WVU Collects Six Top-10s in OSU Invite Finale

Sunday, November 19

Columbus, Ohio

10 a.m./4 p.m.

West Virginia University

Ohio State Invitational

November 19, 2017 09:56 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving

Final Results

By: Joe Mitchin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University swimming team concluded competition at the three-day Ohio State Invitational in a big way on Sunday at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.

The Mountaineers earned six top-10 finishes, led by a pair of third-place finishes by junior Morgan Carr and freshman David Dixon. Carr touched the wall in 1:57.23 in the women's 200 butterfly, while Dixon earned a time of 1:45.45 in the men's 200 butterfly.

WVU also saw redshirt senior Nate Carr place fifth in the men's 200 breaststroke, while sophomore Morgan Bullock earned a seventh-place finish in the women's 200 butterfly. Junior Emma Harris claimed an eighth-place finish in the women's 200 breaststroke, and senior Amelie Currat placed 10th in the women's 200 backstroke.

In all, WVU had six swimmers compete in A Finals, while two more swam in B Finals. A total of 25 Mountaineers were featured in event finals on Sunday.

"It was a very strong third day for us," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "We came in and had the morning that we prepared for. We qualified 25 for finals, with six of those in the A Final. We did a really good job of racing faster in finals again. Amelie led us off with a 10th-place finish in the 200 back, along with Ally (VanNetta) and Taylor (Gill) having really good 200 back swims. Trayton (Saladin) led the men in the 200 back with a 1:48.25. Julia (Nilton) and Merwane (El Merini) both improved their 100 free times from the morning. Emma had a very good swim for her eight, as did Nate, who finished fifth in the 200 breast. We finished the individual events with the 200 fly with Morgan (Carr) and David both finishing third, while Morgan (Bullock) placed seventh. Our relays were much better tonight and a great way to finish a very strong meet for us."

Sunday's event finals began with the women's 200 backstroke, where Currat's time of 1:58.14 was good for 10th place. Freshman Ally VanNetta finished third in the C Final, placing 23rd overall with a time of 1:59.03. Senior Taylor Gill competed in the D Final, finishing second in the heat and 32nd overall in 2:00.42.

For the men, sophomore Trayton Saladin placed 18th overall in the 200 backstroke, as he earned a time of 1:48.25 in the B Final. WVU also had three representatives in the D Final, including freshman Philip Kay, who won the heat in 1:50.62 and placing 31st overall. Freshman Angelo Russo was 34th (1:50.94), and senior Chris McMahon finished 38th (1:53.43).

In the 100 freestyle, junior Merwane El Merini placed second in the C Final for the men, finishing 22nd overall in 44.83. Sophomore Sam Neaveill (45.26) and Drew Damich (45.29) swam in the D Final of the event, placing 34th and 35th overall, respectively. Sophomore Julia Nilton competed in the 100 freestyle D Final for the women, earning a time of 51.20 to place 34th overall.

Next was the 200 breaststroke, where Harris registered an eighth-place time of 2:15.37 in the A Final for the women. Nate Carr finished fifth overall for the men, touching the wall in 1:58.43. Additionally, Dixon finished 20th overall in the event after posting a 2:04.14 in the B Final, while junior Jake Armstrong (2:04.79, 27th overall), Kay (2:05.14, 28th overall) and senior Drew Riebel (2:05.38, 29th overall) all competed in the C Final.

Then, a pair of Mountaineer women secured their big finishes in the women's 200 butterfly A Final. Morgan Carr earned her third-place finish, while Bullock placed seventh in 1:59.03. Freshman Kayla Gagnon swam in the D Final, finishing in 2:09.29 and placing 40th.

Dixon's third-place finish led the way for the men in the 200 butterfly, while sophomore Gabe Swardson finished third in the C Final and 23rd overall in a time of 1:48.93. In the D Final, sophomore Ryan Kelly (1:50.74), freshman Max Gustafson (1:51.73) and sophomore Jack Frazier (1:52.73) all competed for the Mountaineers, finishing 32nd, 33rd and 37th, respectively.

Sunday's event also featured the 1,650 freestyle, where Saladin placed 22nd overall for the men in 15:45.19. Both teams also swam in the 400 freestyle relay, as the men's team placed eighth overall and the women finished 15th.

Overall, the Mountaineer men finished in eighth place in the team standings after earning 184 points during the weekend meet. The women placed 11th with 80 points. No. 5 NC State won the men's competition with 1,118.5 points, while No. 17 Kentucky (733 points) took the women's competition.

"We came into the weekend thinking we were prepared, and by our results, we were," Riggs said. "The teams competed against some very good teams and did a great job. Our showing in the finals – and number of A Finals – against better teams compared to last year at this time is significantly better. We competed hard each session and got better at night when given the opportunity to improve. As a staff, you can't ask for more from a team."

The WVU swimming and diving team returns to competition on Jan. 6, when it hosts Pitt in the Backyard Brawl. Competition at the WVU Natatorium will commence at 10 a.m. ET.

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