A second-place finish in the final relay provided the difference in a 148-146 victory for the Wabash swimming and diving team over DePauw Friday night.
The foursome of Wyatt Tarter, Elliot Johns, Jack Belford, and Chris McGue captured four points for their second-place finish (3:12.31) in the 400 freestyle relay, defeating DePauw’s second team by three seconds and giving the Little Giants a two-point edge in the final scoring.
Wabash nearly led wire to wire in the dual-meet competition against its archrivals. The Little Giants won 11 of the 16 events, starting with the 200 free relay. Dakota Rhodes, Zech Banks, McGue, and Tarter combined for a winning time of 1:35.61, providing an early lead for the squad.
The Little Giants swept the top-three spots in the 1,000 freestyle. Jack Belfordtouched first with a time of 9:48.16, followed by Chris Dabrowski in second (10:01.52) and Arturo Granados in third (10:12.54). Johns scored a victory in the 200 freestyle by finishing in 1:42.73, while Joel Paquin added a point with his fifth-place finish (1:46.38). Rhodes scored two points with a fourth-place finish in the 100 backstroke (56.54) with David Johnson adding another point with his sixth-place finish (57.07).
With the lead trimmed to four points, Banks provided a boost with a victory in the 100 breaststroke (57.20). Josh Bleish finished fourth with a time of 1:00.95. Kyle Louks won the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:00:86 with Clayton Highum scoring two points with his fourth-place finish (2:03.38).
DePauw narrowed the lead to three points after claiming first-, third-, and fifth-place finishes in the 50 free. Johns and McGue placed second and fourth with times of 21.68 and 22.09, respectively.
The Little Giants’ freshmen divers combined for 26 points in two diving events, starting with the one-meter competition. Aaron Embree won with a total of 253.40 points. Max Van Deylen placed second with a score of 234.95.
Johns and McGue stretched the lead once again by placing first (46.90) and third (49.11) in the 100 free. After DePauw captured the top-three spots in the 200 backstroke with the Little Giants answering with a fifth-place finish for Rhodes (2:09:38) and a sixth for Joe Whitaker (2:13.88), Banks rallied Wabash with a victory in the 200 breaststroke. He touched the wall at the finish in 2:08.60 with Bleisch finishing fourth overall (2:12.87).
Belford won the 500 free with a time of 4:38.28. Paquin finished fourth in the race at 4:50.19. Wabash relinquished the lead after the next race, the 100 butterfly. DePauw captured first through third to score 16 points with Wabash tallying three behind a fourth-place finish for Louks (54.13) and a fifth for Highum (54.61).
Embree and Von Deylen gave the lead right back to the Little Giants with another 1-2 effort on the three-meter board. Embree won with a score of 257.85 with Von Deylen tallying 246.10 points to finish second. Banks followed with a win in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing in 1:59.76. Rhodes scored a key point with his finish in eighth place (2:09.27) to set up the final relay.
Wabash defeated the Tigers for the second consecutive season, the first time the Little Giants have won consecutive dual meets in the rivalry since wins in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons, also marking the last time Wabash had won in Greencastle.
The Little Giants return home for a double-dual meet Saturday, November 7 at 1 p.m. against Rose-Hulman and Manchester in the Class of 1950 Natatorium.
Swimming news courtesy of Wabash Swimming & Diving.