Men's Swimming & Diving | 12/1/2018 6:57:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – For the second straight season, the RIT men's swimming and diving team won the Don Richards Invitational. The Tigers defeated five teams to claim the 2018 title from Judson Pool with 1,104.5 points.
The Tigers began Saturday by picking up a decisive win in the 200-yard medley relay. The group of
Derek Rothrock (Ashburn, VA/Briar Woods),
Shawn Nevers (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial),
Ben Metzger (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) and
Will Brown (Boulder, CO/Fairview) won by more than three seconds in a time of 1:35.98. Brown, Metzger,
Braden Feasley (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) and
Shawn Nevers (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) ended the meet by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay by 29 one-hundredths of a second in 3:14.23.
Eric Moss (Irvington, NY/Irvington) just missed smashing a school record in the 200-yard butterfly, winning in a very speedy time of 1:54.89. Moss and
Joe Wang (Framingham, MA/Framingham) recorded a 1-2 sweep for the Tigers in the grueling 1,650-yard freestyle. Moss earned the win with a time of 17:04.77, while Wang placed second in 17:08.97. Jimmy Antonelli also finished fifth for the Tigers in the event with a time of 17:40.62.
Moss was also second in the 200-yard freestyle, tapping the wall in 1:46.85. Feasley (fourth – 1:48.70),
Mark Truskinovsky (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville North) (fifth – 1:48.83), Antonelli (seventh – 1:51.65) and
Adam Reitz (Hilton, NY/Hilton) (tenth – 1:53.26) secured top-10 finishes.
Shawn Nevers (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) recorded a tremendous time of 57.90 seconds in winning the 100-yard breaststroke. That is just 45 one-hundreths of a second off the school mark.
Brendan Kapp (Springfield, VA/Trinity School) was fourth in the event. Nevers also annexed the 200-yard breaststroke, winning in a time of 2:10.91. Kapp was also third in that event.
Metzger was third in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.34 seconds.
Keanu Pagano (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) was right behind in fifth, just 44 one-hundredths of a second back of Metzger. Rothrock was RIT's top finisher in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing fourth in 55.23 seconds. He was also fifth in the 200-yard backstroke (2:02.55).
Brown (48.86 seconds) and Metzger (48.89 seconds) were three one-hundredths of a second apart in finishing second and third in the 100-free. Kapp (third - 4:26.11),
Joe Wang (Framingham, MA/Framingham) (fourth - 4:27.33),
Tom Richter (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary's International) (sixth - 4:35.94) and
Wil Seifried (Springfield, PA/Springfield) (seventh - 4:36.12) highlighted top seven finishes for RIT in the 400-yard individual medley.
Jon Bauer (Fairview, PA/McDowell) was third in the 1-meter diving with a score of 368.35, while
Chase Van Duyne (Auburn, NY/Auburn) was right behind in fourth.
Richards, a native of Lockport, N.Y., was well on his way to an outstanding swimming career when he died in an automobile accident outside Binghamton, N.Y. on April 25, 1983. Richards had completed two seasons with the RIT Tigers and boasted All-American honors by placing 11th in the 200-yard butterfly at the 1981-82 NCAA Division III championships in a time of 1:57.78. In two seasons, he scored 343 points. He was inducted into the RIT Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. Several members of his family were in attendance this weekend, including his parents, Donna and Allen, brothers Jason and Chris, sister, Jennifer.
RIT is off until 2019, when they take on Hamilton College in the regular season home finale on Jan. 12. That meet from Judson Pool begins at 1 p.m.
