Pair of Top-10 Finishes Highlight Opener

Friday, November 17

Columbus, Ohio

11 a.m./6 p.m.

West Virginia University

Ohio State Invitational

November 17, 2017 10:40 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Final Results

By: Charlie Healy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University swimming team got off to a strong start with a pair of A Final finishes as 12 total swimmers reached the finals on the first day of the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday.

Redshirt senior Nate Carr and junior Merwane El Merini led the Mountaineers in the A Finals tonight. Carr posted a fourth-place finish in the 200 individual medley with a 1:45.83, while El Merini finished in 10th place with a 20.15 in the 50 freestyle.

"We had a very good start to our weekend," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "Everyone who swam this morning had an in-season best time and we had several with lifetime-best in-season best times. Getting 12 swimmers into finals and the Flying WV represented in every event was big for us and something we didn't even come close to doing at last year's midseason invite.

"Tonight we started with very strong 200 free relays. Our 500 frees were led by Trayton Saladin, going 4:29.4 and placing 26th. The 200 IM was our best event of the night, with everyone going lifetime-best in-season times, led by Morgan Bullock winning the C final with a 2:01.1 and Nate Carr placing fourth in the A final with a 1:45.8. Julia Nilton and Merwane El Merini led our 50 frees, placing 16th and 10th, respectively. The 400 medley relays finished the night off with some really strong splits and swims."

The Mountaineers sent 12 swimmers to the finals on the opening day at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, with at least one swimmer competing in each event in the evening session.

The first individual event of the evening's finals was the 500 freestyle. The men sent a pair of swimmers to the C Final, as sophomore Trayton Saladin placed 26th overall with a 4:29.47 and sophomore Ryan Kelly finished 30th overall with a 4:35.26.

Junior Morgan Carr led the women with a 4:52 to place 29th overall after advancing to the C Final.

Sophomore Morgan Bullock claimed a first-place finish in the C Final in the 200 individual medley. She placed 21st overall with a time of 2:01.10.

For the men in the 200 IM, Carr led the way for West Virginia with his fourth-place finish in the A Final. He was followed by freshman David Dixon, who finished 19th overall with a 1:50.50 in the B Final. In the D Final, sophomore Luke Hene finished 34th overall with a 1:51.06, while freshman Philip Kay was 37th overall with a 1:51.90.

Next up was the 50 freestyle, where El Merini paced the Mountaineers with his 10th-place finish. Sophomore Sam Neaveill finished 26th overall with a 20.53 in the C Final, while junior Drew Damich placed 32nd overall with a 20.56 in the D Final.

Sophomore Julia Nilton led the women in the 50 freestyle, earning a spot in the B Final. She finished 16th overall with a 23:11.

In relay competition to open the evening, the Mountaineer men placed eighth overall with a 1:20.76 in the men's 200 freestyle relay. The women finished 15th in their event with a 1:33.70. The night conclude with the 400 medley relay. The women posted a 19th-place finish with a 3:44.41, while the men finished 17th, with a 3:17.27, and 18th, with a 3:18.72.

The second day of the Ohio State Invitational commences on Saturday, with prelims at 10 a.m. ET and finals at 6 p.m.

"We've started the meet really well, and now we need to keep the same focus we had today and apply it tomorrow," Riggs added.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.