Meet Stats
- Complete results
- Hosted by Rutgers
- November 20, 2016
- Score
- U.S. Naval Academy 1804.5
- Columbia University 1233
- Northeastern University 1194.5
- Rutgers University 1057.5
- Central Connecticut State University 770
- Wagner College 753.5
- Liberty University 729
- James Madison University 447
- Liu Brooklyn 343
- Long Island University 280
Press Release
Courtesy of U.S. Naval Academy Athletics
PISCATAWAY, N.J. –– The Navy women’s swimming team claimed its second title in as many years at the Frank Elm Invite held this weekend at the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center in Piscataway, N.J. The Mids accrued 1,804.5 points to outdistance second-place Columbia by over 500 points points in the 10-team meet that concluded Sunday.
Individually, Navy’s Lauren Barber (So., New Wilmington, Pa.) received the meet’s High Point Award. Her 118 points allowed her to narrowly edge Vera Koprivova from Rutgers for the award by just two points. Barber was one of five Mids to place among the top-five highest point earners.
“It was great to see the work on the details we have been doing in practice really pay off for us,” said Navy head coach John Morrison. “We are really proud of the team. They put in a lot of effort for this meet and they raced extremely well. There were a lot of tough and challenging swims in the meet. With it being a single gender meet, the rest time we normally have in between events at three-day championship meets was gone. But everyone responded well to the challenge.
“Our depth is about best it is has been here at Navy. That really showed through in this meet, especially in the relay events. And having that depth really allowed everyone to just go out and race really hard. It was a lot of fun to watch all of the heartfelt swims.”
Navy held a 100-point advantage after Friday’s first day of competition. The Mids began the meet with their top team in the 200 medley relay finishing in sixth place with a time of 1:34.99. Navy would then see four of its swimmers compete in the A final of both the 500 free and 200 individual medley events.
Maddie Runge (Fr., Cochranville, Pa.) led all swimmers in the 500 free as she posted a time of 5:52.04 to win the event by 3.8 seconds. Joining her in the final were teammates Jenny Smith (Jr., Columbus, Ohio) in fourth (4:59.69), Emily Ranzau (Jr., Johns Creek, Ga.) in fifth (4:59.03) and Stephanie Downing (Fr., Pasadena, Md.) in sixth (4:59.79). Barber made it two victories for the squad on the night as she touched first in the 200 IM with a clocking of 2:03.17. She bettered the field by 2.35 seconds. Also advancing to the final were her teammates Charlotte Meyer (Sr., Bethesda, Md.) in third place (2:05.68), Kaitlyn O’Reilly (Jr., Farmington, Minn.) in fifth (2:05.60) and Casey Lawson (So., Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) in seventh (2:04.73).
The Mids closed Friday by placing third in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:45.72, then began Saturday’s session of finals by finishing in fourth place in the 200 medley relay with a clocking of 1:43.00.
“Day one has typically been a strong day for us at this meet,” said Morrison. “We had a little sluggish start in the speed events, but then we really turned it around quickly and didn’t stop for the rest of the day.”
Navy would send at least three swimmers into the A final in four of the individual events contested during Saturday evening’s session to increase its advantage to 303.5 points.
Smith paced a trio of Navy swimmers in the top final of the 400 individual medley as her effort of 4:23.72 placed her third. She was followed by O’Reilly in sixth place (4:26.34) and Downing in eighth (4:37.72).
Hannah Briant (So., Brielle, N.J.) matched Smith’s placing in the next event, the 100 fly, with her time in the event of 56.09. Finishing right behind her was Kelly Harrington (Fr., Boca Raton, Fla.) in fourth place (56.16), with teammates Delaney Walz (Fr., Mays Landing, N.J.) placing sixth (56.24) and Erin Scudder (Fr., Western Springs, Ill.) finishing in eighth place (56.54).
Barber then claimed her second victory of the meet as she posted a time of 1:48.12 to win the 200 freestyle. She edged the second-place finishing Lawson for the win by just under nine-tenths of a second (1:48.99), while Kenzie Margroum (Sr., Fort Thomas, Ky.) placed fourth (1:50.81).
Barber was back in the pool five minutes later for the A final in the next event, the 100 backstroke. Her time of 1:03.18 gave her a second-place showing behind the winning time of 1:01.87 set by Rachel Stoddard of Rutgers.
The final individual event of the evening saw a trio of Mids compete in the top final of the 100 backstroke. O’Reilly was Navy’s highest placing swimmer as she finished fourth with a time of 56.15. Touching the wall in fifth place (56.16) was Biz Graeff (Jr., Canton, Ohio), while Ally Warnimont (So., Winston-Salem, N.C.) placed eighth with a clocking of 57.41.
Navy capped the middle night of the meet by winning the 800 freestyle relay. The foursome of Margroum, Mayer, Lawson and Barber recorded a time of 7:21.82 to win the event by over seven seconds and break the pool record.
“Our aggressiveness on day one really carried over into day two,” said Morrison. “We came out of the blocks in the morning strong, starting with the first event, the 400 IM. That group really set the tone for the rest of the day.”
Sunday’s final session of competition began with the timed final of the 1650 freestyle event. A trio of Mids placed among the top-eight finishers in the event, with Runge leading the way with a second-place showing of 16:54.67. She was followed in third place by Smith in a time of 17:02.83 and Erin Jordan (So., Schnecksville, Pa.) in fifth with a clocking of 17:12.11.
Half of the field in the A final of the 200 backstroke would be Mids. O’Reilly was the first Mid to finish and her time of 2:00.52 placed her second. Meyer in fourth place (2:01.57), Warnimont in fifth (2:01.64(), and Lawson in seventh (2:05.32) rounded out Navy’s efforts in the event.
Barber continued her strong meet by placing fourth in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:16.68, then Walz placed second (2:00.34) and Lauren Greenberg (So., Waxhaw, N.C.) placed sixth (2:04.71) in the final individual event of the meet, the 200 fly.
Navy closed the meet in style as its foursome of Olivia Morrell (Sr., Albuquerque, N.M.), Lawson, Barber and Margroum combined for a time of 3:21.95 to win the 400 freestyle relay and establish another new pool record.
“It was great to see how we were tested and responded during this three-day meet,” said Morrison. “It sets us up well for the remainder of the dual meet season as well as the league championships in late February.
Navy is now off from competition until the annual Star Meet at Army West Point on Dec. 3.
Final Standings
1. 1,804.5 – Navy
2. 1,233 – Columbia
3. 1,194.5 – Northeastern
4. 1,057.5 – Rutgers
5. 770 – Central Connecticut State
6. 753.5 – Wagner
7. 729 – Liberty
8. 447 – James Madison
9. 343 – LIU Brooklyn
10. 280 – LIU Post