The Middlebury swimming and diving teams hosted the two-day Middlebury Invitational on Friday and Saturday inside the natatorium. The event featured no team scores as Williams, Springfield, Tufts and the University of Vermont took part in the meet along with the Panthers.
During the women's competition, the Panthers picked up wins during four relay events. The 200 free team of Morgan Burke, Isabel Wyer, Megan Griffin and Stephanie Andrews finished with a time of 1:37.42. The 200 medley quartet of Caroline Kelly, Liza MacCowatt, Griffin and Kelly Delane touched the wall first in 1:49.95. In the 400 medley relay, the team of Claire Treesh, MacCowatt, Margaret Pollack and Grace Stimson won with a time of 4:03.50, while the 800 free comprised of Burke, Wyer, Caitlin Carroll and Madeline Pierce were victorious by more than three seconds in 7:49.97.
Individually, Griffin and Wyer posted a pair of top-two finishes. Griffin won the 100 fly (58.00) and was second in the 50 free (24.52), while Wyer was victorious during the 200 back (2:04.88) and runner-up in the 200 individual medley (2:09.05).
Also tallying a victory for the Panther women was Audrey Bangs in the 200 fly with a mark of 2:11.64, one spot ahead of teammate Katie Aman in 2:13.48. Alaina Pribis swam to a second-place effort in the 500 free (5:14.84).
On the men's side, the 400 medley quartet of Justin Cho, Stefan Pla, Jack Dowling and Stephan Koenigsberger raced to a win with a time of 3:35.08. The 200 free relay team of Bryan Cheuk, Paul Lagasse, Jack McLaughlin and Brendan Leech touched the wall second in 1:26.07, as did the 800 free team of Eric Stanton, Dowling, Andrew Grant and Leech with a time of 7:11.57.
Individually, Dowling won the 200 fly with a time of 1:57.47, while Grant led the field to the wall in the 100 breaststroke in 1:01.33. Additional top-three efforts came from Connor McCormick in the 1,000 free (2nd, 9:48.55), Chris Mombello in the 200 individual medley (3rd, 1:59.91) and 100 breaststroke (3rd, 1:01.78) and Koenigsberger in the 200 free (3rd, 1:46.17).
Third-place relay performances came from the 200 medley team of Noel Antonisse, Nathaniel Smith, Alex Smith and Koenigsberger in 1:38.57, while the 400 free relay of Lagasse, Grant, Charlie Nuss and McLaughlin finished in 3:16.15.
On the diving board, Will Greene was second in the 3-meter event (439.35) and third in the 1-meter (408.35).
The Panthers will have a couple weeks off from competition before hitting the pool for the NESCAC Championships. Middlebury will play host to the women's meet from February 12-14, while the men's championship will take place February 19-21 at Williams.
