CHICAGO/SAN ANTONIO – Trinity's men's swimming & diving team competed at both the D3 Shootout hosted by the University of Chicago, as well as at home against the University of St. Thomas.
The Tigers won the dual meet at home against St. Thomas by a final score of 93-54, winning 10 individual events and both relays. Trinity is also fourth at the D3 Shootout, piling up 182 points during the first day of action. Trinity trails three nationally-ranked teams including hosting University of Chicago (#3), Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (CA) (#13), and Washington University-St. Louis (#8). The Tigers are also holding a slim lead over 18th-ranked Hope College (MI) (175 points), as well as leading #20 SUNY-Geneseo, #21 Swarthmore College (PA), and Wabash College.
The D3 Shootout meet continues tomorrow, while Trinity and St. Thomas will compete in another meet tomorrow, beginning at 10:00 a.m. in Nixon Natatorium.
Trinity vs. St. Thomas
Nathan Perez (Alpharetta, Ga. / Johns Creek) was the top Tiger at the men's meet tonight, picking up three individual victories. Perez won the 200 butterfly (1:57.08), the 500 freestyle (4:54.67), and the 200 individual medley (2:01.07) on Friday night.
Trace Briones (San Antonio, Texas / Health Careers) also had two individual wins and was part of both winning relay teams. Briones took gold in both the 50 free (22.05) and the 100 fly (52.87). He began the meet by swimming the third leg of the 200 medley relay team that won with a time of 1:39.60, then closed the evening by swimming second in the winning 200 free relay team that clocked in at 1:29.54.
John Fontenot (Austin, Texas / St. Andrew's) swam leadoff in both relays, while also earning an individual bronze in the 200 fly with a time of 2:08.43.
Chase Hays (Austin, Texas / Anderson) also swam in both winning relays, while
Brennan Jimenez (Fair Oaks, Calif. / Bella Vista) joined in for the 200 medley relay, and
William Kitto IV (Prairieview, La. / Catholic High School) finished off the 200 free relay.
Hays also won the 100 free in 48.75 seconds and was second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.01 seconds. Jimenez took the top spot in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.64, as well as a silver medal in the 100 fly by finishing in 55.80 seconds. He was also a part of the 200 free relay team that finished third in a time of 1:36.82. Kitto added silver medals in the 50 free (22.90) and as part of the 200 medley relay team that posted a time of 1:45.57.
William Sikes (Pittsboro, N.C. / Woods Charter) scored a victory in the 200 back with his time of 1:59.83, then was also second in the 200 IM with a swim of 2:04.72. Sikes also competed with Jimenez,
Owen Flynn (Guthrie, Okla. / Heritage Hall), and
Ash Meckel (Austin, Texas / The Griffin School) in the 200 free relay that finished third. Meckel also competed with Flynn,
Caleb Del Rosario (Sudbury, Mass. / Lincoln-Sudbury), and Kitto in the silver medalist 200 medley relay team.
Individually, Flynn won the 100 back in 56.20 seconds and was third in the 200 back in 2:09.32. Del Rosario won the 200 breast (2:22.90) and was second in the 100 breast (1:01.72) by just 0.08 seconds.
Coach Speak
"We saw a number of improvements from our first meet, both in time and race execution," said Head Coach
Cathleen Pruden. "The Tigers are exactly where they need to be at this point in the season. A little bit of rest in two weeks, and refining some race strategy is going to set us up for a successful mid-season invitational!"
Trinity at the D3 Shootout
Both Tiger relays finished in the top five of the ultra-competitive meet, while Trinity also had seven top-five performances individually on Friday night.
Konstantine Partalas (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) was third in the men's 1-meter diving event, scoring 273.10 points and just missing the NCAA "B" cut standard (275.00 points).
Nathaniel Early (Austin, Texas / Westwood) earned a bronze of his own in the 200 free race, clocking in at 1:41.53 in today's meet. He was also a part of the 800 free relay team that finished fourth with a time of 6:56.00, as well as the 200 medley relay team that came in fifth at the start of the meet with a time of 1:32.90.
Michael Kohl (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) was the only other Tiger on both relay teams tonight, while
Ryan O'Leary (Austin, Texas / Austin) and
William Walker (Houston, Texas / Westside) joined in for the 800 free relay. Joining Early and Kohl in the 200 medley relay were
Kendal Southwell (Rio Rancho, N.M. / Calvert Online Academy) and
Caleb Manifold (Helotes, Texas / Homeschool).
John Key (El Paso, Texas / Franklin) was the only other Trinity swimmer to finish with a bronze, taking third in the 400 IM with a time of 4:02.37. He also earned third (11th overall) in the B final of the 100 breast (58.06).
In addition to his medley relay performance, Southwell was also fourth in the 100 breast with a time of 57.66 seconds. Walker added a fifth-place finish to his night in the 200 fly (1:56.23), while also finishing fourth (12th overall) in the B final of the 200 free (1:44.20).
Manifold was seventh in the 50 free (21.67), while Kohl had the same spot in the 100 back (52.69).
Daniel Itkins (Houston, Texas / The Village School) was in the B final of both races for the Tigers, finishing 15th overall in the 50 free (21.78) and 14th in the 100 back (54.29). O'Leary was fourth in the 400 IM B final with a time of 4:07.90 and swam the 200 fly in 1:58.70 to finish 14th.
Coach Speak
"The men swam better than last year in a number of events and are holding their own against some ranked teams," said Head Coach
Cathleen Pruden. "They're racing smart and made some great adjustments from event to event."
Up Next
The Tiger men will be back in full action again tomorrow. Trinity will continue the two-day D3 Shootout event tomorrow, beginning at 11:30 a.m. in Chicago's Ratner Athletic Center. The Tigers will also host St. Thomas for another meet that begins at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow in Hixon Natatorium.
