Buffaloes Men's Swimming Wins Colonel Classic, Women Place Second
DANVILLE, Ky. – On Friday and Saturday, the Milligan University men's and women's swim teams were on the road in Danville, Ky., where they took part in the Colonel Classic, hosted by Centre College. Milligan's men came away with a team title in the five-squad event, while the Buffs women placed second.
Milligan's top three men's 200 freestyle relay teams finished in the top three in the event to set the tone early for the event.
Riley Renaud (5:10.41) and Katelyn Williams (5:17.95) stood atop the podium in the 500 freestyle, both of which were able to post season-best times. The men's 500 freestyle also saw a season-best mark from Milligan's top finisher, Morgan Roszel (4:46.83), who placed second.
The top six finishers in the men's 200 individual medley were Milligan swimmers. Robert Adam (1:51.35) took the win, with Stephen Gilbert (1:53.97) placing second. Andre Bazzana (1:56.33) concluded the event with a third-place finish, while RJ Brumit had a personal-best time of 1:57.55 to finish fourth. Gellert Szedlak (1:59.49) and Nate Halloran (2:00.82) rounded out the top six.
Caleb Fry paced the men's 50 freestyle with a 20.91 clip, while Joash Mckonie joined him on the podium with a 21.05 time. Paxton Smith finished fourth with a 21.33, while Michael Rinaldi posted a 21.45, his personal-best mark.
Milligan then took the crown in the women's 400 medley relay in 4:01.11, with the men's "B" team earning a 3:23.52 to take the top spot on the men's side. The Milligan "A" and "C" teams placed second and third with times of 3:24.10 and 3:31.47, respectively.
The men's 200 medley "B" and "C" relay teams took the top two spots, posting 1:33.30 and 1:37.58 clips.
Peyton Brady placed second in the women's 400 individual medley with a time of 4:51.29. The men boasted the top three finishers on their side of the event, with Peter Gilbert (4:16.94, 1st), Halloran (4:26.64, 2nd) and Jack Allen (4:27.94, 3rd) taking those spots on the podium.
Mary Grace Bitting reached the podium for the Buffaloes in the 100 butterfly, notching a 1:00.31 clip. For the men, it was the top five positions that were claimed by Buffs. Sergio Tudor came in first with a 50.09, while Mckonie (50.33) and Bazzana (50.87) placed second and third. Rinaldi and S. Gilbert posted 51.73 and 51.75 times to round out the top five.
Renaud's 200 freestyle performance earned her second place, as she touched the wall at 1:59.81 as the runner up. For the men, Szedlak came away with the win, posting a 1:42.66, while Colin Burnette finished on the podium in third with a 1:46.73, which is a new season-best for him.
Teagan Jose placed third in the women's 100 breaststroke, clocking in at 1:10.68. On the men's side, Fry and Adam finished as the top two in the event, carrying 56.36 and 57.73 times.
In the 100 backstroke, Samantha van Vuure earned the title with a 1:00.03, and was followed by her teammate Azaliia Gabdrakipova (1:00.88) in second. Mckonie and Smith followed their lead on the men's side, coming in first and second with times of 50.68 and 52.09.
The men continued to have success in relays, this time with the 800 freestyle relay. Their "A" and "B" teams placed first and second with 7:00.61 and 7:13.12 times.
Next up was the women's 1650 freestyle, where Williams had a standout second-place finish with a time of 18:30.49, which was her season-best time. Renaud followed her in third with an 18:40.13 clip.
For van Vuure, a women's 200 backstroke title, with which she posted a season-best time of 2:07.71 led the way for Milligan. Emily Haas came away with a personal-best time of 2:12.48 to place third, as well. The men had the event's top two finishers, as S. Gilbert (1:50.83) and Jayden Bearden (1:56.80) took those spots.
Fry took the victory in the men's 100 freestyle, touching the wall in 46.12, which is his season-best mark. Szedlak came in at 46.63, which put him third on the podium.
The women's 200 breaststroke was taken home by Jose, who posted a 2:27.59 time to win. Adam copied Jose with a win in the men's 200 breaststroke, boasting a 2:05.40 time.
Back on the women's side in the 200 butterfly, it was Bitting who took the win with a season-best 2:09.72 performance. She was followed by Brady, who also supplied a season-best clip, touching the wall in 2:17.58. Milligan's men posted the top five finishers in the men's 200 butterfly, as Bazzana took the title with a 1:55.06. Tudor placed second in 1:57.32, while Brumit (1:59.89) rounded out the podium. Halloran (2:01.80) placed fourth and Nolan Hill (2:02.12) came in fifth.
The Milligan men's 400 freestyle relay "A" and "B" squads took the top two spots in the event to close out the weekend. The 3:04.86 and 3:04.90 times led the pack by more than 10 seconds.
The two Milligan squads have one more tune up before the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Swim Championships, as they face off with King University inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 11 a.m.