GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's swim team opened the 2019-20 season by splitting a double-dual on Saturday afternoon in Frederickson Natatorium against the Widener Pride and Hood Blazers. The Falcons topped the Blazers 185-82 while the Pride edged Messiah 147.5-131.5.
The Falcons claimed four individual races as well as both of the relays contested on Saturday. Swimming in his first collegiate race,
Avery Barley claimed a pair of victories to lead the way for the Falcons. Barley won the 100 Back (54.62) and 200 Back (2:01.67).
Tyler Wilkinson tied Widener's Martin Bohdan in the 200 Free. Both Wilkinson and Bohdan got to the wall in 1:47.92.
Ridge Hagar claimed the 100 Fly in a time of 54.34, less than a quarter of a second ahead of second-place.
Messiah earned first place in both the 400 Medley Relay (3:38.99) and 200 Free Relay (1:29.72).
The day started for the Falcons in the 400 Medley Relay with the team of
Avery Barley,
Isaac McCabe,
Ridge Hagar, and
Andrew Leeper winning the race with the time of 3:38.99. Their mark was nearly two seconds ahead of Widener's time of 3:40.83 in second place.
One of the craziest results of the day came in the 200 Free when
Tyler Wilkinson and Widener's Martin Bohdan tied with a time of 1:47.92. The two had nearly identical splits in the 200 yard race. Wilkinson trailed slightly heading into the final 50 yards, but a strong kick leveled the two foes out for a tie.
Avery Barley put together a strong showing in his first collegiate meet, sweeping the backstroke events with wins in the 100 Back and 200 Back. Barley first claimed the 100 Back in a time of 54.62, over two seconds ahead of second place before winning the 200 Back in 2:01.67.
Wilkinson joined Barley in the top-three of the 200 Back, just two spots behind in third place with a time of 2:05.29.
After transitioning from primarily a backstroker last season,
Ridge Hagar turned in a pair of strong finishes in the butterfly. Hagar took second in the 200 Fly in a time of 2:02.73, trailing only Widener's Daniel Parker (1:59.79). Hagar got the better of Parker in the 100 Fly, edging the Pride swimmer by two tenths of a second to win the event. Hagar got to the wall in 54.34 while Parker was just behind in 54.54.
Freshman
Isaac McCabe turned in three second-place finishes in his first collegiate meet. He finished as the runner-up in the 100 Breast (1:02.55), 200 Breast (2:19.54), and 200 IM (2:09.98). McCabe was bested by Widener's John Luksic in both of the breaststroke events before Parker edged him in the 200 IM.
The Falcons had swimmers place in both the 50 Free and 100 Free.
Andrew Leeper took second in the 50 Free with a time of 22.63 while
Caleb Munoz took third in the 100 Free, getting to the wall in 51.62.
Mason Kennedy placed second in the 500 Free in a time of 5:16.64, less than three seconds behind Hood's Hazen Stowell, who won the event with a mark of 5:13.85.
Messiah wrapped-up their day with a victory in the 200 Free Relay. The team of Wilkinson, Hagar, Leeper, and Barley compiled the winning time of 1:29.72. Their mark was nearly two seconds faster than the second-place team from Widener (1:31.68).
The Falcons will be back in the pool for competition next weekend when they host the Arcadia Knights at 1:00 p.m.
