HIRAM, Ohio - October 12, 2024 - The Hiram swimming teams split against Chatham on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Memorial Pool, with the men winning, 170-50, and the women losing, 149-62.

It marks the second straight season in which the men's team has started the campaign with a pair of wins, while the women's team continues to make strides in the early stages of the season.

Men's Recap

The 200-meter medley relay team of Dayne Sauter, Jon Hybil, Joe Krosky and Ethan O'Malley got the day rolling with a time of 1:58.94 to give the Terriers 11 points and an early cushion in the matchup. Shortly thereafter, Owen Pastorius won the 800-meter freestyle (9:52.59).

Sauter continued to amaze in the short-distance events, beating his competition by over two seconds in the 50-meter backstroke (29.65). Jon Hybil would follow suit in the 50-meter breaststroke (35.16).

The wins continued to accumulate as the meet progressed: Joe Krosky (100 butterfly, 1:05.59), Sauter (50 freestyle, 26.00 & 100 freestyle, 57.54), Hybil (100 breaststroke, 1:17.04), Luke Mackall (400 freestyle, 5:38.74), O'Malley (50 butterfly, 29.30) and Pastorius (200 IM, 2:32.79) all picked up individual victories in the dominant performance.

The grand finale came in the 200-meter freestyle relay, when Nathan Ratynski, Mackall, Hybil and David Slovenkay teamed up for a first-place finish (1:51.42).

Women's Recap

Natalie Brown neared victory in the 200-meter freestyle to start the afternoon, placing second with a time of 2:46.04. The senior would also compete in the 100-meter freestyle (1:16.51) and 200-meter IM (3:19.69) as part of the individual events.

Haven Papineau captured Hiram's first victory, taking down the 50-meter backstroke (35:17) to earn her team nine points and finish ahead of three other student-athletes. Papineau later won the 100-meter backstroke (1:17.45) and finished second in the 50-meter butterfly (37.38).

Perhaps the most exciting moment of the day came in the 50-meter freestyle, when first-year Madison Fleischer finished one-hundredth (.01) of a second behind Carlie McClurg (31.56 to 31.56) for first place. It was a dramatic finish to Fleischer's first ever collegiate event at Alumni Memorial Pool.

The final women's race of the day was the 200-meter freestyle relay; the team of Fleischer, Brown, Grace Basham and Papineau finished second with a clip of 2:12.72.

What's Next

The Terriers will travel to Lima, OH to compete against Bluffton on Friday at 6 p.m.