Members of the Case Western Reserve University swimming teams set two school records and recorded one NCAA Division III "B" cut time on the first day of the Magnus Cup Invite at the Busbey Natatorium in Cleveland on Thursday.
The men's 400 Medley Relay was a record breaker for the Spartans with both the relay and the first leg setting new school bests. The relay of first-year Emil LaSida, junior Ethan Chuang, sophomore Ben Zuo, and senior Campbell Patterson finished in 3:20.88 to break the previous record of 3:22.25 set by Chuang, sophomore Jackson Pollard, senior Connor Chignell, and former Spartan Anatole Borisov at the 2022 University Athletic Association Championships. The CWRU relay placed fourth in the event, earning 38 points. To start the relay, LaSida swam the 100 Back in a school record time of 50.49 seconds, besting the previous mark of 50.90 seconds from former Spartan Will McDonald at the 2020 UAA Championships.
In the 500 Free, sophomore Peter Meng recorded the first NCAA "B" cut time of the season for Case Western Reserve, finishing in 4:31.07. He placed fifth in the event, earning the team 18 points. Also competing in the finals of the 500 Free were sophomores Stephen Hogeman and Griffin Gushman. Hogeman placed ninth with a time of 4:38.96 after qualifying for the A Final with a mark of 4:36.34, and Gushman finished 15th with a time of 4:37.20 in the B Final.
In addition to helping set the record in the medley relay, Patterson placed ninth in the 50 Free and was on the eighth-place 200 Free Relay. In the individual event, he touched the wall in 20.93 seconds in the final after recording a time of 20.91 seconds in the prelims. The relay of Patterson, Pollard, and first-years Ben Borvendeg and Mason Bencurik earned 30 points with a time of 1:23.82. Not far behind them was another Spartan relay, consisting of LaSida, Zuo, first-year Justin Drumm, and senior Andrew Smith, finishing in 1:23.87 to place ninth.
Three CWRU swimmers earned points in the 200 IM: first-years William Froass and William Sargent and sophomore Jace Creech. Creech tied for 15th with a time of 1:54.31, Froass finished 18th with a time of 1:54.67 in the B Final, and Sargent placed 19th with a time of 1:54.94. In the prelims, Froass swam the fastest, recording the 11th-best mark in 1:53.71.
For the women's team, the 200 Free Relay of first-years Eliza Dixon and Claire Kozma and sophomores Simone Vale and Gabriella Chambers recorded the team's best finish, placing 10th with a time of 1:35.70 to earn 28 points. The Spartan relay of sophomores Adriana Kamor and Angeli Paull and first-years Julia Cho and Kailyn Smith placed 22nd in 1:39.24, earning eight points.
Kozma added a 17th place finish in the 50 Free with a time of 24.13 seconds after qualifying for the B Final with a mark of 23.96 seconds. Chambers placed 20th in the event with a finals time of 24.38 seconds after touching the wall at the same time as Kozma in the prelims.
Two CWRU relays earned points in the 400 Medley Relay, with the team of Kozma, Chambers, and sophomores Amelia Myhrvold and Kate Menzer placing 17th with a time of 3:56.37, and the team of Smith, Paull, and sophomores Elishka Bailey and Caroline Schlessman placing 22nd in 3:57.70.
Individually, both seniors Abby Halsdorfer and Maria Pritchett qualified for the C Finals and recorded the fastest times by Case Western Reserve swimmers in their events. Halsdorfer placed 23rd in the 500 Free with a time of 5:06.11, and Pritchett placed 29th in the 200 IM with a finals time of 2:09.08. In the prelims, she swam the 27th-fastest time in the event, touching the wall at 2:08.58.
Competing exclusively against Division I, Division II, and NAIA teams, the #24 men's team is fifth out of 10 teams in the standings after the first day with 180.5 points, and the #18 women's team is ninth out of 11 teams with 63 points.
The Magnus Cup Invite continues on Friday with prelims beginning at 9 a.m. and finals scheduled for 5 p.m. The CWRU diving teams will also travel to Pittsburgh on Friday for the first day of the CMU Diving Invitational, with action slated to start at 4 p.m.
