CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – From February 2-4, the Hokies hosted the Virginia Tech Invitational at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. Throughout the weekend, the Hokies broke multiple records and swam multiple top 10 program times.
WOMEN
Caroline Bentz swam the 10th-fastest time in program history in the 200 free with a time of 1:47.25. This is her personal record for this event.
Athena Meneses Kovacs swam two top 10-times at the Invitational. In the 100 back, she swam the 10th-fastest time in program history with a time of 53.37. She followed that performance by swimming the 10th-fastest time in program history in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.40.
In the 1650 free, Kate Anderson swam the 10th-fastest time in program history with a time of 16:32.16. She also swam the ninth-fastest time in program history for the 1000 free with a time of 9:59.48.
Multiple Hokies accomplished their personal record in the 500 free. Delaney Bookstein swam a 4:48.12, Sydney Starnes swam a 4:51.23, Courtney Phillips swam a 4:52.765 and Camille Wiss swam a 4:52.91. Bookstein and Starnes also swam their personal record in the 400 IM. Bookstein clocked a 4:19.81 and Starnes touched the wall at 4:23.40.
Freshman Asher Joseph and Julia Simpson swam their personal record in the 50 free. Joseph swam a 23.20 followed by Simpson with a 23.49.
In the 100 butterfly, Rebecca Mezher swam a personal record of 57.43, followed by Alex Eastmond who swam a personal record of 57.87. Mezher and Eastmond also swam personal bests in the 200 free, alongside Sydney Leblic Garcia. Leblic Garcia swam a 1:49.56, Eastmond swam a 1:50.56 and Mezher swam a 1:55.07.
In the 3-meter diving competition, Peyton Guziec placed second with a score of 327.60, followed by Grace Austin with a score of 304.35.
Gallery: (2-2-2024) S&D: Virginia Tech Invite Day 1
MEN
The men broke one school record and five pool records at the Virginia Tech Invitational.
Youssef Ramadan earned a school record in the 50 back with a time of 20.91. This is the 12th-fastest time in the country.
Luis Dominguez broke the pool record for the men's 200 free with a time of 1:33.55.
Proving he was a tremendous addition to the Hokies, freshman Brendan Whitfield broke the pool record for the 100 free with a time of 41.84. This is the ninth-fastest time in the country and the second fastest in program history. Whitfield also swam the fourth-fastest time in program history in the 50 free with a time of 19.49.
The 200 free relay, consisting of Ramadan, Carles Coll Marti, Dominguez and Whitfield, swam a pool record time of 1:16.07. This was an A-Cut time meaning they automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships. The relay swam the sixth-fastest time in the country and the third fastest in program history.
Ramadan, Coll Marti, Mario Molla Yanes and Whitfield broke the pool record for the 400 medley relay. They swam a 3:05.49. This is the eighth-fastest time in the country and the sixth fastest in program history.
The last pool record broken was the 200 medley relay. Ramadan, Coll Marti, William Hayon and Whitfield swam a 1:23.09. This is the sixth-fastest time in the country and the third fastest in program history.
With the seventh-fastest time in program history for the 1650 free, Lee Naber swam a time of 15:12.85. Naber broke his personal record in the 500 free with a time of 4:23.97. Naber also broke his personal record in the 50 back with a time of 21.86.
Abraham Apfel and Ethan Maloney both swam a personal record for the 50 free. Maloney swam a 20.60 followed closely by Apfel with a time of 21.20.
In the 100 fly, Zac Ouzilou swam his personal record with a time of 48.29. Alex Neff also broke his personal record in the 100 fly with a time of 47.84.
Aiken Do and Jake Ryan beat their personal record in the 100 breaststroke. Do swam a 54.2 and Ryan swam a 55.93.
On the boards, Jacob Fisher won the men's 1-meter with a score of 359.85. Rocky Ramsland was right behind him with a score of 351.20. Ramsland and Fisher then switched places in the 3-meter. Ramsland finished with a score of 431.80 and Fisher finished with a score of 312.65.
UP NEXT
The Hokies are heading to the ACC Championships in Greensboro, N.C., Feb. 20-24.
