Machine October Senior Squad Meet
- October 10-11, 2020
- St. James Pool
- Short Course Yards (SCY) format
- Results on Meet Mobile: “Machine October Senior Squad Meet”
Over the weekend, Machine Aquatics hosted a 2-day intrasquad meet in order to give the team’s athletes an opportunity to race. Each day was split up into four separate sessions, allowing the team to follow social distancing protocols by limiting the number of athletes on deck at the same time. The meet was swum entirely as mixed events, with boys and girls competing against each other in the same heats.
Kicking off the meet in the first event, the 200 free, Jack Moloney dropped just over eight seconds taking first in the event with a time of 1:41.59. This was the first of four best times for the 16-year-old. Later in the meet, he added a first in the 100 back (51.20), third in the 100 fly (52.93), and first in the 100 free (46.52). He also narrowly missed his best time in the 500 free (4:48.15).
Taking first in the 400 IM was 22-year old, Colonial Athletic Association multiple event winner, and recent College of William and Mary graduate Chris Balbo. Balbo, who took second in the 400 IM at the 2020 CAA Conference Championships, was well off his best time, touching the wall in 4:09.48. On the women’s side, the top finish came from an uncommitted member of the class of 2021, Natalia Rongione. Rongione touched the wall in 4:38.17, less than a second ahead of Hannah Carmen (16) and only a second off of her best time.
Day two of the meet started with a tight race in the 200 IM, as 16-year old Will Kohn (1:56.67) narrowly beat out 17-year old Justin Lee (1:57.46). Finishing 12th overall in the event was Ohio State commit, Paige Hall. Hall dropped 2-seconds in the event, finishing with a time of 2:01.20, a time that would have placed her just outside the top-30 at the 2020 Women’s Big-10 Championships.
Hall also added new best times in the 200 free (1:48.82), 100 fly (58.75), 100 breast (1:06.37), and 100 free (50.86).
The 100 free on day 2 of the meet featured a pair of college students as La Salle University’s Daniel Johnson and Williams College’s Aaron Stanton competed in the event. Johnson finished 3rd in 47.20, just .1 off his best time, while Stanton took 7th in 48.82.
Other Notable Swims
- 14-year old Tyler Whitacre took 2nd in the 500 free, finishing in 4:43.19. This marked an almost 5-second drop from his previous best time in the event.
- University of Cincinnati commit Tyler Lentine swam to a new best time in the 100 breast, winning the event in 55.68.
- Ryan Sribar (17), a member of the class of 2022, finished the 200 IM in 1:59.92 to break the 2:00 barrier for the first time. His previous best time in the event was 2:05.34.