#24 Women's, Men's Swimming continue winning ways at Mars Hill
Asheville, N.C. – Following a huge set of wins against Wingate and UNC Pembroke on Friday, the Catawba swim team continued their excellent run of form to start 2024 by knocking off the Mars Hill Lions on Saturday as the second leg of a back-to-back. The No. 24 ranked Catawba women were dominant in a 205-51 win, while the men cruised to a 154-108 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
400 Yard Medley Relay
- Similar to how Catawba opened Friday's meet, it was an opening sweep in the first event. On the women's side, it was a team relay team of Ash Fortin, Gabi Moll, Brinkley Watson, and Marit Reckmann that claimed first with a time of 3:55.52; for the men, it would be Rodrigo Yus Fernandez, Rowan Viles, Balazs Meszaros, and Isaac Haut combining for the first place mark of 3:28.52
1000 Yard Freestyle
- Catawba's women claimed each of the top three spots, led by Ella Gutenwik and her time of 10:59.42. Lillie Martin took second with an 11:25.21 effort, while Berta Vidal Carnero placed third at 11:36.20
- For the men, Elias Hysing would finish as the runner-up with a time of 9:59.05, followed by Lewis Mikesell in third at 10:14.24 and Leon Heiermann in fourth at 10:22.46
200 Yard Freestyle
- Watson would earn with the win with a time of 1:58.64, just edging teammate Fiona Byrne's mark of 1:59.20. Emily Heim made it three Catawba swimmers in the top-four with a time of 2:07.95
- Alejandro Alvarez just missed out on the win, finishing second just .68 behind Mars Hill's Thomas Gibson. Meszaros would claim third with a time of 1:47.23, while Kyle Rock took fifth at 2:00.46
100 Yard Backstroke
- It was another all-Catawba top three on in the women's heat, as Taylor Wilson breezed to victory with a time of, 1:00.78 over three seconds faster than that of Kenzie Peurifoy's second place effort of 1:03.44. Diamond Mosley secured third with a time of 1:03.60, just behind Peurifoy
- Yus Fernandez earned the win on the men's side, just beating out Nolan Jacjak 53.59 to 54.65 for an all-Catawba top pair
100 Yard Breaststroke
- Catawba was dominant in the 100 Yard Breastroke, with each team taking all of top-three spots. Hannah Koopmans rolled to victory with a 1:06.47 effort for the women, followed by Fortin in second at 1:08.82 and Alix Henras-Marouf in third at 1:09.13.
- In the men's heat, Maks Minichowski left no doubt with a time of 57.09, over three seconds faster than Marshall Wells' second place time of 1:00.58. Viles rounded out the top three at 1:01.07
200 Yard Butterfly
- Joao Oliveira earned the win in the men's heat with a time of 1:55.29, with Alvarez placing third at 1:59.78 and Mikesell taking fourth at 2:00.62
50 Yard Freestyle
- Catawba cruised in the women's heat, led by Reckmann's first place time of 24.95. Wilson was the runner-up at 25.54, while Heim rounded out the top three with a time of 27.02
- For the men, Haut and Meszaros took second and third, respectively, with Haut just pulling ahead with a time 21.69 to 21.82
100 Yard Freestyle
- Watson's stellar day continued with another win on the women's side, as her time of 53.51 secured the win. She was the first of an all-Catawba top three, with Fortin finishing second with a time of 54.13 and Koopmans' 55.13 mark earning her third place
- Minichowski claimed victory for the men as well with a time of 45.80, with Haut taking third with a 48.27 effort
200 Yard Backstroke
- Catawba swimmers earned each of the top two spots in both heats in another complete performance. For the women, Wilson earned the win by racing to a time 2:11.76, followed by Mosley clocking in at 2:24.51; for the men, it would be Lacjak cruising to a first place time of 2:00.04, followed by Yus Fernandez's effort of 2:04.06
200 Yard Breaststroke
- Moll claimed the win in the women's heat by almost nine seconds, with a blistering time of 2:25.23. Keasler took third with a time of 2:34.39, while Bridgette Pearson would finish fourth at 2:38.88
- Oliveira made it a Catawba sweep in the event with a time of 2:12.85, nearly seven seconds over Viles' runner-up effort of 2:19.32. Wells rounded out the top three with a 2:19.76 effort
500 Yard Freestyle
- Byrne provided another dominant win in the women's heat that proved to be another all-Catawba top three, leading the pack with a time of 5:12.38. Rebecca Possenti earned second at 5:20.92, followed by Jolina Franke in third with a time of 5:26.78
- Hysing earned the win in a heat decided by less than a second, beating out Mars Hill's Juan Jose Moncada 4:48.25 to 4:48.95. Mikesell took third with a time of 30.25, followed by Heiermann in fourth at 5:03.84
100 Yard Butterfly
- Reckmann just barely edged Vidal Carnero for the win in the women's heat, 1:02.07 to 1:02.27, with Maria Jose Orozco of the Lions making it a contested finish in third with a time of 1:02.54
- Minichowksi just took the win over Mars Hill's Joash McKonie, earning the win in the men's heat by 51.28 to 51.91 in a tight finish. Lacjak (5th, 57.34) and Rock (59.66) rounded out the heat
200 Yard IM
- Moll earned another win for herself and the Catawba women, touching the wall after 2:16.09. Keasler would earn second with a 2:20.80 effort, with Lillie Martin taking fourth with a time of 2:23.11
- In the men's heat, Joao Oliveria notched second with a time of 1:57.44, followed by Alvarez in third at 2:02.16
200 Yard Freestyle Relay
- Catawba's women capped the meet with another relay victory, taking both of the top spots. Reckmann, Watson, Koopmans, and Wilson combined for the winning time of 3:38.70, while Heim, Gutenwik, Possenti, and Peurifoy put together a 3:35.91 time in second
- Catawba's men would punctuate their winning total with a second-place finish in their heat, as Meszaros, Minichowski, Haut, and Alvarez logged a time of 3:08.61
UP NEXT
- Catawba Swimming returns to action on Saturday, January 13th as they travel to Franklin Springs, Georgia to take on the Emmanuel Lions in a meet set for 11:00 AM EST.
