Richmond, Va. – Sophomore Matt Walchuck (Middletown, Md./Middletown) notched a gold medal in leading St. Mary's College of Maryland men's swimming on the final day of the Yellow Jacket Invitational on Saturday. The invitational is hosted by Randolph-Macon College at the Collegiate School Aquatics Center. The Seahawks finished seventh in the nine-team field.
Walchuck touched the wall first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.44, shaving 2.36 seconds off his seed time. Sophomore Andrew Braun (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) placed 18th in the same event in 1:53.40.
Junior Grant Burgess (Fallston, Md./Fallston) almost set a school record in the 1,650 freestyle. Burgess claimed a third-place finish with a time of 16:40.50 which was 0.07 seconds shy of the record (16:40.43) set by Joey Quase in 2006.
The foursome of Burgess, Walchuck, junior Michael Speer (Springfield, Va./West Springfield), and senior captain Bobby Witkop (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) finished fourth in the 800 freestyle relay in 7:16.83, dropping 3.27 seconds off their seed time.
Walchuck led the Seahawks with a seventh-place finish in the 100 freestyle in 48.68 while Speer came in 12th in 48.98. Sophomore Andrew Braker (Olney, Md./Sherwood) tallied a 25th-place finish in 50.75.
First-year Kieran Broder (Olney, Md./Georgetown Prep) collected an eighth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.56 to pace St. Mary's while senior captain Ryan Reis (Frederick, Md./Quince Orchard) took 26th in 1:06.22.
In the 200 butterfly, Burgess finished eighth in 2:01.54 while Witkop touched the wall in 2:02.26 for a 10th-place finish, dropping nearly seven seconds off his seed time. Junior Kian Karimi (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson) picked up a 12th-place finish in 2:02.68 while first-year Max Madden (Cape St. Clair, Md./Broadneck) notched a 19th-place finish in 2:05.78.
St. Mary's claimed a ninth-place finish in the 200 medley relay in 1:42.05 behind the efforts of junior Zach Lilley (Myersville, Md./Middletown), Broder, Witkop, and Speer. The Seahawks added a 10th-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:19.73.
Witkop guided the Seahawk charge in the 100 butterfly with an 11th-place finish in 55.11 followed by Lilley in 17th in 56.63 and Karimi in 19th in 57.11. First-year Lucas Delgado (Bowie, Md./Gonzaga) staked a 22nd-place finish in the same event in 57.43 while senior captain Chris Carpino (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) placed 26th in 58.27, nearly five seconds off his seed time.
Lilley paced St. Mary's in the 100 backstroke with an 11th-place finish in 56.19 while Braker claimed a 15th-place finish in 58.14. Senior Nathan Brocenos (Laurel, Md./Reservoir) picked up a 25th-place finish in 1:04.03.
Lilley added another 11th-place finish in the 200 backstroke in 2:04.96 while Braun collected his second 18th-place finish in 2:12.73. Brocenos finished out the meet with a 25th-place finish in 2:20.10. In the 200 breaststroke, Broder placed 11th in 2:19.90 while Reis came in 20th in 2:32.19.
Madden tallied a 12th-place finish in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:28.42 to lead the Seahawks' effort in that event.
St. Mary's won't be back in the pool until the New Year rings in when the Seahawks travel to Baltimore to face No. 5 Johns Hopkins University at 3:30 p.m.
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