Kenyon Men and Women Dominate Dual With Ohio Northern, Winning All 26 Events

GAMBIER, Ohio, November 16. KENYON’S women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams dominated the Ohio Northern Polar Bears on Saturday afternoon, winning every single event on both sides and going 1-2 in all 13 men’s events.

Kenyon Women’s Press Release

Saturday marked a day of near perfection for the Kenyon College women’s swimming and diving program. The Ladies hosted Ohio Northern University at the Steen Aquatic Center and displayed its dominance by delivering the Polar Bears a 201.5-37.5 loss. Kenyon swept up first-place honors in every event en route to its first dual win of the season.

The first event of the day set the tone for the rest of the meet. In the 200-yard medley relay, Kenyon put five teams in the water and took the top four spots. The foursome of Rachel Flinn, Laura Duncan, Jourdan Cline, and Jenner McLeod took first place behind a time of 1:47.31. McLeod ran the fastest leg of the group, touching in at 24.14.

Katie Kaestner had another strong day in the water, taking first place in both the 100-yard freestyle (53.41) and 200-yard freestyle (1:56.39) events. She also served as the opening leg of the race-winning 200-yard freestyle relay team that included Cline, Megan Morris, and Hillary Yarosh.

Adding to the impact of Kenyon’s underclassmen were sophomores Mariah Williamson, Natalie Parker, Maria Zarka, and Hannah Lobb. Williamson took first place in the 200-yard butterfly (2:08.23). Parker won the 200-yard individual medley by edging out Flinn by .24 seconds and also placed second in the 500-yard freestyle (5:22.92). In the 50-yard freestyle, Lobb beat out Ohio Northern’s Jillian Chapman by .37 seconds with a finish time of 24.83. She also posted a third-place finish in the 200-yard breast stroke.

Though Ohio Northern did not bring any divers to compete, Zarka reasserted her role as the Ladies’ top diver by taking first in both the one- and the three-meter dives. She turned in a 250.95 score in the one-meter diving while eclipsing that in the three-meter diving with a 278.80.

Ellie Crawford was the lone freshman with a win on Saturday, taking first place in the 200 backstroke in a time of 2:28.25.

In the 1,000-yard freestyle, Syd Lindblom ran away with the gold by besting her teammate Jacque Garcia by 19 seconds. Lindblom, a senior, completed the event in 10:35.98. Kenyon also took the top three spots in the event with Garcia and Amelia Loydpierson (11:17.29) finishing thereafter. Dru Selden also represented the senior class well with her win in the 500-yard freestyle (5:17.42). Junior Celia Oberholzer won the 200 backstroke by out-touching Alyssa LaFrenierre by a slim margin.

Following their impressive performance against ONU, the Ladies will recover for a couple days before heading out to Evanston, Ill. to participate in the TYR Invitational, hosted by Northwestern University. The multi-day meet will begin on Nov. 22 and last through Nov. 24.

Kenyon Men’s Press Release

The Kenyon College Lords swimming and diving team won all 13 events contested Saturday at the James A. Steen Aquatic Center and coasted to a 201-33 victory against the visiting Ohio Northern University Polar Bears. Not only did the Lords win every event, but they also claimed the second-place spot in every event.

Depth was certainly on display for Kenyon, as freshman Ian Reardon was the Lords’ only two-time individual swimming event winner. He claimed the 200-yard individual medley (1:54.85) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:07.10). Sophomore Brandon Roman swept the two diving competitions for Kenyon. He took the one-meter with 243.08 points and then claimed the three-meter title with 234.35 points.

In addition to Reardon, there were a couple of other freshmen who stepped up for the Lords. Austin Pu won the 100-yard freestyle (46.65) and Trevor Manz took the 500-yard freestyle (4:42.27). Manz also swam a leg on Kenyon’s winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:33.78). He joined Kevin Magee, Christian Josephson, and Austin Caldwell for the win.

Josephson then went on his own to win the 200-yard butterfly (1:55.99), while fellow sophomores Mark Newell and Percy Gates also jumped in on the action. Newell claimed the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.82) and Gates was quickest in the 50-yard freestyle (21.16). Gates also teamed with Caldwell, Joey Duronio, and Wes Manz to piece together another Kenyon win in the meet-ending 200-yard freestyle relay (1:24.20).

Prior to that relay win, two juniors rounded out the laundry list of Kenyon victories. Harrison Curley won the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:36.48) and Joe Guilfoyle won the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.47).

Ohio Northern Women’s Press Release

The Ohio Northern women’s swimming & diving team dropped a dual meet at No. 2-ranked Kenyon 201.5-37.5 Saturday afternoon at the Kenyon Aquatic Center.

The Polar Bears fall to 3-3 overall, while the Ladies improve to 1-2 on the season.

Kenyon, who has won 23 national titles in team history, brought their entire team to the meet rather than a split squad as in past years.

“We’re learning to respond to challenges without backing down,” ONU head coach Peggy Ewald said. “Thee opportunity to swim against the nation’s very best helps us grow and learn for what we can do to prepare for greater horizons. We’ve come off a solid week of training that will pay off later, so we’re asking the team to put one foot in front of the other, and continue moving forward. It’s about attitude and effort, and we’re adjusting to both.”

Freshmen Jill Chapman and Sydney Liber led the Polar Bears with a pair of second place finishes.

Chapman tied for second in the 50-yard free in :25.20 and Liber was second in the 1-meter diving with 163.58 points.

Sophomore Allison Lohnes finished third in the 200 back in 2:12.99, senior Lindsey Rayhill was fourth in the 200 fly in 2:17.90 and junior Ashley Zoeller was fourth in the 1000 free in 11:42.29.

The Polar Bears will return to action Dec. 5-7 at the Wooster Invitational.

Ohio Northern Men’s Press Release

The Ohio Northern men’s swimming & diving team fell 201-33 in a dual meet at No. 1-ranked Kenyon Saturday afternoon at the Kenyon Aquatic Center.

The Polar Bears fall to 4-1 overall, while the Lords improve to 1-2 on the season.

Kenyon, who has won 32 national titles in team history, including 31 straight from 1980-2010 and last year’s title, brought their entire team to the meet rather than a split squad as in past years.

Senior All-American Jordan Breitigam led the Polar Bears with a third place finish in the 200 fly in 2:00.00.

Sophomore Sean O’Neill finished fourth in the event in 2:01.54 and freshmen Zack Martin, John Raker and Eric Chen also had fourth place finishes for ONU.

Martin was fourth in the 1,000 free in 10:14.40, Raker was fourth in the 200 free in 1:49.62 and Chen was fourth in the 100 free in :47.99.

The Polar Bears will return to action Dec. 5-7 at the Wooster Invitational.

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