2023 UNLV Invitational
- December 17-20, 2023
- Buchanan Natatorium – Las Vegas, Nevada
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
- Live Results
- Results also available on Meet Mobile as “UNLV Invite 2023”
The 2023 UNLV Invite took place from December 17 through the 20th, and host team UNLV walked away victorious for both the men and women.
Women’s Recap
An exciting race unfolded in the first final of the meet, where the University of Hawaii, Manoa went head-to-head with UNLV for the win in the 200 freestyle relay. The two teams touched just 0.13 apart at the finish, as Hawaii got the touch (1:32.49) over UNLV (1:32.62). The winning quartet from Hawaii consisted of Holly Nelson (23.35), Gabby Williams-Scudamore (23.32), Anna Friedrich (22.84), and Mira Selling (22.98).
Sophomore Erika Carlson of UNLV put up a great performance to win the 500 freestyle, hitting the wall in 4:46.53 to win by over four seconds. She continued her momentum throughout the entirety of the meet, winning the 100 free (49.68) and 200 free (1:48.11) to tally three individual wins in her home pool. Her times in the 100 and 500 free represent new best times, as her 500 free ranks her 1st in the Mountain West Conference and her 100 slots her in 2nd.
Benedict Nagy of Colorado Mesa University took a pair of wins in the 200 and 400 IM events. She won the 200 in a time of 2:00.84, and dominated the 400 in 4:16.57. She also picked up a pair of 2nd-place finishes in the 100 IM (56.97) and 200 fly (2:04.01).
Agata Naskret, the 25-year-old teammate of Nagy, swept the individual backstroke events. She hit the wall in 53.24 to snag the win in the 100, and she finished in 1:56.95 to win the 200. Naskret also led off her team’s winning 400 medley relay with a swift 52.96 100 back split, which currently leads the Rocky Mountain conference rankings. Her 200 back also leads the conference, as she has a gap of about a second for both events over the next closest competitor.
New Mexico’s Jordan Foster was a double event winner, taking the 50 free (23.30) and 100 IM (56.86). In addition to her victories, Foster secured a 3rd-place finish in the 100 fly (55.11), a 6th-place finish in the 100 breast (1:03.30), and took 11th in the 200 breast (2:19.33).
Hawaii freshman Zofia Tyminska swept the individual breaststroke events, clocking 1:01.57 en route to winning the 100. She also won the 200 with a time of 2:13.23, clearing the field by over two full seconds. Her times in both events are just shy of her bests, which were recorded at the SMU Invitational a month ago.
Men’s Recap
UNLV opened the meet with a strong performance in the 200 freestyle relay, as Bryson Huey (19.63), George Ratiu (19.46), Steven Butler, (19.70), and Cameron Castro (19.97) combined to post a sizzling 1:18.76. Ratiu, who swam on the second leg of the winning relay, would go on to win the individual 50 free about an hour later in 19.79 – the only swimmer to crack the 20-second barrier in the individual final.
The Rebels would continue their winning ways throughout the entirety of the meet, as Danny Beji swept the breaststroke events. He took the 100 in 52.92, just shy of his 52.37 entry time. He won the 200 in 1:56.41 to wrap up the competition on Tuesday. Colby Raffel collected a win in the 200 fly, hitting a pair of 1:46s on the day — ultimately winning the final in 1:46.16.While UNLV had quite a few event winners, it was their depth that rocketed them to the top of the team scoring.
Hawaii and Colorado Mesa showcased several event winners over the course of the meet, with Hawaii tallying five wins and Colorado Mesa achieving six.
Colorado Mesa was led by redshirt junior Ben Sampson, who achieved five individual wins throughout the meet. Samspon, who was the NCAA Division II Swimmer of the Year last year, kicked off the meet with a win in the 200 IM. He stopped the clock in 1:43.51, winning by over two seconds. He added two additional wins on the second day of the meet, taking the 400 IM (3:48.04) before winning the 100 back (46.95) later in the session. On the final day of the meet, he took a pair of victories by completing a tight back-to-back double. He first won the 100 IM (48.51) before winning the 200 back minutes later (1:44.69). Samspon was also a notable 46.37 on the 100 back leg of Colorado Mesa’s 400 medley relay.
Colorado Mesa claimed their sixth victory in the 400 freestyle relay to close the meet, where the foursome of Ben Sampson (43.63), Aziz Ghaffari (43.31), Jameson McEnaney (43.45), and Andrew Scoggin (44.41) combined to post a time of 2:54.80. They took the win in the event by well over three seconds.
Hawaii’s five wins came in the form of three relays (200, 400 medley + 800 free relays) in addition to two individual events: the 100 fly and 200 free. Junior Grant Stoddard was victorious in the 100 fly, touching in 47.38 to lead a pair of Cal Baptist swimmers (Tyler Mansheim and Brendan Man) who touched 2nd and 3rd.
Mario Surkovic was the 200 free champion, touching in 1:36.69 to win a close battle over Pacific’s Mitchell Hopper. Hopper touched in 1:36.73, less than a tenth back. Hopper took out the race faster through the first 100, but Surkovic made his move on the third 50 to build a big enough lead. Hopper outsplit Surkovic coming home, but Surkovic’s third 50 effort propelled him to the victory.
Cal Baptist sophomore Mark Kovacsics was a double event winner over the course of the meet, collecting wins in both the 500 free and 1650 free. He touched in 4:20.82 en route to win the 500, and stopped the clock in 15:07.56 in the 1650. He was a little over a second shy of his best in the 500, and about six shy in the 1650 – but they are great signs for the Western Athletic Conference Championships this upcoming February.
Cal Baptist had another event winner in the form of Tyler Mansheim, who recorded a time of 43.86 to win the 100 free on Tuesday. His time was just shy of the 43.50 lifetime best he put on the books last month.
Other Highlights:
- UNLV’s Cameron Mykkanen was victorious in the 200 fly, clocking 2:00.07 for the win and a new best time.
- Hannah Jones of UNLV won the 1650 free in 16:46.83, touching ahead teammates Ava Olson (16:49.03) and Gina Miller (16:49.74) for a 1-2-3 sweep.
- Hawaii took the win in the 400 free relay, as the squad of Holly Nelson (50.39), Gabby Williams-Scudamore (50.85), Cass Treydte (49.29), and Mira Selling (49.72) combined for a swift 3:20.25.
- Hawaii secured wins in both the 200 medley and 800 free relays on day two, posting times of 1:40.77 and 7:20.92 en route to those wins.
Final Scores:
Women:
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas – 1012 points
- University of Hawaii, Manoa – 870 points
- Colorado Mesa University – 696 points
- Cal Baptist University – 397 points
- University of the Pacific – 355 points
- University of New Mexico – 346 points
- Seattle University – 202 points
- University of Arizona – 78 points
Men:
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas – 1065.5 points
- University of Hawaii, Manoa – 781 points
- Colorado Mesa University – 770.5 points
- Cal Baptist University – 490 points
- University of the Pacific – 330 points
- Seattle University – 316 points
- University of Arizona – 131 points