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GAMBIER, Ohio — Kenyon College’s annual Total Performance Invitational started off with six events on Thursday evening as seven visiting teams joined the hosting Owls at the Steen Aquatic Center for the first of three action-packed days of swimming and diving. The men’s field was tight through day one, but Kenyon ended the first day in first place.
The Invitational’s combined talent became apparent from the start as the first race featured a meet and pool record. Unfortunately for Kenyon, it was Carnegie Mellon University’s A relay team that won the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:19.59, but the Owls’ quartet of Peter Dunson, Arjunveer Gupta, Djordje Dragojlovic, and Spencer Stluka still secure a spot on the podium, finishing third at 1:21.43. Their time marked Kenyon’s first NCAA ‘B’ cut of the season, clearing the established 1:21.55 threshold.
The Owls’ overall deficit only lasted one event as quantity helped the home team top the team leaderboard. Kenyon did not secure a top-three finish in the 500-yard freestyle, but Ethan Manske managed a fourth-place showing with a time of 4:30.83 that was good for another ‘B’ cut, and three other Owls added points in sixth, seventh, and eighth.
A similar formula in the 200-yard individual medley helped Kenyon extend its lead. Kirill Sidorko clocked in 1:47.72 in third, a time that easily cleared the 1:50.25 ‘B’ cut standard. Despite not claiming a win through three races, Kenyon’s depth helped the home team’s lead grow from 15 to 43 between events.
An Owls swimmer stood atop the podium in the penultimate race, though the spotlight was a shared one. Dragojlovic swam the sprint in 20.17 seconds, beating the ‘B’ cut time of 20.37, and touched at the exact same moment as a CMU swimmer to tie for first. Still, Kenyon’s lead grew again with two events left to be scored.
The 400-yard medley relay marked the night’s final contest, and Kenyon again added to its overall lead. Though a CMU relay team won the event at 3:15.33, the Kenyon squad of Charlie Green, Noel Tumbasz, Roman Savage, and Dragojlovic secured silver with a time of 3:15.95 that came in under the ‘B’ cut time of 3:18.26.
A trio of divers also competed on the three-meter board during the swimming events, and Kenyon’s lead grew after the final scores were tabulated. First-year James Lackner led the way, winning the event with a score of 381.98 for his first collegiate first-place finish.
The results from the boards boosted Kenyon’s team total to 511.5, a 103.5 edge over second-place West Chester University, which was trailed closely by Carnegie Mellon (406.5). The Invitational will resume today beginning with preliminaries at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.
