Men's Swimming | 1/13/2024 11:05:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - Following a ten-day training trip to Fort Lauderdale, the Huskies returned to the winter air of Bloomsburg to take on Franklin & Marshall (F&M) and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ).

The women would only face off against F&M, but the men faced off against both F&M and TCNJ. This was the Huskies first competition since the Bucknell Invitational and it seems as if they haven't skipped a beat.

The women's 200 medley relay of Gabi Walsh, Julia Riegel, Grace McBlain, and Riley Wenzel kick-started the meet with a win at 1:51.01. This time is nearly three seconds away from their time at the Bucknell Invitational. The team of Tony Goulstone (Hazelton, Pa./Hazelton), Sean Witmer (Millmont, Pa./Mifflinburg), Jack Drake (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg Area), and Andrew Holmes (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) took second behind TCNJ and narrowly defeated F&M's A-Relay.

Maddie Osanitsch and Ella Dittmar would dive in next for the 1000 Yard Freestyle. Osanitsch would walk away with the win going 11:00.64. Dittmar would finish behind her in 4th with a time of 11:28.71. Matthew Boehme and Luke Willard (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) would compete in the 1000 Free for the men. Boehme finished in 2nd with a time of 10:05.81 and Willard would finish in 7th with a time of 10:25.18. 

In the event following, Morgan Holmes and Sarah Pickel would duke it out for first place in the 200 Freestyle. Morgan just out-touched Sarah going 2:02.12 and Sarah went 2:02.80. On the men's side Ethan Coffman (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) would take the highest spot for the Huskies coming in 3rd with a 1:46.18. 

We then got into the 100 Backstroke where Gabi Walsh would get the winning time of 1:00.90 and following close behind was Jada Stambaugh with a time of 1:03.38. On the men's side, Goulstone and Cole Verga (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence) would take 5th and 7th while hitting 54.43 and 55.22 respectively.

Up next was the 100 Breaststroke where Riegel, Taleah Ruben, and Sydney Platt would face off. Riegel would come in 2nd overall with a 1:10.74. Ruben would touch next with a time of 1:12.06 and Platt would touch 5th with a time of 1:15.64. For the men, we would see Blake Nesbitt (Wind Gap, Pa./Nazareth), Constantin Buga (Philadlephia, Pa./Northeast), and Henry Schueren race. Nesbitt would plate 4th overall, Buga placed 7th, and Schueren followed close behind with an 8th place finish.

We then got the 200 Butterfly where Grace McBlain and Jack Drake (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg Area) would both get the win for the Huskies. McKenna Mizikar would come in for 3rd for the women and Nick Zaffiro (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) would also place 3rd but on the men's side.

We then got to some sprinting in the 50 Freestyle. Rylee Wenzel would come in 1st for the women, but Sydney Lloyd would make a glorious attempt to out-touch one of the F&M swimmers but got 3rd overall with a time of 25.87. For the men, it would be a close race for first place. Drew Holmes would finish second overall, but the difference between himself and the first-place finish was only .03, and the third-place finisher would follow Drew by only .03.

For the 100 Freestyle Morgan Holmes would claim another victory with a time of 55.49. Freshman, Ian Hamilton (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) would be the men's top finisher coming in 4th overall with a time of 48.40.

Following the 100 Free, we got some more 200 action with both the 200 Backstroke and 200 Breaststroke. For the backstroke events, Walsh and Stambaugh would claim 1st and 2nd place. Goulstone and Maximilian Butkiewicz (Longhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) would claim 3rd and 4th for the men. For the breaststroke events, Dittmar and Ruben would finish 2nd and 3rd with a 2:37.87 and a 2:38.92.

We then saw our second distance event of the day with the 500 Freestyle. Osanitsch would win it for the women with a time of 5:21.55 and Pickel would come in 3rd with a time of 5:31.18. For the men, Boehme and Luke Willard (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) would come in 2nd and 3rd with a time of 4:50.78 and 4:58.99.

Getting towards the end of the meet, we had the 100 Butterfly. Wenzel would take the top spot with a 58.64, which is faster than what she was at the Bucknell Invitational. Mizikar and Bella Warner would come in 3rd and 4th with a time of 1:04.49 and 1:04.81. For the men, Drake and Nick Fiddler (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) would come in 2nd and 3rd with a time of 52.06 and 53.83.

Then came the final individual event of the day, the 200 Individual Medley. For the women, there was a close race between Riegel and McBlain. McBlain won it with a 2:18.20 and Riegel came in 2nd with a 2:19.14. A contender for race of the day might have been the men's 200 IM. Nick Zaffiro (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) put up a good fight for first place but came in second with a time of 1:57.24 (1st was only .09 faster), but that was not the only close race of the event. Ethan Coffman (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) just out-touched a swimmer from TCNJ to earn himself third place with a time of 2:00.21. The fourth-place finisher was a 2:00.24.

The final event of the day came from the 400 Freestyle Relays. The team of M. Holmes, Pickel, Osanitsch, and Wenzel would win it for the women with a time of 3:40.18. For the men, the team of A. Holmes, Coffman, Hamilton, and Drake would take second with a time of 3:10.74.

Both Coach Bridget Hilferty and Coach Eric Usbeck thought the team swam great, especially after a hard training trip. They believed everyone's efforts and enthusiasm throughout the meet were second to none.

Women's Scores

Bloomsburg: 171.00 - Franklin & Marshall: 88.00

Men's Scores

Bloomsburg: 163.00 - Franklin & Marshall: 99.00
Bloomsburg: 80.00 - The College of New Jersey: 182.00

The Huskies travel down to Keystone Aquatics to take on the IUP Crimson Hawks this upcoming Friday (January 19) as well as participate in both the John A. Pigeon Memorial Invitational and the PSAC Last Chance Invitational on Saturday. 

Great Job Huskies!