On the final day of the 2022 Magnus Cup Invite at the Busbey Natatorium in Cleveland on Saturday, members of the Case Western Reserve University swimming teams set three additional school records to finish the three-day meet with six new program-best marks.
Competing exclusively against Division I, Division II, and NAIA teams, the #17 men's team placed fourth out of 10 teams in the standings with 703.5 points, and the #17 women's team placed ninth out of 12 teams with 193 points.
Sophomore Peter Meng set two of the program records in one race, finishing the 1650 Free in a school record time of 15:36.75 and placing second in the event. His time bests his previous record of 15:45.41 set at the 2022 University Athletic Association Championships and is also an NCAA B Cut time. Completing the first 1000 yards of his swim in 9:29.11, Meng also broke the program record for the 1000 Free, surpassing former Spartan Drew Hamilton's time of 9:30.02 from the 2015 UAA Championships. First-year Ian Ridlehoover and sophomore Stephen Hogeman placed 18th and 19th in the event, respectively, with times of 16:36.53 and 16:39.89.
In the C Final of the 100 Free, first-year Mason Bencurik set a new program record in the event with a time of 45.87 seconds, placing 21st. He beat the previous record of 45.88 seconds, set by sophomore Jackson Pollard at last season's Magnus Cup. Pollard placed 10th in the event this season with a time of 46.36 seconds in the A Final, with senior Campbell Patterson finishing eighth with a time of 46.14 seconds.
Competing in the 200 Fly, first-year John Drumm recorded his first career NCAA B Cut time, finishing third in 1:49.85. Sophomore Kevin Hu placed sixth in the event after touching the wall at 1:52.18, and senior Andrew Smith was 10th with a time of 1:55.21.
First-year William Froass and junior Ethan Chuang added top-five finishes for CWRU on the final day of the invite. Chuang placed fourth in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:03.05, and Froass touched the wall fifth in the 200 Back A Final at 1:52.33. In addition, the 400 Free Relay of Pollard, Bencurik, Drumm, and Patterson placed fifth in 3:03.21.
For the Spartan women's swimming team, the 400 Free Relay of first-year Claire Kozma and sophomores Angeli Paull, Adriana Kamor, and Gabriella Chambers finished ninth in the event with a time of 3:30.18. Individually, Kozma added a 20th place finish in the 100 Free with a time of 52.63 seconds.
Sophomore Elishka Bailey had the team's best individual finish, placing 13th in the 200 Back with a B Final time of 2:04.96.
Spartans finished in 17th, 18th, and 19th place in the 1650 Free event. Sophomore Selah Dean led the trio, finishing in 18:04.41, followed closely by senior Johanna Pearson at 18:04.47. First-year Allison Ploutz-Snyder was the third CWRU swimmer to touch the wall, finishing in 18:15.22. Dean added a 30th place finish in the 200 Fly with a time of 2:18.80, placing behind sophomore Kate Menzer, who recorded a time of 2:10.04 and finished 25th in the event
Sophomore Erica Rice was Case Western Reserve's top finisher in the 200 Breast, placing 18th with a time of 2:25.01.
The CWRU diving teams were also in action on Saturday, competing at the CMU Diving Invitational at the CMU Pool in Pittsburgh. Sophomore diver Abigail Wilkov placed ninth in the 1-meter dive with a score of 355.85.
The Magnus Cup and CMU Diving Invites end the 2022 portion of Case Western Reserve's schedule. The Spartans will be back in the pool on Saturday, January 14, 2023, facing SUNY Geneseo in a dual at the Veale Natatorium in Cleveland.
