The Shippensburg University swimming team headed to Ithaca College this weekend for the sixth annual Bomber Invitational. Overall, it was a great weekend for the Raiders that included multiple personal bests, as well as strong team finishes.
Sophomore Stephanie O’Toole and junior Erin Fife were the standouts on Friday for the women. O’Toole dominated in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing with an NCAA ‘B’-cut time of 5:03.49. The time ranked her third all-time at SU in the event. Fife recorded a new personal record (PR) in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.49, placing fourth overall.
Mackenna Angert was also strong in the 50-yard freestyle, earning a ninth-place finish with a PR of 25.12.
Overall, the Raiders had 11 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying times Friday. The women’s team finished in third place, despite not having any points as part of its score.
For the men, Friday was a strong day as well. Twelve of 17 SU-individual swims were good enough to qualify for PSAC’s. Junior Kristian Voulopos was SU’s pace-setter in two events, placing fifth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.64, while also claiming an eighth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle. It was the first time Voulopos competed in the 500-yard free and his performance was strong with a time of 4:48.18.
Christian Gamboa improved his season PR by five seconds in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:51.50. His efforts were good enough for an 11th-place finish. Other Friday PRs for the men included Callum Hamel and Quinton Beck in the 200-yard individual medley (IM). The men finished Friday in third place.
On Saturday, competition resumed and the Raiders continued to build on Friday night’s success.
Saturday morning, the women won three events and some new additions to their all-time Top 10 lists after two solid sessions at the Bomber Invitational.
SU started the day with a win, as a 200-yard freestyle relay that consisted of O’Toole, Fife, Sidney Owens and Lauren Ellis completed the event with a winning time of 1:37.96.
Carly Alvarado, O’Toole, Fife and Grace Tothero took second in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:54.75. SU then dominated the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in first, second, third and fourth-place, which is unheard of for a meet that features the competition the Bomber Invitational does. O’Toole finished first in the event with a time of 56.29, while Fife, Rhyan Rodriguez and Owens finished just behind her.
O’Toole again dominated, winning the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:10.48. This put her third all-time in the event in SU history.
Other PRs on Saturday for the Raiders included Alvarado’s swim in the 100-yard backstroke, Angert in the 100-yard backstroke and Tothero in the 100-yard breaststroke. Nineteen SU swims on Saturday resulted in PSAC qualifying times.
For the men, Shaun Smith had a strong 200-yard butterfly, posting a time of 2:01.79, which is the fastest swim by a Raider in the event this season. Hamel and Jeff Beyer also had strong days on Saturday, as Hamel finished ninth in the 400-yard IM, while Beyer finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle.
Determined to finish Sunday with their strongest performance, the women delivered in the 200-yard backstroke, as O’Toole and Alvarado dominated, finishing first and second, respectively.
O’Toole won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:04.65, which slightly edged her previous PR. O’Toole remains in third-place all-time in the event. Meanwhile, Alvarado’s time of 2:05.17 edged her PR by nearly two seconds — keeping her fourth all-time in the event.
Angert also had a strong day, nearly cracking the Top 10 in the 100-yard freestyle. Angert finished the event in seventh-place with a PR of 53.86. Fife also had a non-relay PR in the event, finishing with a time of 54.15.
Ellis matched her PR in the 200-yard backstroke while a relay of Fife, O’Toole, Tothero, and Angert allowed Fife to earn a new PR in the first leg of the relay.
“This is one of the best Ithaca meets we’ve ever had,” head coach Tim Verge told SU Sports Information. “We scored and swam very well over all four sessions. We had some individuals who were consistent the entire meet.”
For the men, Beyer entered the SU Top 10 list with a 1,650-yard freestyle time of 16:22.48, moving him into 10th-place all-time.
Other notable finishes for SU on Sunday included Beck’s PR in the 200-yard breaststroke and Alex Gallagher’s 200-yard backstroke.
The Raiders will return home to Donald N. Miller Pool Jan. 14, where they will face off with Edinboro University on Senior Day.
RESULTS
Women’s Results:
Friday:
500 Free
1. Stephanie O'Toole 5:03.49 (NCAA 'B')
6. Carly Alvarado 5:15.00 (PSAC)
11. Lauren Ellis 5:18.88 (PSAC)
24. Jeanette Welch 5:31.20
McKenzie Johnson 5:46.46
200 IM
4. Sidney Owens 2:10.83 (PSAC)
5. Grace Tothero 2:11.10 (PSAC)
13. Rhyan Rodriguez 2:16.55 (PSAC)
Nicole Martorella 2:19.79
50 Free
4. Erin Fife 24.49 (PSAC)
9. MacKenna Angert 25.12 (PSAC)
16. Nollaig Noll 25.39 (PSAC)
19. Carly Alvarado 25.57 (PSAC)
Felicia Chopyak 25.82 (PSAC)
Sarah Strause 26.24
Kaytee Garcia 26.37
Sami Sabol 26.75
Kadie Weaver 27.27
Nicole Smith 27.69
Courtney Lawson 28.62
McKenzie Johnson 29.09
200 Medley Relay
2. Carly Alvarado, Nicole Martorella, Stephanie O'Toole, Erin Fife 1:46.67
Rhyan Rodriguez, Grace Tothero, Sidney Owens, MacKenna Angert 1:50.36
Sami Sabol, Sarah Strause, Nollaig Noll, Jeanette Welch 1:53.66
Saturday:
MORNING SESSION
200 Free Relay
1. Stephanie O'Toole, Erin Fife, Sidney Owens, Lauren Ellis 1:37.96
MacKenna Angert, Nollaig Noll, Carly Alvarado, Jeanette Welch 1:40.85
Sarah Strause, Felicia Chopyak, Grace Tothero, Sami Sabol 1:42.96
400 IM
9. Nicole Martorella 4:56.22 (PSAC)
13. Kaytee Garcia 5:01.41
100 Fly
1. Stephanie O'Toole 56.29 (PSAC)
2. Erin Fife 57.78 (PSAC)
3. Rhyan Rodriguez 58.96 (PSAC)
4. Sidney Owens 59.42 (PSAC)
9. Lauren Ellis 1:00.30 (PSAC)
10. Grace Tothero 1:00.35 (PSAC)
16. Nollaig Noll 1:01.00 (PSAC)
Nicole Smith 1:04.44
Sami Sabol 1:04.98
Kadie Weaver 1:06.48
200 Free
4. MacKenna Angert 1:56.35 (PSAC)
15. Jeanette Welch 2:00.95 (PSAC)
24. Felicia Chopyak 2:03.06
400 Medley Relay
2. Carly Alvarado, Stephanie O'Toole, Erin Fife, Grace Tothero 3:54.75
Rhyan Rodriguez, Nicole Martorella, Sydney Owens, Lauren Ellis 4:03.73
Sami Sabol, Sarah Strause, Nollaig Noll, MacKenna Angert 4:09.27
EVENING SESSION
200 Fly
1. Stephanie O'Toole 2:10.48 (PSAC)
9. Rhyan Rodriguez 2:16.66 (PSAC)
Kadie Weaver 2:36.30
100 Back
2. Carly Alvarado 58.66 (PSAC)
6. MacKenna Angert 1:00.00 (PSAC)
12. Lauren Ellis 1:02.16 (PSAC)
18. Jeanette Welch 1:03.36
20. Sami Sabol 1:03.50
McKenzie Johnson 1:05.81
Felicia Chopyak 1:07.86
Courtney Lawson 1:08.54
100 Breast
5. Nicole Martorella 1:06.29 (PSAC)
7. Grace Tothero 1:07.13 (PSAC)
14. Sidney Owens 1:10.40 (PSAC)
20. Sarah Strause 1:10.78 (PSAC)
23. Kaytee Garcia 1:12.93
Nollaig Noll 1:13.83
Courtney Lawson 1:22.87
Sunday:
1650 Free
13. Kaytee Garcia 18:44.01 (PSAC)
24. Sami Sabol 19:40.63
100 IM
3. Erin Fife 1:00.96
4. Sidney Owens 1:01.18
5. Grace Tothero 1:01.29
7. Nollaig Noll 1:02.17
10. Rhyan Rodriguez 1:03.27
13. Sarah Strause 1:04.09
14. Jeanette Welch 1:04.42
20. Nicole Smith 1:07.43
100 Free
7. MacKenna Angert 53.86 (PSAC)
10. Erin Fife 54.15 (PSAC)
17. Felicia Chopyak 55.63 (PSAC)
Kadie Weaver 58.03
Sarah Strause 58.72
Nicole Smith 59.57
Courtney Lawson 1:03.13
200 Back
1. Stephanie O'Toole 2:04.65 (PSAC)
2. Carly Alvarado 2:05.17 (PSAC)
7. Lauren Ellis 2:14.25 (PSAC)
24. McKenzie Johnson 2:23.15
200 Breast
2. Nicole Martorella 2:25.82 (PSAC)
400 Free Relay
3. Erin Fife, Stephanie O'Toole, Grace Tothero, MacKenna Angert 3:33.37
Lauren Ellis, Sidney Owens, Jeanette Welch, Carly Alvarado 3:38.25
Kadie Weaver, Kaytee Garcia, Nollaig Noll, Felicia Chopyak 3:48.79
Men’s Results:
Friday:
500 Free
8. Kristian Voulopos 4:48.18 (PSAC)
11. Christian Gamboa 4:51.50 (PSAC)
18. Nick Bloom 4:58.42 (PSAC)
Evan Anthony 5:17.53
200 IM
9. Callum Hamel 1:58.58 (PSAC)
12. Jeff Beyer 1:59.61 (PSAC)
20. Quinton Beck 2:01.58 (PSAC)
21. Shaun Smith 2:01.76 (PSAC)
Shane Kaliszewski 2:07.27
50 Free
5. Kristian Voulopos 21.64 (PSAC)
13. Adam Fox 22.18 (PSAC)
15. Evan Smith 22.44 (PSAC)
17. Tyler Clisham 22.48 (PSAC)
20. Mike Gyurisin 22.65 (PSAC)
22. Thomas Toscano 22.84
Alex Gallagher 23.50
Chandler Johnson 24.70
200 Medley Relay
3. Kristian Voulopos, Tyler Clisham, Shane Kaliszewski, Shaun Smith 1:37.10
Nick Bloom, Christian Gamboa, Adam Fox, Jeff Beyer 1:39.01
Saturday:
200 Free Relay
Thomas Toscano, Evan Smith, Nick Bloom, Quinton Beck 1:29.88
Christian Gamboa, Alex Gallagher, Tyler Clisham, Mike Gyurisin 1:30.40
Shaun Smith, Kristian Voulopos, Jeff Beyer, Adam Fox
400 IM
9. Callum Hamel 4:21.16 (PSAC)
17. Shane Kaliszewski 4:32.50
100 Fly
11. Nick Bloom 53.12 (PSAC)
18. Kristian Voulopos 54.05 (PSAC)
20. Tyler Clisham 54.66 (PSAC)
Quinton Beck 55.53
Alex Gallagher 56.21
Thomas Toscano 56.59
Chandler Johnson 58.10
Evan Anthony 1:00.61
200 Free
4. Jeff Beyer 1:44.15 (PSAC)
11. Christian Gamboa 1:47.53 (PSAC)
17. Shaun Smith 1:49.17 (PSAC)
Mike Gyurisin 1:54.41
400 Medley Relay
7. Kristian Voulopos, Tyler Clisham, Shane Kaliszewski, Shaun Smith 3:36.14
Alex Gallagher, Christian Gamboa, Adam Fox, Jeff Beyer 3:41.30
EVENING SESSION
200 Fly
12. Shaun Smith 2:01.79 (PSAC)
16. Shane Kaliszewski 2:05.09 (PSAC)
100 Back
14. Nick Bloom 54.04 (PSAC)
19. Thomas Toscano 55.49 (PSAC)
22. Alex Gallagher 56.20 (PSAC)
23. Evan Smith 56.61
Adam Fox 57.47
Jeff Beyer 57.77
Chandler Johnson 1:02.03
Evan Anthony 1:02.18
100 Breast
8. Callum Hamel 59.95 (PSAC)
12. Christian Gamboa 1:00.92 (PSAC)
16. Evan Smith 1:02.06 (PSAC)
Adam Fox 1:03.35
Mike Gyurisin 1:06.41
Sunday:
1650 Free
1. Jeff Beyer 16:22.48 (PSAC)
100 IM
4. Kristian Voulopos 54.12
5. Nick Bloom 54.67
8. Quinton Beck 56.16
100 Free
10. Shaun Smith 48.09 (PSAC)
13. Adam Fox 48.39 (PSAC)
19. Evan Smith 49.59 (PSAC)
21, Thomas Toscano 50.11 (PSAC)
22. Shane Kaliszewski 50.13 (PSAC)
24. Mike Gyurisin 50.55
Chandler Johnson 53.19
200 Back
24. Alex Gallagher 2:07.12
Evan Anthony 2:12.76
200 Breast
4. Callum Hamel 2:10.31 (PSAC)
8. Quinton Beck 2:12.69 (PSAC)
11. Christian Gamboa 2:13.29 (PSAC)
400 Free Relay
3. Kristian Voulopos, Adam Fox, Jeff Beyer, Shaun Smith 3:10.39
Nick Bloom, Evan Smith, Shane Kaliszewski, Thomas Toscano 3:20.61
Alex Gallagher, Quinton Beck, Callum Hamel, Christian Gamboa 3:20.76
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