Running Eagles Earn Top-Half Finishes at Small College Invite
Men's Swimming and Diving / 11.21.22
COLUMBUS, Ga. — The Life University swimming and diving teams traveled to compete in the Small College Invite in Columbus, Georgia with the women placing third while the men's team earned a fourth-place finish overall.
The invitation featured seven NAIA schools, one NCAA Division III school, and an NJCAA opponent. Point University hosted the event, with Lindsey Wilson College winning both the men's and women's sides of the invitational.
On the women's side, Sophia Carneiro had a great showing with a top-eight finish in the 200 IM while Dora Reizinger and Lillian Thurber's top-eight finishes put the pair through with national conditional times. In the 50 free, Nathália Bento was the top seed entering the finals, ultimately earning a 1st place finish with a 24.97 finish. Bento, Dora Reizinger, Lillian Thurber and Kathryn Bellew earned a third-place finish in the 200 free relays Friday.
In the 100 fly, Bento earned 4th for a NAIA "B" cut time and Victoria Acosta earned 6th. In the 100 breast, Thurber placed 2nd with Sophia Carneriro placing shortly behind in 3rd for two more NAIA "B" cut times. Reizinger's 4th place finish was good enough for another "B" cut, while the women earned another 3rd place finish in the 800 free to wrap up the event with a third place overall finish.
The men's swimming and diving program placed 4th overall in the invitational, as Bence Merész led the way in total scoring with 57 individual points. Individually, Merész earned the second-most points of any competitor.
Bence Dort earned a 2nd place finish in the 500 free with a time of 4:46, recording a new team record by 4 seconds. Anton Smal, Yehor Zhulin, Bence Merész and Lucas Payan earned a 4th place finish in the 200 relay, averaging 21.7-second splits.
The men's team had a couple of first-place finishes, with Anton Smal registering an individual win in the 200 IM. The Running Eagles earned a new school record time of 3:29.61 in the 400 medley relays.
In the finals, Saturday, Lillian Thurber earned a 4th place national "B" cut time, while Sophia Carneiro placed 6th for another "B" cut finish. In the women's 200 Fly, Acosta earned 3rd. The Seema Chavis, Acosta, Reizinger, and Bento combination earned a 4th place finish in the free relay, while the men's team of Zhulin, Bence Dort, Lucas Payan, and Bence Merész earned a 3rd place finish in the relay.
Individually, Bence Meresz placed 1st in the 200 Breast for a national "B" cut. Dort earned a second-place finish in the 200 back while Smal was shortly behind in third. Zhulin earned points in the 100 free with a 5th place and a national "B" cut finish.
Overall both teams swam well as the teams look to carry momentum into Thanksgiving break.
The Running Eagles will be back in the pool on December 1st for the SCAD Invite in Savannah, Georgia. The three-day will conclude the 2022 leg of the season for both the men and women.
