Penn Wins Kenyon Invitational, Kenyon Runner Up; Records Fall

Six teams competed at the three day Kenyon Invitational this year, including Division I teams the University of Pennsylvania and Davidson College.

Penn claimed the top spot on both sides, with Kenyon as runner up. On the women’s side, Carnegie Mellon University took third, while Johns Hopkins University finished third on the men’s side.

Here’s a highlights reel from the meet.

Thursday

Events contested: 200 medley relay, 1650 freestyle, 800 freestyle relay

Kenyon’s team of Caitlin Foley, Katie Kaestner, Laura Duncan and Hannah Lobb held on for the win in a nail-biting race that came right down to the wall. The quartet’s final time of 1:43.65 was just .04 ahead of Penn’s runner up relay…and still didn’t feature their fastest splits from the meet. Foley got the Ladies off to a good start with a 26.45, but it was the breaststroke splits of 28.57 (Kaestner) and 28.38 (Julia Wilson, Kenyon’s third place B relay) that really showed off the power of the Ladies. Penn’s final time was 1:43.69.

Penn commanded the 200 medley relay on the men’s side, with the team of CJ Schaffer, Kyle Yu, Michael Wen and Eric Schultz posting a 1:28.16 to win. Kenyon’s runner up relay still managed some impressive splits, including a 21.7 fly leg from Christian Josephson and a 19.84 anchor from Ryan Funk. They finished in 1:29.19. Penn’s B relay claimed third with a 1:29.26.

Elise Lankiewicz from Davidson snagged the victory in the mile, building into the lead to win with an easy five-second margin. Her final time of 16:34.99 crushed her old school record from 2013 by nearly 20 seconds. Runner up Marysol Arce of Kenyon posted a 16:40.35, breaking the team record in the process, set last year at the NCAA meet by senior Mariah Williamson, who finished fifth in the event herself in 16:59.89. Penn’s Carolyn Yang claimed third with a 16:50.56.

Chris Swanson of Penn had no challengers in the men’s mile. He won by over 17 seconds, posting a 14:41.54 to run away with the victory, as well as breaking his own school record and putting up a Division I A cut in the process. Teammate Alex Peterson was runner up in 14:48.64, and Penn finished out the top-3 sweep with Taylor Uselis posting a 5:17.97. After establishing a new DIII record in the mile last year at NCAAs, Arthur Conover finished fourth with a 5:21.93. Conover’s distance rival, Andrew Greenhalgh of Johns Hopkins was absent from the event.

Penn claimed the 800 freestyle relay with its team of Meaghan Kwarcinski, Mary Whiting, Madison Visco and Virginia Burns in a time of 7:21.86. Davidson was second in 7:25.12 and Kenyon touched in third at 7:25.38. The leadoff leg of the DePauw team (Angela Newlon) broke the DePauw 200 freestyle record with a 1:50.50.

Penn’s men team also took the 800 freestyle relay, posting a 6:27.73 to easily win. (Two of the three legs were 1:35s and the other two were 1:38-low.) That powerhouse relay of Su, Schultz, Mark Andrew and Wes Thomas also took down a Penn school record. Johns Hopkins snagged second. Greenhalgh, missing from the mile, made his meet debut in the relay with a 1:39.05 leg, but it was teammate Evan Holder who posted a 1:36.33 on his leg that really grabbed some attention. JHU’s final time was 6:35.88. Kenyon finished third in 6:36.87.

Friday

Events contested: 200 freestyle relay, 200 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 400 IM, 50 freestyle, 400 medley relay

Rochelle Dong of Penn led off their victorious 200 freestyle relay with a strong 22.50, the fastest split in the field (including any relay legs) and one of only two 22s posted in the event. (The other came courtesy of Kenyon senior Hannah Lobb, on the runner up relay.) Penn’s final time was a 1:33.33, just under three tenths faster than Kenyon’s runner up relay, touching in a 1:33.60. Davidson touched in a distant third at 1:35.20.

Penn collected another relay title in the men’s 200 freestyle relay, with the team of Eric Schultz, Zach Fischer, Mark Andrew and Thomas Dillinger, posting a 1:19.77 for the win. Kenyon’s runner up squad finished in 1:21.46 and featured a 19.73 leg – the fastest in the field – out of Ryan Funk.

Nancy Hu of Penn was the only woman under the two minute marker in the women’s 200 butterfly, posting a 1:59.52 to win the event. She missed the Penn school record by just .01. She was followed to the wall by the Kenyon duo of Kanchi Desai and Mariah Williamson posting a 2:02.35 and 2:04.04, respectively, for second and third.

The top three times in the men’s 200 butterfly all were 1:48s and all came courtesy of Penn’s athletes. Michael Wen led wall to wall and posted a 1:48.19 to win. Alex Peterson was runner up, finishing strong with a 27.6 final 50; he just failed to run down Wen and touched in at 1:48.26. Peterson did manage to overtake H Brakovec, though, and the third Penn athlete touched .02 behind in 1:48.28 to round out the top three.

Virginia Burns of Penn had a tight race in the women’s 200 freestyle. She led wall to wall, with Elise Lankiewicz of Davidson tight on her heels through the 150, and just managed to hold her off by .04 to finish 1:47.87 to 1:47.91 for the win. In prelims, Lankiewicz had reset the Davidson record in the 200 freestyle at 1:47.46. In third place from Kenyon was Abby Wilson posting a 1:49.85 for the third place spot.

Schultz started out really strong, in a 22.00 and just kept building the lead through his race. He finished in a 1:36.27 to claim the top spot with Evan Holder of JHU taking second. Holder touched in at 1:37.24, just shy of the Johns Hopkins school record he established in prelims at 1:37.10. Holder had also had the old record. Additionally, that time is an automatic qualifying time for this year’s Division III NCAA meet. Third went to Kevin Su of Penn in 1:37.72.

Julia Wilson of Kenyon used a powerful back half to snatch up a first place in the women’s 100 breaststroke and secure new meet, pool and Kenyon records for herself with a 1:01.79, breaking the old team record set in 2011 by Alisa Vereshchagin. That time ranks as an automatic qualifying time for the Division III NCAA meet this year. Katy Williams of Davidson was just behind to finish in a 1:01.90. That time reset the Davidson record in the event. Third place went to Kenyon’s Katie Kaestner in 1:02.67.

Penn’s men snagged another 1-3 finish (and actually, 1-7) in the 100 breaststroke, with Colin McHugh posting a 54.31 for victory and Mark Andrew and Kyle Yu duking it out for runner up. Andrew held Yu off by just a hair, touching in a 54.79 to 54.81.

Dong put her speed on display again in the women’s 100 backstroke, grabbing the individual win for Penn with a 54.50, ahead of teammate Libby Jardeleza (55.22). That was Dong’s second school record of the night, breaking the record set last year by Lauren Church. Third went to Caitlin Foley of Kenyon in 56.87.

Grant Proctor led the third 1-3 sweep by Penn athletes of the day, with a 48.50 effort to win the men’s 100 backstroke. J Jameson was second in 49.13 and CJ Schaffer took third with a 29.24.

Ellie Grimes dropped 5.01 seconds to snatch the victory in the women’s 400 IM for Penn, posting a 4:19.28. Runner up for Kenyon was Marysol Arce, with a 4:21.36. DePauw’s Angela Newlon was third in 4:22.42. Newlon’s time reset her own DePauw record in the event.

Mark Andrew, Alex Peterson and B. Crystal threw together another sweep in the 400 IM posting times of 3:47.67, 3:47.81 and 3:55.40 respectively. Andrew’s time was a new team record for Penn, besting the record set the previous year by teammate Grant Proctor.

Dong secured her second individual win of the day with a 22.75 in the 50 freestyle. She was the only woman under the 22 second mark, and her time reset another Penn school record. The old record was hers from last season. Kenyon’s Hannah Lobb picked up second with a 23.47 and Anna Wisniewski of Johns Hopkins claimed third in 23.73.

DePauw and Kenyon finally broke into Penn’s sweeps of the men’s event in the 50 freestyle. While Penn still claimed the top two spots – Eric Schultz, first in 19.90 and Thomas Dillinger, second in 20.23 – DePauw’s Blake Lehmann tied with Kenyon’s Ryan Funk for third in 20.42.

Jardeleza, Ellie Grimes, Dong and Virginia Burns teamed up to post a 3:41.90 to win the 400 medley relay going away. Jardeleza’s 54.71 backstroke split gained the team over two seconds on that leg alone; Dong continued to build on that dominance with a 54.0 butterfly leg, and Burns turned in the swiftest anchor leg (49.66) to close the deal. Almost four seconds back, Kenyon’s team finished in 3:45.33 and Davidson touched in two seconds behind them at 3:47.04.

Closing out the evening, Penn doubled up on relay victories as well with its A and B teams earning the top two spots in the 400 medley relay. The team of CJ Schaffer, Colin McHugh, Michael Wen, and Eric Schultz took first in a 3:12.57. Penn’s B team was runner up in 3:14.32 with the Johns Hopkins team finishing third at 3:17.90.

Saturday

Events contested: 500 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly, 200 breaststroke, 100 freestyle, 200 IM, 400 freestyle relay

Virginia Burns and Madison Visco opened the final day of competition with a 1-2 finish for Penn in the 500 freestyle. Burns touched in at 4:49.33 with her teammate just a little behind to finish at 4:50.08. Third went to Elise Lankiewicz of Davidson in 4:50.50. Marysol Arce of Kenyon posted a 4:52.11 in prelims for the second fastest seed going into finals – also a team record. She finished seventh in the finals with a 4:56.71.

After a dominating mile on the first day, Chris Swanson returned to the pool to snatch up the 500 as well for Penn, dropping more than 7 seconds off his prelims time and winning with a 4:18.64. Division III national record holder in the event, Andrew Greenhalgh of JHU also had quite a time drop, shaving 3.5 seconds from his prelims swim and posting a 4:23.00 for second. Alex Peterson of Penn tried to run down Greenhalgh on the last 100 but came up just a little short, finishing in third with a 4:23.56.

Libby Jardeleza of Penn led a 1-3 sweep of the 200 backstroke, and was the only woman under the two minute mark in the event, squeaking under with a 1:59.96. Runner up Ryan Alexander posted a 2:00.24 and C Orth finished at 2:01.08.

Penn’s men echoed their women turning in their own backstroke sweep, and taking fourth as well, for good measure. Grant Proctor led the way with a 1:44.84. Second was Thomas  Dillinger in 1:45.34 and Brian Foley rounded out the top three with a 1:47.39.

Rochelle Dong snagged the 100 butterfly with a 53.65, coming off with a dominating back half (28.02) over a second faster than anyone else in the field. That time was good for her third school record of the meet. Johns Hopkins’ Anna Wisniewksi held on for second with a 55.37 while Libby Jardeleza, fresh off her backstroke win dove back in and grabbed third in 55.78.

The top three spots in the men’s 100 butterfly were all under 49, with Penn’s Jimmy Jameson claiming the top spot with a 48.14. Teammate Michael Wen was just a smidge behind to finish in 48.19. B Lehmann of DePauw touched in third at 48.66. (DIII leading time?)

Katy Williams of Davidson led wall-to-wall in a commanding effort in the 200 breaststroke to win with a 2:13.89 effort, her second school record of the meet. Julia Wilson of Kenyon lagged about two seconds behind at the 100 mark, and made up some ground by the 150, but ultimately remained in second with a 2:15.61, top time in DIII (?) this year. Third place went to Ellie Grimes of Penn, dropping almost three seconds from her prelims swim to finish in 2:16.86.

Penn’s top four athletes were all under 2 minutes in the 200 breaststroke. Wes Thomas led with a 1:56.99 effort. C Hurwitz (1:58.41) and Kyle Yu (1:58.84) followed suit. In the preliminary heats, JHU’s Evan Holder was also under the 2 minute marker, posting a 1:58.59 effort to become the first swimmer in program history under the barrier. The record he broke belonged to Scott Pitz from 2004. Holder did not compete in the breaststroke final.

Dong grabbed her fourth individual title of the meet with a win in the 100 freestyle, putting up a 50.26 for first place. Hannah Lobb of Kenyon secured second in 50.48 and Virginia Burns collected third as the last woman under the 51 second mark, finishing in 50.87.

The top three men’s 100 freestylers were all under 45, with Eric Schultz of Penn being well under. He posted a 42.83 to command the field by just shy of two full seconds. His time also reset his own school record. Runner up was Kevin Su of Penn in a 44.81. Third went to Joey Duronio of Kenyon with a 44.98.

Madison Visco led the way in the women’s 200 IM for Penn, coming up on the back half to run down Johns Hopkins’ Anna Wisniewski to take the win. Visco touched in at 2:02.97, Wisniewski at 2:03.12. S Tan of Penn took third in 2:05.19.

Mark Andrew took the win in the men’s 200 IM for pen with a 1:46.72. Evan Holder of JHU was second with a 1:48.92. In the preliminaries, he established yet another JHU school record with a 1:46.82, which is also a Division III automatic qualifying time. CJ Schaffer of Penn was third with a 1:50.99.

Penn capped off the meet for its women with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay, with the quartet of Virginia Burns, Rochelle Dong, Meagan Dollard and Mary Whiting. Their final time was 3:23.74. Kenyon’s team was runner up in 3:24.36. Davidson took third in 3:26.98.

Penn claimed the final event of the meet for the men with a 2:55.61 in the 400 freestyle relay, including a 42.7 split from Eric Schultz (after a .3 relay exchange). Kenyon was second with a 3:00.13, holding off JHU who finished third in 3:00.78.

Diving

Maria Zarka outdid herself in finals, improving her 1 meter score to 484.35 to claim the win. Machika Kaku of CMU took second in 442.50 and M Carlson of Kenyon took third with a 410.50. In 3 meter, Zarka soared to 551.60, snapping her own personal best, the school record and the pool record in the process. Winona Li of CMU was second, more than 100 point behind with 451.10 and M Kaku took third with a 450.80.

Gabriel Bamforth of CMU won the 1 meter diving handily, turning in a 507.45 to finish over 50 points ahead of the runner up and setting a new school record. Eric Addy of DePauw was second with 449.70 points and Kenyon’s Brandon Roman was third, turning in 442.50 points to secure his spot. On the 3 meter, Bamforth retained his top space, again improving his score to 498.10 to win and reset CMU’s school record. Roman claimed second with 420.75 points and Addy took third on the 3 meter board with 399.40 points.

For complete women’s meet results, click here. 

For complete men’s meet results, click here.