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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio swimming and diving team opened the 2024-25 season on Friday afternoon (Oct. 11), defeating Mid-American Conference opponent Toledo, 227-73, inside the Ohio University Aquatics Center. The Bobcat earned first-place finishes in 15 out of 16 events.
In the first swimming event of the day, the Ohio 200-yard medley relay team of
Allison Schrank (Blaine, Minn.), junior
Casadie DiBetta (St. Clairsville, Ohio), sophomore
Zita Szoke (Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary) and graduate student
Caroline Dunigan (Lansdale, Pa.) placed first with a time of 1:42.92.
Senior
Gabrielle McKee (Gilbertsville, Pa.) placed first in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:24.24, while sophomore
Ashley Sallows (Delaware, Ohio) finished second (10:39.37), freshman
Melissa Blaine (Cape Coral, Fla.) finished third (10:41.25) and freshman
Maddie Berg finished fourth (10:46.77).
Szoke picked up where she left off last year, placing first in the 200 free, touching in with a time of 1:51.75. Sophomore
Katie Buroker (Zionsville, Ind.) finished third (1:55.03), while junior
Peyton Binns (Hudson, Ohio) placed fourth with a time of 1:56.62.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Schrank picked up the first-place finish, touching the wall in 57.40, while freshman
Leah Guess (Hartville, Ohio) placed second (57.84), freshman
Sofia Matern (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished third (58.84) and junior
Morgan Brown (Roanoke, Ind.) finished fourth (59.37).
DiBetta also picked up where she left off last year, earning a first-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.25. Senior
Julia Strine (Shippensburg, Pa.) placed second (1:04.71), while senior
Edie Sawyer (Cranberry Township, Pa.) placed third (1:06.08) and junior
Emily Ellsworth (Westerville, Ohio) finished fourth in 1:06.66.
In the 200 fly, McKee placed first in 2:03.76, while Blaine finished third (2:20.31), sophomore
Isabella Arbaugh (Ann Arbor, Mich.) finished fourth (2:12.09) and Berg in fifth with a time of 2:14.17.
In the 50 free, Dunigan placed first with a time of 24.12, while freshman
Jordan Claypoole (Parkersburg, W. Va.) placed third (24.36), followed by junior
Alexandra Wayner (Savannah, Ga.) in fourth (24.69) and Buroker in fifth with a time of 24.69.
Szoke picked up the win in the 100 free, touching in at 50.67, while Buroker finished third (52.70) and Dunigan in fourth (53.34). Meanwhile, in the 200 back, Ohio took the top-four spots, with Schrank placing first (2:05.22), Matern in second (2:07.09), freshman
Juliana Slaninka in third (2:0735) and Brown in fourth with a time of 2:08.29.
Ohio once again took the top-four spots, this time in the 200 breaststroke, with DiBetta placing first in 2:19.15. Ellsworth finished second in 2:22.37, while Strine finished third (2:23.49) and Sawyer in fourth (2:25.58).
In the 500 free, McKee placed first touching in with a time of 5:04.44. Sallows finished third (5:11.93), while Blaine placed fourth (5:16.20) and Binns placed fifth, touching in with a time of 5:16.50.
In the 100 fly, Claypoole placed second with a time of 56.80, while senior
Raphaelle Anglade (Toulouse, France) placed fifth in 59.47.
Ohio picked up a win in the 200-yard IM, with Ellsworth finishing first with a time of 2:09.70. Anglade placed second (2:11.58), while Strine finished fourth (2:14.44) and Brown in fifth (2:15.03).
In the final event of the afternoon, the 400 free relay, the Ohio team of Claypoole, Szoke, Dunigan and Buroker placed first, touching in with a time of 3:28.39.
In diving, sophomore
Astrid Pichardo (Guanajuato, Mexico) won the 3-meter event, posting a score of 251.40, while sophomore
Stephanie Balthaser (Delaware, Ohio) placed third with a score of 225.15. Then in the 1-meter, Pichardo once again placed first, this time with a score of 259.95, while Balthaser finished second with a score of 240.23.
Up next, the Bobcats head to Normal, Ill. Oct. 18-19 to take on Illinois State. Friday's meet is set to begin at 5 p.m., while Saturday is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
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