Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton swim teams put in their most complete performances of the season so far in this weekend's dual meet against Carthage College, and the eventual reward was two Thunder wins. Both the men's and women's squads led their Firebird counterparts after Friday's action in Kenosha, and today's hosts solidified their advantages with dominant showings inside Lederhouse Natatorium this afternoon. The women's team swept past Carthage, 213-98, while the Wheaton men topped their rivals by a score of 190.5 to 141.5.
Katie Yonan was one of multiple standout swimmers for the Thunder women this weekend, as the sophomore triumphed in her 100 yard and 200 yard freestyle events, as well as enjoying an impressive four relay wins alongside Wheaton teammates.
Olivia Wiebe came out on top in the 1000 yard freestyle and 200 yard butterfly events, and teamed up with Yonan,
Sophie Pelling, and
Scottie McKeaney to capture the 400 yard freestyle relay. Pelling made a valuable contribution to the Thunder's score, winning her 50 yard freestyle swim and picking up a pair of relay victories in the aforementioned 400 free and mixed 200 yard free with Yonan. McKeaney took top honors in her 500 yard freestyle event and was part of Wheaton's victorious 200 and 400 yard medley relay groupings.
Abby Pardridge swam the first leg of both aforementioned medley relays and earned individual wins in her 200 yard IM and 200 yard backstroke swims to help lead the Thunder. Reigning CCIW Women's Swimmer of the Week
Elli Bennett topped the 100 yard breaststroke event and participated in both medley relay wins for Wheaton.
Lily Foung captured a first place finish in her 200 yard breaststroke race and 100 yard IM, marking an impressive showing for the freshman.
All of these individual and relay event wins, combined with plenty of second and third-placed finishes from Thunder swimmers was more than enough to finish the job for Wheaton on day two and give the women's squad their first dual meet victory of the year.
Abe Plimpton was key to the Thunder's success on the men's side, as the senior posted wins in both the 100 yard and 200 yard freestyle events. Plimpton also swam the first leg of the 400 yard freestyle and 200 yard medley relays, events which his Wheaton quartet won, and completed the anchor leg of the 400 yard medley relay win for the hosts. Anthony Fitzgerald racked up three more individual race wins this weekend, taking top spot in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke double and the 200 yard IM event. Connor Davis captured the 100 yard and 200 yard backstroke events, as well as the 100 yard IM, to contribute valuable points to the Wheaton win. He also swam the first leg of the 400 yard medley relay, which the Thunder won thanks to Davis, Fitzgerald, AJ Staiti, and Plimpton.
Staiti also teamed up with Andrew Rogers to earn a first-place finish in the mixed 200 yard freestyle relay, alongside
Katie Yonan and
Sophie Pelling of the women's team. The junior won his 100 yard butterfly event to pair nicely with his four relay wins on the day. Senior Harrison Smith joined Plimpton, Staiti, and Fitzgerald in the 400 yard freestyle relay win, while fellow veteran Kael Gannon took his spot alongside the same three swimmers in Wheaton's 200 yard medley relay triumph.
Zander Guzy took first place in the men's three meter dive with a score of 173.80, and this result along with multiple top-end finishes from other Wheaton men's swimmers was sufficient to give the Thunder a key rivalry result.
After a positive showing and outcome in their first conference matchup of the campaign, the Thunder teams will turn their attention to the Wheaton Invite, which takes place in two weeks' time after a Thanksgiving break.
