The William & Mary men's swimming team earned two top seeds in tonight's finals at the TYR Invitational, part of 25 total finals bids earned across six events on the meet's final morning. Northwestern leads the team standings following the morning with 957 points, with the Tribe second at 562 points and Michigan State third with 533.5 points.
50 Fly
- Junior
Ian Thompson (Alexandria, Va.) opened the day with a strong performance in the 50 fly, advancing as the top seed in the event tonight in the championship finals with a time of 22.03. That's just 0.12 off of the school record in the event.
200 Back
- In the 200 back, sophomore
Jake Kealy (Wilton, Conn.) swam his way into the championship finals with his seventh-place time of 1:50.15.
- Making the consolation finals were junior teammates
Lee Bradley (Crestwood, Ky.) and
Philip Barto (Midlothian, Va.), who finished 12th and 13th, respectively, in 1:51.65 and 1:52.29.
- Freshman
Kade Younger (Newport News, Va.) advanced to the bonus finals in 19th place, stopping the clock in 1:53.95. He'll be joined in the heat by senior
Joey Rento (Newport News, Va.), who swam 1:54.35 for 20th, and by sophomore
James Mostofi (Darien, Conn.), who took 22nd overall with a time of 1:55.29.
100 Free
- Junior
Colin Wright (Williamsburg, Va.) made the championship finals as expected in the 100 free, swimming 44.69 seconds for third overall. That was the 15th-fastest race ever at W&M in the event.
- He'll be joined in the top final by his classmate Thompson, who advanced to his second championship heat of the day after taking sixth in 45.26 seconds.
- Senior
Eric Grimes (Louisville, Ky.) will represent the Tribe in the consolation finals, stopping the clock in 46.19 seconds for 13th overall.
- W&M will have three in the bonus finals, led by sophomore
Aristides Speres (Rye, N.H.) who swam 46.34 seconds to take 17th overall. Freshman
Graham Hertweck (Greensboro, N.C.) was 23rd in 46.84 seconds, and sophomore
Christopher Pfuhl (Charlotte, N.C.) was right behind him in 46.85 for 24th overall.
200 Breast
- Junior
Ian Bidwell (Pelham, N.Y.) continued his strong week in the breaststroke events, advancing to the championship finals of the 200 breast in 2:06.53 and sixth place overall. Also making the top heat was his classmate
Ben Skopic (Marriottsville, Md.), who was close behind in 2:07.01 for seventh place.
- Freshmen
Ian Cobb (Vienna, Va.) and
Ryan Bebel (Westfield, N.J.) both made the consolation finals, with Cobb swimming 2:07.88 for ninth overall and Bebel finishing 12th with a time of 2:09.56.
- Senior
Brooks Peterson (Carrollton, Va.) earned the top spot in the bonus finals, swimming 2:13.39 for 17th overall.
100 IM
- Freshman
Steven Thalblum (Ashburn, Va.) put his 100 IM chops to the test once again, and earned the top seed in tonight's finals after finishing in 51.54 seconds, just off of the school record he set earlier this semester.
- Also advancing to the championship heat for the second event in a row was Skopic, who was third overall in 51.75 seconds. Pfuhl advanced to the consolation finals in the event, touching the wall in 53.37 seconds for 14th place.
200 Fly
- Finishing out the morning was the 200 fly, where junior
Chris Balbo (Short Hills, N.J.) earned the third seed in tonight's finals after swimming 1:49.85.
- He'll be joined in the championship heat by senior
Carter Kale (Williamsburg, Va.), who was fourth overall in 1:50.20, and by Thalblum, who tied for sixth overall with a time of 1:51.64.
- The senior Rento advanced to his second final of the day, placing 10th in 1:52.04 to make the consolation finals.
Finals begin with at 3 p.m. Central, 4 p.m. Eastern in all six events, as well as platform diving, the 1,650 free, and the 400 free relay.
2018 Northwestern TYR Invitational
Men's Team Standings
1. Northwestern 957
2. William & Mary 562
3. Michigan State 533.5
5. Saint Louis 449.5
6. Illinois-Chicago 301
7. Truman State 291
