WVU Opens Ohio State Invite

Thursday, November 15

Columbus, Ohio

10:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

Ohio State Invitational (Swimming)

November 15, 2018 09:41 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Results

By: Joe Mitchin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams opened competition at the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday.

Senior Merwane El Merini and junior Julia Nilton earned trips to the 50 freestyle A final, while three more Mountaineers swam in B finals on the opening night of the three-day, midseason invitational at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. El Merini placed fourth overall in the men's 50 free in a time of 19.84, while Nilton placed ninth in the women's event in 22.83.

In all, 16 Mountaineers earned second swims on the day.

"It was a very solid day," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "Our relays did an exceptional job tonight, and they continue to improve. Our 500 (frees) were strong in both sessions, and our men made great adjustments from the morning swims. Lauryn (Kallay) led our women and Trayton (Saladin) led the men into the finals in that event. Morgan (Bullock) and David (Dixon) led our individual medley swimmers with Philip Kay, Josh (Harlan) and Ben (Brooks) also having fine swims.

"Julia and Merwane both swam in the A final of the 50 free with in-season best times, placing fourth and ninth. Chris (O'Shea), Drew (Damich) and Sam (Neaveill) really improved from their morning swims, as well."

Thursday's finals session began with the 200 freestyle relays. WVU's women's team of Nilton, junior Morgan Bullock, freshman Emma Bliss and sophomore Giselle Gursoy placed 12th in 1:33.88, while the men (El Merini, junior Sam Neaveill, senior Drew Damich and sophomore David Dixon) finished fourth in 1:19.84.

Individual events began with the women's 500 free, where freshman Lauryn Kallay took eighth in the D final, and 38th overall, in 4:54.26. On the men's side, junior Trayton Saladin finished fourth in the C final in 4:35.13, while sophomore Max Gustafson (4:35.28) followed close behind for fifth in the heat and 25th overall.

In the men's 500 free D final, freshman Tom Hubbard earned the heat victory in 4:35.21, ahead of junior Brandon Christian, who was second in the heat, and 32nd overall, in 4:36.77. Junior Ryan Kelly was fourth in the D final, touching the wall in 4:37.87.

Next, Bullock placed third in the B final of the women's 200 individual medley, finishing in 2:00.92. The performance was good for 13th in the overall event. Dixon also swam in the B final for the WVU men, finishing fourth in the heat and 14th overall in 1:48.77.

A trio of Mountaineers also swam in the C and D finals of the 200 IM, as sophomore Philip Kay finished 27th overall in 1:51.10, while freshman Josh Harlan (1:51.73) and sophomore Ben Brooks (1:52.52) took 34th and 38th, respectively.

Nilton's performance highlighted WVU's participation in the women's 50 free, while Bliss earned a trip to the event's D final and finished 37th overall in 23.97. El Merini led the Mountaineer men in the A final, while Neaveill swam in the B final and took 13th overall in 20.32. Damich was a C finalist, touching the wall in 20.75, while sophomore Christopher O'Shea took 34th after his D final swim of 20.80.

Thursday's action concluded with the 400 medley relays. The women's team of sophomore Ally VanNetta, senior Emma Harris, Bullock and Nilton finished ninth in 3:41.23, while the men registered their second fourth-place relay finish of the night, thanks to sophomore Angelo Russo, redshirt senior Tristen Di Sibio, Dixon and El Merini. That group combined to register a time of 3:12.37.

Following the first night of competition, the WVU men sit in sixth place with a team score of 294. The women are eighth with 199 points. The Mountaineer men are joined by No. 11 Ohio State, No. 21 Notre Dame, No. 23 Kentucky, Kenyon, Penn State, Pitt and Yale at the meet, while the women's team is competing against No. 3 Stanford, No. 14 Notre Dame, No. 17 Kentucky, No. 23 Ohio State, Indiana State, Kenyon, Ohio, Penn State, Pitt and Yale.

Competition in Columbus continues on Friday, beginning with preliminaries at 10 a.m. ET. Friday's finals session is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

Live results from the Ohio State Invitational are available at OhioStateBuckeyes.com/livestats. Additionally, a live video stream is being provided by the Big Ten Network, at btn2go.com. Streams will feature men's and women's preliminary sessions, as well as finals sessions on all three days of the meet.

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