CANTON, Ohio - November 17, 2023 - It was a record-breaking day for the men's swimming team and another solid effort for the women's team on Friday at Branin Natatorium, the home of the 2023 Malone Invitational.

Junior Dayne Sauter broke the program record in the 50-yard backstroke, gliding his way to a mark of 25.13 seconds in the first leg of the 200-yard medley relay. He passed Brady Gunther, whose 25.41-second record had stood since 2017.

In the overall standings, the men rank 6th out of 14 teams with 665 points, while the women currently place 11th with 338 points. Both teams have two more sessions of swimming on Saturday inside the same venue.

Men's Recap

Day 2 began with the preliminary races in the morning, which determined the ordering for the finals races at night. Sauter (22.36, 12th) and sophomore Jon Hybil (22.72, T-15th) got the evening started by both placing in the top-half of the field in the 50-yard freestyle. 

Sophomore Owen Pastorius followed suit and achieved the same feat in the 400-yard IM (4:35.78, 7th). Adam Johnson (4:41.11, 13th) and Landon Hughes (4:42.69) weren't far off their teammate in that same event.

Sauter returned to the pool with a vengeance, placing 6th among 32 student-athletes in the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.01). The freshman duo of David Slovenkay (1:51.10, T-9th) and Henry Hupp (1:55.35) also had strong showings to lift their team in the overall standings.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Hybil placed 9th (1:01.87) and senior Jacob Carleton placed 18th (1:06.78). Shortly thereafter, Nathan Ratynski and Adam Ellis were neck-and-neck in the 100-yard backstroke, with marks of 59.37 and 59.88 respectively.

The 200-yard medley relay wrapped up the evening, a special opportunity for Sauter to lead the team in the first leg of the race. His 25.13-second mark got the team off to a big start before Hybil, Pastorious and Slovenkay kept the momentum going for a final time of 1:40.71 (10th place).

Women's Recap

The first event of the evening session on the women's side was the 50-yard freestyle, which saw freshman Avery Clay (26.96) and senior Moraine Jackson (26.97) separated by one-hundredth of a second. Then came the 400-yard IM, featuring first-year Asa Frush (6:08.58) and Grace Basham (6:32.64) in another highly competitive event.

Elena Rinaldi, a Terrier of the Week and NCAC Athlete of the Week selection already this season, shined on the midseason stage with a mark of 1:06.11 in the 100-yard butterfly. She placed 13th in the event to earn her team some valuable points toward their overall place in the invitational.

Jackson and junior Natalie Brown swam within close distance of each other, posting times of 2:10.00 and 2:17.43 respectively in the 200-yard freestyle. In the 100-yard backstroke, Becca Johnston made an impact with a 1:42.40 clip.

Closing out the biggest performances of the day for Hiram was the 200-yard medley relay team of Haven Papineau, Jackson, Rinaldi and Clay. That team placed 15th (2:04.17) and gave the Terriers something to build on heading into the final day.

What's Next

Both teams will return to the pool on Saturday at 10 a.m., when the prelims will begin ahead of one last set of finals inside Branin Natatorium.