The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's swimming teams set four school records on the second day of the Total Performance Invite at the Steen Aquatic Center in Gambier, Ohio, on Friday.
Spartans set or matched program-best times in both the men's and women's 100 Fly. Junior John Drumm tied for third by matching the school record of 49.04 seconds set by Anatole Borisov in 2021. Junior Claire Kozma set the school record by winning the A Final, placing first in 54.97 to beat her previous record of 55.46 seconds set at last year's invitational. She also recorded an NCAA B cut with the time. In the 200 Free, junior Mason Bencurik set a school record and recorded a B cut with a preliminary time of 1:38.69, besting the previous record of 1:39.62 swam by senior Peter Meng last season. Bencurik won the A Final in 1:39.16. Drumm, Bencurik, Meng, and senior Griffin Gushman placed fourth in the 800 Free Relay with a school-record time of 6:41.58, lowering their previous record of 6:42.10 from the 2024 University Athletic Association Championships.
The 800 Free Relay of Kozma, seniors Angeli Paull and Gabriella Chambers, and sophomore Maggie Rose Rook recorded a B cut time by finishing third in 7:37.17. Paull and Chambers both qualified for the A Final of the 200 Free, placing eighth and 10th, respectively in 1:54.60 and 1:56.79. Rook placed 13th in the event with a finals time of 1:55.15, just one spot ahead of senior Kelly Vann at 1:55.56.
Individually, senior Kate Menzer had the second-highest finish, placing seventh in the 100 Breast with an A Final time of 1:05.51 after a prelims time of 1:05.08. She also reached the A Final of the 100 Fly, placing 10th in 56.66 seconds, and joined Vann and seniors Simone Vale and Nara Lee to place eighth in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:46.72. In the 400 IM A Final, junior Lauren Valentine recorded a time of 4:40.32 to place ninth.
Seven additional Spartans qualified for B Finals of their events. Sophomore Lillian Paley and senior Selah Dean placed 13th and 20th in the 400 IM in 4:43.68 and 4:50.75, respectively. CWRU swimmers finished 13th (senior Amelia Myhrvold, 58.30), 17th (Vale, 58.84), and 19th (senior Erica Rice, 59.82) in the 100 Back, and junior Kailyn Smith tied for 16th in the 100 Fly by touching the wall at 57.87. In the 200 Free B Final, senior Adriana Kamor recorded a time of 1:58.59 to finish 20th.
For the men's team, Meng earned an NCAA B cut with a time of 3:56.92 in the prelims of the 400 IM. He placed fourth in the A Final in 3:57.18. Junior Joshua Hernandez and first-year Sam Schultz competed in the B Final of the event, finishing in 4:05.36 and 4:07.07 to place 14th and 18th, respectively.
Junior William Froass qualified for the A Final of the 100 Back and B Final of the 100 Fly. He placed eighth in the backstroke in 50.55 and 13th in the butterfly in 49.95. In the 100 Back, sophomore Michael Boelens placed 12th with a time of 50.65 seconds in the B Final. He joined juniors Julian Kim and Ben Borvendeg and senior Ben Zuo for the 200 Medley Relay to place 10th with a time of 1:31.60. Later in the evening, Zuo placed 20th with a time of 56.79 in the 100 Breast.
In the 200 Free B Final, senior Stephen Hogeman swam a time of 1:42.67 to place 15th, and first-year Owen Miao had a time of 1:43.14 to place 17th. Finally, senior Jackson Pollard recorded a time of 50.24 seconds to finish 18th in the 100 Fly.
The final day of the three-day invitational will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The CWRU diving team will also conclude the two-day CMU Diving Meet on Saturday, beginning the competition at 9 a.m. in Pittsburgh.
