2023 Patriot Invitational
- November 15-18, 2023
- Fairfax, Virginia
- SCY (25 yards)
- Day 2 Results
The 2023 Patriot Invitational continued on Friday evening at the Jim McKay Natatorium in Fairfax, Virginia. Florida Atlantic extended their lead for both the men and women on day 2, and will look to top the overall scores to conclude the meet.
Women’s Recap
The Florida Atlantic women started off night two strong, winning the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:39.92. Riley Trout led off the relay in a time of 25.64, while Bilu Bianchi (28.00), Lauren Wright (24.03), and Izzy Jones (22.03) rounded out the quartet. The lead-off time by Trout was a personal best, as she overtook her previous mark of 25.98.
Towson touched the wall in 2nd place, posting a time of 1:41.60. Their team consisted of Ally Frame (25.41), Tiffany Matulis (28.03), Riley Willett (25.13), and Claire Ryland (23.03).
George Mason University rounded out the top three as Anka Whelan (25.96), Emma DeJong (28.70), Leah Riley (24.92), and Peyton Brehmer (22.94) clocked a final time of 1:42.52.
Mimi Watts, a junior at American University, posted a winning time of 53.05 to win the 100 butterfly. Watts, who has been as quick as 52.76, took the race out strong. She split 24.87 on the first 50 to take an early lead over the rest of the field.
St. Bonaventure junior Silvana Cabrera put up a time of 54.43 to secure 2nd place, just off her best time (54.26) from February. George Mason junior Ali Tyler touched the wall 3rd, swimming a time of 54.63.
Yasmine Safargar of Florida Atlantic displayed her versatility by winning the 400 IM in a time of 4:24.82. Maddie Frick of Towson touched in 4:25.20 to grab 2nd, just off her best time of 4:23.96. Nula Gow of FAU rocketed to a massive best time to claim 3rd place, touching in a time of 4:25.64 to lower her previous best of 4:32.51.
The 200 freestyle saw a close race among the top three finishers, as FAU’s Kasia Szlek took the win in 1:51.15. St. Bonaventure sophomore Katie Beyer took 2nd with a time of 1:51.58, while Towson’s Addie Scott clocked in at 1:51.65 to take 3rd. Each of the three swimmers have been as quick as 1:50 in the event.
Bilu Bianchi was victorious in the 100 breaststroke, recording a time of 1:02.49 to take the win. That marks a personal best for the FAU freshman, who lowered her previous best of 1:02.64 from November of 2022. Tiffany Matulis of Towson stopped the clock in 1:02.49 to grab 2nd, while Emma DeJong matched her prelim time of 1:02.97 to place 3rd.
Ally Frame of Towson took the 100 backstroke win over Mimi Watts by 0.21, clocking 53.40 to the 53.61 recorded by Watts. The time by Watts marks a massive personal best, taking down her previous mark of 54.67 from two weeks ago. This was the second individual swim for Watts on the day, as she took the 100 butterfly win earlier in the session. Riley Trout of FAU finished 3rd in a time of 55.37.
The session concluded with the 800 freestyle relay, where George Mason touched four seconds ahead of the field to win in a time of 7:25.91. Due to an apparent touchpad error, splits are not available for the winning squad. However, the relay consisted of Emma DeJong, Shannon Judge, Kristen Ivey, and Ali Tyler.
The University of Richmond touched in 7:30.39 to secure 2nd place, while Florida Atlantic posted a time of 7:32.84 to place 3rd. The Richmond squad consisted of Caitlyn Hughes, Erin Budde, Katie Chignell, and Alexa Connors, while the FAU team was made up of Dolores Margni, Kasia Szlek, Bry Bellile, and Maggie Casey.
Women Team Scores (After Day 2)
- Florida Atlantic – 743 points
- Towson – 513 points
- George Mason – 390.5 points
- Richmond – 356 points
- St. Bonaventure – 279 points
- American University – 262 points
- Marist College – 125.5 points
- UNC Wilmington – 43 points
Men’s Recap
Towson and Florida Atlantic opened up the night with a tight battle in the 200 medley relay. Towson got the win in a time of 1:26.46, while Florida Atlantic touched the wall in a time of 1:26.74. Evan Bota (22.62), Brian Benzing (23.02), Ben Eischeid (21.08), Daniel McLaughlin teamed up on the Towson relay, while the FAU team consisted of Peyton Ming (22.48), Dalton Lillibridge (24.28), Jackson Kirk (20.98), and Jacob Rubin (19.00). The Towson ‘B’ team took 3rd place, finishing in 1:28.67.
Towson senior Brian Benzing recorded a winning time of 46.22 in the 100 butterfly, taking down his previous best time of 46.25 from February. This is the third best time for Benzing at the Patriot Invite, as he clocked best times in both the 50 free (19.90) and 200 IM (1:43.66) yesterday. After graduation this upcoming May, Benzing will head to Indiana to use his fifth year of eligibility.
Benzing didn’t stop there, as he won the 100 breaststroke later in the session in a season best time of 51.48. He was followed by FAU teammates Dalton Lillibridge (53.51) and Jack Sheehan (54.31).
Junior James Conable of Marist turned in a personal best time en route to win the 400 IM. Conable posted a time of 3:53.44, lowering his previous best time of 3:54.68 from this same meet last year.
Conable was in a tight battle with Nick Shaffer of FAU throughout the entirety of the race, as Shaffer touched just 0.01 behind Conable in 3:53.45. Shaffer owns a lifetime best of 3:48.79 from the 2023 CCSA Championships. His FAU teammate, David Arneskov, touched 3rd in a time of 3:54.36.
Florida Atlantic swept the 200 freestyle as teammates Timo Paisley and Jackson Kirk tied for the win in 1:37.73. It was the best time for both of them, as Paisley took down his previous mark of 1:38.34 from this meet last year. Kirk overtook his previous mark of 1:37.99 from the 2023 CCSA Championships. FAU teammate Logan Thornsberry clocked a 1:38.49 season best to complete the sweep.
The 100 backstroke was a closely contested race, as Peyton Ming of FAU took the win in 48.53. He out-touched Alexander Behr of St. Bonaventure by 0.12, while Sean Colson of Towson clocked a time of 48.87 to finish 3rd. Ming had a busy evening, as he was 3rd in the 100 butterfly (47.83) earlier in the evening before winning the 100 backstroke. He will contest the 200 backstroke on the final day of the competition, where he is seeded 8th.
George Mason University ended the evening on a high note, winning the 800 freestyle relay (6:37.09). Tate Anderson led off in 1:37.25 before handing off to Alex Crown (1:39.95), Ian Rodgers (1:39.71), and Zane Roberts (1:40.18). Florida Atlantic finished just over a second behind to place 2nd in 6:38.21, while Towson clocked a time of 6:41.78 to place 3rd.
Men Team Scores (After Day 2)
- Florida Atlantic – 737.5 points
- Towson – 623 points
- George Mason – 357 points
- St. Bonaventure – 342.5 points
- Marist – 272 points
- American University – 192 points
- UNC Wilmington – 114 points
- Marymount – 50 points