NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Ursinus College swimming teams completed the two-day NYU Fall Invitational on Saturday in the Big Apple, putting up a number of impressive times in its second event of the young season.
For the women, sophomore Clara Baker was a standout, notching two CC-best performances in the 50 free (24.88) and 100 fly (58.05) and a second-best showing in the 200 fly (2:11.75); she finished third, second, and third in those respective events.
Junior Sydney Gundersen was sixth in the 50 free, her mark of 25.35 currently fourth in the CC. She finished fourth in the 200 free (1:59.88) and sits third in the conference in that event, and Gundersen was seventh in the 100 free (55.34).
Sophomore Peyten Lyons posted a 2:15.84 in the 200 IM, good for third in the conference and eighth overall.
Junior Meggie Leitz (59.43) and junior Katherine Porter (1:01.27) placed fourth and sixth in the 100 fly, and Leitz was also fourth in the 100 back (1:01.38), where Lyons (1:01.67) was sixth; Leitz now sits third in the CC, with Lyons in second thanks to last week's clocking of 1:00.58. Leitz was right behind Baker in fourth place overall in the 200 fly (2:13.79), which elevated her to third in the conference; sophomore Gabriella Timuscuk (2:16.04) took sixth and Porter (2:16.80) seventh.
Lyons finished third in the 200 back (2:14.14), where sophomore Katherine Madden (2:17.56) took seventh.
Freshman Haley Sturla posted a fifth-place showing in the 100 breast (1:11.46), for which she stands sixth in the CC. The rookie also stood out in the 200 breast with a mark of 2:35.01 that landed her in eighth place overall; she is fourth in the conference.
Freshmen Margrethe Leis (5:28.33) and Sturla (5:30.41) joined sophomore Kathryn Longenecker (5:33.99) and senior Allison Emick (5:35.74) in registering top-10 times on the CC charts in the 500 free.
Lyons, Sturla, Baker, and Gundersen finished third in the 400 medley relay with a time of 4:04.83, with Leitz, Timuscuk, Porter, and Leis taking fourth in 4:08.21. Lyons, Sturla, Baker, and senior Alexandra Hemp were third in the 200 medley relay (1:53.88), followed by Leitz, Timuscuk, Porter, and freshman Grace Emig in fifth (1:54.36).
Longenecker (19:20.45), Emick (19:23.19), and junior Rachel Weil (19:38.89) occupied the 8-10 spots in the 1650 free.
Freshman Jacob Menzer, recently named the Centennial Conference Male Swimmer of the Week by Collegeswimming.com, placed fourth in the 500 free on Friday evening with the top time in the CC (4:48.82). Senior Marcus Wagner was right behind him with a 4:50.33, good for third on the league performance list, and junior Christopher Barthold logged a 4:58.08 (5th CC). Menzer was the lone Bear to win an individual event, touching the wall first in the 1650 free (16:41.98); his mark is the best in the CC by nearly 20 seconds over Wagner, who placed fifth.
Menzer also impressed in the 400 IM, his mark of 4:21.97 standing as the CC's best this season. Sophomores Kevin Gill and James Callaghan tied at 4:28.63, which ranks second in the conference.
Sophomore Travis Venables took fourth in the 50 free with a clocking of 22.09, which ranks second in the conference. Freshman Casey Lear's time (22.62) places him eighth.
Senior William Benn took third in the 100 yard back with a time (53.39) that also ranks third on the league's performance list. Benn was fourth in the 200 back (1:58.59), landing second in the conference.
Wagner (1:47.67) and Lear (1:48.33) were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 200 free and joined Menzer and senior Dylan Cooper for a runner-up finish in the 800 free relay (7:13.28). Lear (49.49) finished seventh in the 100 free, where Venables (49.92) was eighth.
Sophomore Maxwell Coulter placed 10th in the 200 breast (2:22.40, 8th CC).
The Bears set forth an impressive showing in the 200 fly, with sophomores Johnathan Myers (2:04.20), Gill (2:04.63), and Callaghan (2:04.64) all recording times that rank inside the top seven in the CC.
The women's swimming team returns to the pool on Saturday, November 12 against McDaniel in the Bears' home opener.