CANTON, Ohio - November 22, 2024 - Hiram stayed the course on Day 2 of the Malone Invitational on Friday, with the men's team remaining in ninth place and the women's team holding onto 15th place inside Branin Natatorium.

As things currently stand, the men rank ahead of Malone, Alma, Allegheny, Chatham and Olivet, while the women are ahead of Bluffton.

Men's Recap

The men's finals began with the 200-yard medley relay, with the team of Dayne Sauter, Jon Hybil, Joe Krosky and Ethan O'Malley posting a ninth-place time of 1:40.39. The Terriers beat Alma in the race and earned 40 points.

Sauter was the featured swimmer in that relay, as he led off with the 50-yard backstroke and broke his own program record of 25.13 seconds with a new mark of 24.70 seconds. It adds to the Bakersfield, CA native's historic career in the blue and red, as he continues to fill the record books with multiple program-best marks.

David Slovenkay made his mark in the individual events, qualifying for the finals in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:51.76 time in prelims and eventually racing to a 1:50.68 time in the finals. The sophomore placed third in the field of eight student-athletes for the C-Final.

Owen Pastorius again won a B-Final after taking down the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday night. The junior had a time of 4:28.79 in the prelims before cruising to a time of 4:25.14 in the finals, which was over eight seconds faster than any other student-athlete in the race. Landon Hughes placed fourth in that same final race with a time of 4:37.93.

Hybil did just enough in the 100-yard breaststroke prelims to qualify for the B-Final, posting consistent times of 1:02.52 and 1:02.82 between the morning and evening sessions. Moments later, Sauter posted a new personal record in the 100-yard backstroke, going from 55.96 in prelims to 55.77 in the finals to rank 14th among the 24 student-athletes who qualified for the finals in that event.

Hiram's final event of the day came in the 800-yard freestyle relay; Sauter, Slovenkay, Hughes and Pastorius teamed together for a fifth-place finish (7:23.77) to end the evening on a high note. The Terriers took down Wheeling, Baldwin Wallace, Alma, Washington & Jefferson and Saint Vincent in the finale event.

Women's Recap

The relay teams took center stage in the evening session, beginning with the 200-yard medley relay team of Haven Papineau, Natalie Brown, Madison Fleischer and Grace Basham. The relay team, which featured a student-athletes from every class, had a time of 2:09.20 to earn the Terriers 24 points.

Also competing on the day in the prelims was Becca Johnston in the 100-yard breaststroke, Grace Basham and Papineau in the 100-yard backstroke and Fleischer with a new PR in the 100-yard freestyle (2:11.97).

What's Next

Both teams will finish up the Malone Invitational on Saturday, beginning with prelims at 10 a.m. and wrapping up with finals at 5:30 p.m. inside Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio.