The men’s swimming and diving team was able to outlast the competition and capture first place at the Fredonia Blue Devil Invite this past Saturday. The Lions held the first place lead throughout the entirely of the three-day invite, and won with an overall score of 825.5. In fact, this score was about 300 points ahead of the second place team, Allegheny, who tallied a score of 495.

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Behrend got out to a fast start on the first day, placing first in each of the 400m medley and 800 meter freestyle relays. The Lions also placed five of the top eight swimmers in the 500 freestyle preliminaries, led by Brady Mattson and Mark Patterson. On the second day of the event, Behrend brought their commanding lead to about 200 points over Allegheny. Michael Bauer and Liam Watterson placed in the top three in the 100 meter backstroke. Patterson, Ryan Siggins, Quinn Fischer and Cole Dombrosky placed were among the top eight swimmers in the 200 meter freestyle. The third day of the invite rolled around with Behrend still holding a commanding lead. The team actually extended their lead and, as mentioned, won the event by over 300 points to the runner up. On the third day, Patterson and Watterson were the top two  swimmers in the 200 meter backstroke, with Patterson also leading the team to victory in the 400 meter relay. Steven Owens captured first in the 200 meter butterfly. Mattson set a Behrend swimming and diving record by tallying a time of 16:55.05 in the 1650 meter freestyle, taking second overall. Patterson was named the AMCC Swimmer of the Week for his performance.

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The team is having a very successful season thus far. They have won three out of their four meets and the Blue Devil Invite after starting their season placing fourth out of four teams at the Grove City Fall Classic.

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Unfortunately, the women’s swimming and diving team did not fare as well at the Blue Devil Invite. They placed sixth overall out of nine teams, totaling 304 points, a little over 100 points behind the third place team, Baldwin Wallace. On the bright side, they did improve on their first day ranking (seventh) to take sixth.

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On day one, the 800 meter relay team, comprised of Maryn Horn, Abigail Witmer, Gwendolyn Lowery and Jessica Wyckoff managed to take fourth. Horn additionally placed third in the 50 meter preliminaries. The second day of the invite saw Lowry place second in the 400 IM and win the 200 meter freestyle. The relay team mentioned earlier took fourth in the 800 meter freestyle relay. Witmer placed fifth in the 200 meter backstroke on the third day, and Horn won the 100 meter B final.

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It has not been smooth sailing for the women’s team thus far. They have lost all of their meets and have not placed well overall in the Grove City Fall Classic and Blue Devil Invite. Despite that, seniors Marissa Adams, Horn, Lowry and Paige Lorson look to lead this young squad to some wins and offer hope for their future. Both the men’s and women’s team take on Washington and Jefferson on the road this Saturday.