2023 Patriot Invitational
- November 15-18, 2023
- Fairfax, Virginia
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results (Day 1)
The 2023 Patriot Invitational kicked off Thursday night at the Jim McKay Natatorium in Fairfax, Virginia. Leading the way through night one was Florida Atlantic University, as they currently sit atop both the men and women team scores.
Women’s Recap
St. Bonaventure opened the night with a strong showing in the 200 freestyle relay. They took the win as Halle Myers (23.05), Ellie Kraus (22.88), Amy O’Rourke (23.32), and Anna Forjan (22.63) combined to post a time of 1:31.88. This time shattered their previous school record of 1:32.81 from the 2023 Atlantic 10 Conference Championships.
George Mason University took 2nd as Ali Tyler (22.92), Peyton Brehmer (23.23), Shannon Judge (23.21), and Ally Yeary (23.88) teamed up to clock in a time of 1:33.24.
Florida Atlantic University rounded out the top three, swimming a time of 1:33.43. Lydia Lanahan led off with a time of 24.19, Dolores Margni split 23.21 on the second leg, Bry Belle clocked 23.24 on the third leg, and Izzy Jones anchored the team home in 22.79.
Junior Bridget Thomas of Towson secured the lead in the 500 around the 200 mark and never looked back. She finished in a time of 4:53.88 to finish nearly two seconds ahead of George Mason’s Ali Tyler. This was a best time for Thomas, who took down her previous best from the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association Championships by over two seconds. Kristen Ivey of George Mason rounded out the top three in 4:58.29.
Roberta Circi, a junior at Florida Atlantic, led the 200 IM field with a time of 2:01.86. Her teammate, sophomore Yasmine Safargar, took 2nd in 2:03.92. Safargar was just 0.12 off her best time from December of 2022. Maddie Frick of Towson placed 3rd in 2:04.07.
Mimi Watts from American University won the 50 freestyle with a season best effort of 22.61. This checks in just 0.09 shy of her best time, which she logged at the 2023 Patriot League Championships. Izzy Jones of FAU clocked a swift 22.88 best time to place 2nd, while Halle Myers of St. Bonaventure broke 23 seconds for the first time to take 3rd (22.96).
Florida Atlantic ended the night with a win in the 400 medley relay as Riley Trout led off in a massive best time (54.35). Bilu Bianchi split 1:02.04 on breaststroke, Dolores Margni put up a 55.14 butterfly split, and Izzy Jones clocked 49.94 on the freestyle leg.
Towson University took 2nd with a time of 3:43.24, while George Mason swam a time of 3:46.09 to touch the wall 3rd. The Towson team consisted of Ally Frame (53.70), Tiffany Matulis (1:03.01), Samantha Casolo (54.74), and Claire Ryland (51.79).
Team Scores Through Day 1
- Florida Atlantic – 214 points
- Towson – 135 points
- George Mason – 132 points
- Richmond – 116 points
- St. Bonaventure – 73 points
- American University – 47 points
- Marist – 23 points
Men’s Recap
The Towson men posted a time of 1:18.90 to win the 200 freestyle relay to open night one of the competition. Brian Benzing led off in 19.90, breaking 20 seconds for the first time. Ben Eischeid split 19.94, TJ Bearor clocked 19.56, and Daniel McLaughlin posted a 19.50 anchor split.
Florida Atlantic touched the wall 2nd in 1:19.55, as Nick Shaffer (20.92), Jacob Ruin (19.25), Max Ahumada Valdovinos (19.83), and Logan Thornsberry (19.55) made up their quartet.
Tate Anderson (20.70), Joshua Hochard (20.32), Ian Rodgers (20.39), and Zane Roberts (19.50) teamed up to lead George Mason to a third place finish (1:20.92).
Junior Timo Paisley of Florida Atlantic put up a time of 4:26.05 to win the 500 freestyle by over 2.5 seconds. Adam Zaremba of Marist swam 4:28.66 to take 2nd, while George Mason freshman Alex Crown swam 4:29.21 best time for 3rd.
Senior Brian Benzing of Towson posted a swift 1:43.66 to take the 200 IM win. This was a best time for Benzing, who lowered his previous best of 1:44.41 from last February. Teammate David Walton posted a time of 1:47.85 for 2nd, while FAU sophomore David Arneskov touched 3rd.
Jacob Rubin of FAU broke the 20 second barrier in the 50 freestyle for the first time today, clocking 19.98 in prelims before swimming a time of 19.99 en route to win the final. Zane Roberts finished in 2nd (20.29) and Ben Eischeid touched 3rd (20.31).
Towson ended the night with a second relay win, posting a time of 3:12.23 to win the 400 medley relay. Highlighting the relay was senior Brian Benzing, who posted a blistering 50.91 breaststroke split. Sean Colson led off the team in 49.76, Ben Eischeid put up a 47.53 butterfly split, and Luke Schwar posted 44.03 on the freestyle leg.
Florida Atlantic secured 2nd place, as Peyton Ming (48.66), Dalton Lillibridge (53.60), Jackson Kirk (47.78), and Logan Thornsberry (44.46) teamed up to swim a 3:14.50. George Mason finished in 3:16.17 as Tate Anderson (49.34), Tyler Lentine (54.93), Ian Rodgers (47.59), and Zane Roberts featured on their quartet.
Team Scores Through Day 1
- Florida Atlantic – 307 points
- Towson – 287 points
- George Mason – 167 points
- St. Bonaventure – 153 points
- Marist – 104 points
- American University – 90 points
- Marymount – 18 points
Towson having a sneaky good midseason so far 👀
Sneaky? Swimming faster than they did at champs last year isn’t exactly sneaky. Will be interesting to see if they give UNCW a fight this year
Benzing is a beast but might make it interesting but they don’t have the depth yet to make it that interesting. Without him none of their relays are impressive (not to take anything away from Benzing,I think he’ll easily be A final at NCAAs this year)