Men's Swimming and Diving End Regular Season On High Note

The Wheaton College men's swimming and diving team concluded day two of the Wheaton Invitational with 14 finishes inside the top-10 on Saturday evening at the Balfour Natatorium. The Lyons hosted Clark University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tufts University in this weekend's non-scoring invitational.

Sophomore diver Ben Oliveri (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury)headlined the Lyons' efforts once again on day two with a pair of school record breaking performances. Oliveri took down Charlie Maier's (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) record in the one-meter dive (11 dives) event with a total score of 471.35 points. Maier's previous mark of 426.60 points was set on February 25, 2011.

Through six dives of the event, Oliveri also bested his own program record in the one-meter dive compiling a score of 284.70 points. Oliveri broke the school record last week – previously held by Maier – with a score of 280.65 points against Tufts University on January 26.

On day one of the Wheaton Invitational, Oliveri eclipsed both marks (six and 11 dives) in the three-meter diving event with scores of 285.75 and 482.80 points, respectively. Maier was the previous record holder in both of those events as well before this weekend. Oliveri has now qualified for the NCAA's in all four diving events with his marks this weekend.

Junior Emerson Jenkins (Kansas City, Mo./Pembroke Hill School) registered two top-10 finishes on Saturday as he touched second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 47.93-seconds and also ranked ninth in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:51.11.

Senior Sam Neill (Ludlow, Mass./Belchertown) was 12th overall in the 100-yard freestyle and 11th overall in the 100-yard backstroke. Neill also teamed up with junior Kyle Wilson (Cumberland, Maine/Greely), sophomore Nick Fredette (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) and freshman Daniel Spencer (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely) in the 400-yard freestyle relay for a fourth place finish in 3:21.19.

Sophomore Richard Jenkins (Bow, N.H./Bow) placed sixth overall in the 100-yard backstroke in 56.37-seconds ahead of Fredette who finished ninth in 58.25-seconds.

Freshman Christian Tinory (Attleboro, Mass./Bishop Feehan) posted a sixth place finish overall in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:06.30 ahead of classmate Jeremy Zak (Clifton, N.J./Montclair Kimberley Academy) and senior Griffin Hanley (Andover, Mass./North Andover). Zak was seventh with a time of 1:06.84 while Hanley placed ninth in 1:08.37.

In the 200-yard backstroke, Zak ranked seventh overall with a time of 2:07.88 and Wilson finished just inside the top-10 with a ninth place showing in 2:10.07.

Junior Sam Jackson (Darien, Conn./Darien) turned in a sixth place performance in the 400-yard individual medley with a total time of four minutes and 43.74-seconds.

Freshman Mike Gibson (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown Northwood Academy) placed fourth overall in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 19:59.62. Gibson also teamed up with Hanley and junior Alex Garneau (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) and sophomore Dominic Ziolek(Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) in the 200-yard medley relay for 11th place overall with a time of 1:40.83.

Sophomore Corey Hedges (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) rounded out the group of top-10 finishers with a ninth place showing in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:27.16.

The Lyons will take a week off after before they compete in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships, hosted by MIT, Feb. 15-17 in Cambridge, Mass. at the Barrie Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center.