Fighting Scot Men Snag Second-Place Finish At Wooster Invitational

Kyle Oaks swam to three individual top-10 finishes in this weekend's Wooster Invitational, along with helping the 400 freestyle relay team to a second-place showing.

The College of Wooster men’s swimming and diving team landed a second-place finish at this weekend’s annual Wooster Invitational held at Wooster High School, finishing behind only Westminster (Pa.) College, which won the eight-team event with a total of 2,232 points. The Scots ended the three-day event with 1,488 points, followed by Case Western Reserve University (1,318.50), Ohio Northern University (995), St. Vincent College (530.50), John Carroll University (337), Oberlin College (288), and Lycoming College (189).

Highlighting Wooster’s successes was the 400 freestyle relay team of Kyle Oaks, Daniel Noble, Brandon DuGar and Ryan Radtke, who took home second-place honors with a time of  3:12.38. In addition the 200 freestyle relay team of Oaks, Radtke, DuGar and Noble placed third with a time of 1:27.36, while the 800 freestyle relay team of Logan LaBerge, Noble, Ted Polley and Radtke also finished third, clocking in at 7:18.54.

Other notable relay finishes were the Scots’ 400 medley relay of LaBerge, Mateo Chinchilla, DuGar and Oaks who took third in a time of 3:39.13, while LaBerge, Andrew Olsen, DuGar and Oaks led the 200 medley relay team to a third-place finish, clocking in at 1:38.04.

Individually for Wooster, LaBerge took home fourth in the 500 freestyle (4:54.56), while Polley won the consolation heat, good for a ninth-place finish (5:07.33), and Joseph Witkowski was close behind, finishing in 5:10.95 to secure 10-place.

In the 200 IM, Radtke was the only Scot to place in the top-10, turning in an impressive second-place finish with a time of 2:00.30, while Witkowski turned in the lone top-10 finish in the 1650 freestyle, touching in 18:11.39 which was good for a ninth-place finish.

DuGar finished seventh in the 50 freestyle, hitting at 22.49, with Oaks placing 10th in a time of 22.27. Also, in the 400 IM, Chinchilla swam to a sixth-place finish with a time of 4:37.21, while teammate Andrew Nicol won the consolation heat for a ninth-place finish in a time of 4:41.19.

The 100 butterfly saw three Scots land in the top-10, led by DuGar’s third-place finish in 52.99, closely followed by Matt Dominski in fourth (53.34) and Noble in ninth (55.12). The 100 breaststroke also saw three Wooster swimmers crack the top-10, led by Chincilla’s and Olsen’s respective seventh- and eighth-place finishes (1:01.46 and 1:01.50), followed by Radtke in 10th with a time of 1:02.17.

A trio of performers also led the Scots in the 100 backstroke, with Michael Saltzman taking home fifth-tplace honors (56.33), Oaks finishing seventh (56.97) and LaBerge winning the consolation heat (9th place) in a time of 55.39.

The 200 backstroke also saw LaBerge wind-up with a fourth-place finish in 2:02.17, while Johann Weber won the consolation heat in a time of 2:10.51 to finish ninth.

Four Scots landed top-10 honors in the 100 freestyle, led by Oaks’ (48.59) and Radtke’s (48.80) third and fourth-place finishes, respectively. DuGar won the consolation heat (ninth place) in a time of 48.75 and Noble landed 10th with a time of 48.83.

In the 200 breaststroke, Olsen and Chinchilla turned in back-to-back finishes, taking home sixth- and seventh-place in times of 2:14.14 and 2:15.03, respectively, while Eric Babbitt swam to a third-place finish (1:59.40) in the 200 butterfly with teammate Dominski placing eighth (2:03.20).

In the diving competition, the Scots’ Aaron Bergman placed third in the three-meter event with a score of 337.06, while Dustin Klein took home fourth, scoring 226.43 points. In the one-meter competition, Klein placed third with 289.65 points, while Bergman was fourth with a score of 280.42.

The Scots will be idle until after the New Year, returning to action to host Hiram College in a dual-meet on Jan. 12 beginning at 6 p.m.