The William & Mary men's swimming team added 19 qualifiers on Saturday morning in the final prelim session of the West Virginia Invitational, including 11 who advanced to either the championship or consolation heats. The Tribe held steady in the projected standings at third overall with 882 points, behind West Virginia and Kenyon and 200 points ahead of fourth-place Carnegie Mellon.
200 Back
Starting the day off was the 200 back, where the Tribe advanced seven men including three in the consolation finals. Junior
Jake Kealy (Wilton, Conn.) is the top seed in that heat at 1:50.96 for ninth overall, while
Ben Skopic (Marriottsville, Md.) swam a lifetime-best 1:51.26 for 12th and
Colin Demers (Virginia Beach, Va.) was 14th in 1:51.87. Making the C finals was senior
Lee Bradley (Crestwood, Ky.), 18th in 1:52.86, ass well as sophomore
Jack Galbraith (Vienna, Va.) who touched the wall in 1:53.41 for 21st overall. Senior
Philip Barto (Midlothian, Va.) and freshman
Noah Fields (Williamsburg, Va.) finished in 1:55.69 and 1:55.73, respectively, taking 29th and 30th to both advance to the D finals.
100 Free
The swim of the day was in the 100 free, where senior
Colin Wright (Williamsburg, Va.) picked up his second NCAA qualifier of the week and earned the top seed in 43.65 seconds, the sixth-fastest race in school history. Sophomore
Graham Hertweck (Greensboro, N.C.) swam 45.93 for 11th overall, and
Ian Thompson (Alexandria, Va.) also made the B finals in 46.03 for 14th overall.
Christopher Pfuhl (Charlotte, N.C.) advanced to the C finals in 46.61 for 22nd, and junior
Aristides Speres (Rye, N.Y.) has an outside chance at a second swim after placing 34th in 47.10 to be the second alternate.
200 Breast
Freshman
Kyle Demers (Virginia Beach, Va.) was the top W&M finisher in the 200 breast, and will be the top-seed in the consolation finals after swimming 2:04.93 for ninth overall. He'll be joined in that heat by
Ryan Bebel (Westfield, N.J.), 2:06.67 for 12th overall, and by Skopic, who was 2:06.81 for 15th in his second event of the morning. Senior
Ian Bidwell (Pelham, N.Y.) touched the wall in 2:07.75 for 19th overall and a spot in the C finals, while
Devin McNulty (Herndon, Va.) and
Conor Sokolowsky (Williamsburg, Va.) placed 26th and 27th, swimming 2:08.60 and 2:08.82, respectively, to advance to the D finals.
200 Fly
Wrapping up the morning was the 200 fly, where senior
Chris Balbo (Short Hills, N.J.) advanced to the championship finals in fourth place with a time of 1:50.34. He finished right ahead of
Steven Thalblum (Ashburn, Va.), fifth in 1:50.47, and the freshman Fields is the second alternate after swimming 1:56.87.
The finals of all four events, as well as the 1,650 free, the 3-meter diving, and the 400 free relay, begins tonight at 6 p.m.
2019 West Virginia Invitational
Unofficial Projected Team Standings
1. West Virginia 1,787
2. Kenyon 1,282.5
3. William & Mary 882
4. Carnegie Mellon 681
5. Villanova 491
6. Old Dominion 381.5
7. Navy 160
8. St. Bonaventure 60
