Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton swim teams hosted Olivet Nazarene in a nonconference dual meet inside Lederhouse Natatorium on Saturday, and the men's squad prevailed, 194-54, while the women's team fell by a score of 158-87. The victory for the Thunder men improves their season record to 2-5, having won their last two home meets. Meanwhile, the Wheaton women drop to 1-6 as a result of today's defeat.
Abe Plimpton led the way for the Thunder on Saturday. The junior from Parkton, Maryland triumphed in the 200 yard freestyle event, posting a 1:47.76 time mark. He also took top spot in the 500 yard equivalent, touching the wall at a time of 4:58.68, making him the only swimmer to complete the race in under five minutes. Finally, Plimpton joined forces with
Andrew Rogers,
Mason Hodge, and
AJ Staiti to capture a photo-finish victory in the 200 yard freestyle relay, as the group finished only .05 seconds ahead of the next team, which was also made up of Thunder swimmers.
Ethan Kile was also a top performer in today's meet, as he won the 100 yard breaststroke event with a finals time of 1:00.59. The senior then doubled up by securing first place in the 200 yard backstroke, posting a time of 2:01.58. Additionally, Kile came in second behind
Anthony Fitzgerald in the 200 yard IM event. Fitzgerald topped the podium with a 1:58.95 mark, edging out Kile's time of 1:59.80. The sophomore also finished second in the 100 yard backstroke, an event won by his relay teammate,
Connor Davis.
Davis and Fitzgerald teamed up with Staiti and Rogers to guide Wheaton to victory in the 200 yard medley relay to begin proceedings on Saturday. Davis then prevailed in the 100 yard backstroke race with a 54.59 finishing time, just .10 seconds ahead of Fitzgerald. The previously named Staiti claimed the 100 yard freestyle race, completing the event in just 48.37 seconds. Another senior swimmer for Wheaton,
Dawson Bremner, raced to a first-place finish in the 100 yard butterfly, posting a finals time of 51.78. Fellow team veteran
Jacob Lippiatt took top honors in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 21.82. Finally, one more senior claimed a victory for the Thunder on Saturday, as
Ben Griffith beat out his Olivet Nazarene challenger by .60 seconds in the 200 yard butterfly with a time of 1:58.34.
While the Thunder women's team did not claim an overall victory on the scoreboard, there were still some notable performances in home waters on Saturday.
Freshman Katie Yonan kept her stellar debut season on track with a win in the 400 yard IM as the only competitor to complete the event in less than five minutes, posting a time of 4:57.25. She also finished second place in the 14-swimmer field of the 50 yard freestyle swim with a time mark of 25.68. Additonally, Yonan was the top Wheaton swimmer in the 100 yard freestyle race with a 56.32 finishing time.
Senior swimmer Priscilla Min also had a good day, as she captured the 200 yard breaststroke race with a finals time of 2:30.27. Min was also the fastest Wheaton swimmer in the 200 yard IM event, coming in with a time of 2:16.98, good for a third place finish overall. Likewise, the senior placed third overall in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:04.76.
Abigail Rutledge, fresh off of being named the CCIW women's swimmer of the week, claimed a second-place finish in the 200 yard backstroke event, posting a time of 2:16.72.
Next up is a return to conference action, as both Wheaton swim teams travel to Rock Island for a dual meet against Augustana next Saturday.
