Richmond, Va. – St. Mary's College of Maryland men's swimming collected strong performances in Session #1 of the Yellow Jacket Invitational Friday evening. The invitational is hosted by Randolph-Macon College at the Collegiate School Aquatics Center. The Seahawks are currently seventh in the nine-team field.

Junior Grant Burgess (Fallston, Md./Fallston) nabbed the Seahawks' highest finish of the night as Burgess came in third in the 500 freestyle in 4:50.72, dropping 4.07 seconds off his seed time. Sophomore Matt Walchuck (Middletown, Md./Middletown) notched an 11th-place finish in 4:56.17 while first-year Max Madden (Cape St. Clair, Md./Broadneck) came in 16th-place in 4:59.59.

The foursome of junior Zach Lilley (Myersville, Md./Middletown), first-year Kieran Broder (Olney, Md./Georgetown Prep), Burgess, and junior Michael Speer (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) picked up a seventh-place finish in the 400 medley relay in 3:40.77, shaving 2.42 seconds off their seed time.

Sophomore Andrew Braker (Olney, Md./Sherwood), Lilley, senior captain Bobby Witkop (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase), and Speer teamed up for an eighth-place finish in 1:30.32, knocking 1.37 seconds off the seed time.

Speer paced St. Mary's in the 50 freestyle with a 13th-place finish in 22.60 while Braker tallied a 26th-place in 23.27. Senior captain Ryan Reis (Frederick, Md./Quince Orchard) claimed 37th with his time of 23.99.

The Seahawks were led in the 200 individual medley by Witkop as he collected a 15th-place finish in 2:05.28 after dropping 1.37 seconds off his seed time. First-year Lucas Delgado (Bowie, Md./Gonzaga) touched the wall in 2:10.79, a 3.00 second improvement over his seed time, for a 26th-place finish.

St. Mary's will wrap up action at the Yellow Jacket Invitational tomorrow, starting at 8:45 a.m., with two more sessions.

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