beavers, respectively.

Wooster's men separated from Ohio Northern down the stretch with the top three finishers in the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke. Junior Max Likins led the podium-sweeping trio in the backstroke, touching at 2:05.19. Sophomore Will Laymon was next at 2:07.73, and junior Aiden Lentz closed quickly after that at 2:08.29. Junior Tucker Andrewjeski captured the 200 breaststroke with the winning time coming at 2:15.44. Sophomore Boston Sullivan (2:18.91) and first-year Ryan Stokes (2:20.26) backed up Andrewjeski's win.

While Wooster had just seven wins on the men's side, the Scots did have at least the top two placers in five of them. Likins, Sullivan, senior Josh Pearson, and sophomore Callum Glover took the 400 medley relay at 3:37.37, while Laymon, Andrewjeski, first-year Ethan Neuner, and sophomore Flynn Cowie followed at 3:42.51. Pearson, a triple-winner on the night, stopped the clock at 4:22.12 in the 400 individual medley and 1:58.64 in the 200 butterfly. Andrewjeski followed Pearson to the finish in the 400 individual medley (4:26.17), as did junior Isaac Shaker in the 200 butterfly (2:00.33).

Glover, also a triple-winner, rounded out the first-place efforts. The sophomore touched first in the 50 (21.82) and 100 freestyles (47.59).

Wooster's women captured first in 10 events, starting with senior Maddie Becker, junior Izzy Bellefleur, junior Ollie Bream, and junior Hallie Findlan in the 400 medley relay (4:07.11).

Junior JP Timken's individual events accounted for a substantial point haul, as the Scots occupied the top three spots in both the distance freestyle events. Timken's 11:07.40 in the 1,000 was followed by sophomore Lacey Mindock's 11:31.68 and sophomore Bailey Nickols' 11:39.58. Mindock again backed Timken up in the 500, with the winning and runner-up times coming at 5:29.22 and 5:34.61. Senior Emma Connors was the third-place finisher in the 500 at 5:35.27.

Wooster's final podium sweep came in the 400 individual medley where Bream won at 4:44.43, sophomore Emma Humbert's 4:53.90 was the runner-up time, and junior Mariam Zayour took third-place with a 4:58.87. Bream's third win of the meet came in the 200 butterfly, where she clocked in at 2:12.44.

Elsewhere Findlan doubled-up in the win column in the sprint freestyles, taking the 50- (24.83) and 100-yard (54.74) titles. First-year Kate Peck's 2:05.79 took top billing in the 200 freestyle, Bellefleur's 2:34.06 earned top honors in the 200 breaststroke, and Connors, Humbert, sophomore Patricia Chen, and Peck capped the meet with the winning time of 3:54.99 in the 400 freestyle relay.

Next, Wooster hosts Ohio Wesleyan University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20.