CANTON, Ohio - November 22, 2024 - The Hiram men's and women's swimming teams began their journey at the Malone Invitational on Thursday at Branin Natatorium, a three-day event featuring 29 different Division I and Division II teams from across the region. The mid-season meet not only gives the Terriers a chance to see where they stack up against some of the best competition in the region, but it also provides them with a rigorous experience comparable to that of the conference championships in February.

The Terriers met and exceeded expectations on Day 1, with Owen Pastorius winning the B Final for the 500-yard freestyle and the team combining for 10 total lifetime bests. As things currently stand, the men's team is in ninth place and the women's team ranks 15th.

Men's Recap

Pastorius found his form when he needed it the most on Thursday, qualifying for the B Final in the 400-yard freestyle thanks to a prelim time of 4:54.14. The junior then beat that time by nearly four seconds later in the day, winning the B Final (4:50.72), beating some of the top swimmers from schools like Gannon, Alma and Fairmont State, and earning his team 20 points. In that same event, Landon Hughes also found his way to the finals, recording marks of 5:09.12 (prelims) and 5:09.54 (finals).

Joe Krosky nearly made it to the 200-yard IM finals thanks to a time of 2:10.57 in the preliminary races. The sophomore was just three spots away from qualifying, although improved his seed time from 2:30.40 to 2:10.57, one of the team's biggest time improvements of the day.

Dayne Sauter was also a finalist for the Terriers, qualifying for the C Final in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.34. The senior, who continues to add to a historic career at Hiram College, then improved on that time in the final, placing second with a mark of 21.98. Jon Hybil also was nearly a qualifier for that same event (22.78).

In the relays, the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Sauter, David Slovenkay, Ethan O'Malley and Jon Hybil placed seventh out of 10 teams (1:29.22) to earn 46 points. At the conclusion of the meet, the 400-yard medley relay team of Slovenkay, Hybil, Krosky and O'Malley placed 11th with a time of 3:47.93.

Women's Recap

Hiram had a strong showing in the 200-yard freestyle relay, scoring 28 points behind the efforts of Madison Fleischer, Natalie Brown, Grace Basham and Haven Papineau (1:53.31). The Terriers placed ahead of Olivet and a future PAC opponent in Washington and Jefferson in the event.

In the preliminary races to start the day, Brown posted a time of 6:17.90 in the 500-yard freestyle, dropping nearly 25 seconds off of her seed time for the event. Grace Basham also cut her seed time with a strong mark of 6:48.55 in that same event.

In the 50-yard freestyle prelims, Papineau placed 37th in the field of 66 student-athletes with a mark of 27.30. Fleischer was right on pace with her teammate, finishing right behind her (27.34); both student-athletes were just over 10 spots off the cut line from making it to the finals in a loaded field of swimmers.

Wrapping up the day was the 400-yard medley relay final; the team of Papineau, Brown, Fleischer and Basham were right in the thick of the race, touching the finish with a clip of 4:52.53.

What's Next

Hiram will dip back in the pool on Friday for Day 2 of the Malone Invitational; prelims are set to start at 10 a.m. and finals begin at 6:30 p.m.