CANTON, Ohio – November 23, 2024 – Day 3 of the Malone Invitational provided Hiram with one last chance to make its presence felt in a field of talented Division II and III programs in the region, while also preparing the Terriers for the NCAC Championships later in the season.

The Terriers finished the event in ninth (men) and 15^th (women) place, adding to their total of lifetime bests along the way.

Men's Recap

Owen Pastorius earned his team 20 points thanks to a top-10 result in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:24.38). The junior placed ninth in the field of 30 student-athletes, with Luke Mackall (21:21.92) also getting valuable experience in the finals for the event.

David Slovenkay worked hard to earn a spot in the 200-yard backstroke final, posting a time of 2:09.46 in prelims and 2:10.46 in the C-Final. Also competing in the event was freshman Tanner Markley, who was just outside the cut line in the prelims with a mark of 2:36.94.

Dayne Sauter, who already owns the program record in the 100-yard freestyle, neared that record with times of 48.01 and 47.83 between prelims and the B-Final respectively. The senior earned his team 16 points for his efforts.

Jon Hybil highlighted the remaining individual results, recording times of 2:18.23 and 2:16.36 in the prelims and B-Final. Joe Krosky (2:07.99) and Landon Hughes (2:09.92) later qualified and posted strong marks in the C-Final of the 200-yard butterfly.

Ending the evening was the team of Sauter, Hybil, Slovenkay and Pastorius in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:16.31); that group beat the host team of Malone by nearly three seconds (3:19.19). That team of four also closed in on the Hiram program record in the event of 3:12.91, which was set in 2010.

Women's Recap

The veterans of the team got it rolling in the 1,650-yard freestyle, with senior Natalie Brown (21:16.68) and Grace Basham (24:00.12) competing hard in an event that included 41 student-athletes. It marked the final midseason meet for Brown, who was also part of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that included Haven Papineau, Basham and Madison Fleischer.

Papineau was just off the cut line in the 200-yard backstroke, posting a time of 2:27.42 to improve upon her previous best time of 2:31.24. The sophomore ranked 28^th in the field, with the top-24 student-athletes earning a spot into the finals.

Fleischer had a similar result in the 100-yard freestyle, breaking her seed time (1:01.67) with a prelim time of 58.94. The first-year student-athlete placed 27^th among the 53 student-athletes in the preliminary field, with the top-24 again making the finals.

Becca Johnston wrapped up the prelim marks with a time of 3:24.76 in the 200-yard breaststroke, which again was a big improvement from the previous personal best time (3:30.03).

What's Next

Both teams will be away from competition for the rest of the 2024 calendar year before returning to the pool on Saturday, Jan. 11 for a road meet at Washington & Jefferson at 1 p.m. inside Henry Memorial Natatorium.