KINGSTON, R.I.-Jared Hyde set a new pool record in the 200 IM as the Keene State College swimming and diving teams posted impressive results at the start of the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association Championships at the University of Rhode Island on Friday.
The Owl women won five events on Friday, and finished in the top three in all eight swimming events. KSC finished day one with 621.50 points, well ahead of Roger Williams University, who was in second with 443.
The finals began with KSC posting a dominant time in the 200 freestyle relay, as Taylor DaSilva (Stony Brook, N.Y.), Lexi Houser (New Hope, Pa.), Brianna Laliberte (Candia, N.H.), and Alison Bartlett (Stratham, N.H.) won in a time of 1:36.61 for a near three second victory. Bartlett, Houser, and DaSilva were joined by Diana Pimer (West Haven, Conn.) in winning the 400 medley relay in 3:59.05.
Bartlett hit an NCAA B-Cut time by winning the 50 freestyle in 23.84 seconds, a season best. Caity Shea (Salem, N.H.) picked up a win in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:12.19, while Houser nabbed an individual victory in the 100 butterfly in 59.41 seconds, with teammate Madison Sestak (Liverpool, N.Y.) right behind in 59.71.
Shannon Summers (Keene, N.H.) placed seventh in the three meter dive with a score of 301.90.
KSC's men's team picked up seven of the eight wins on offer on Friday, totaling up 383 points on day one for a 173 point lead over Roger Williams.
Hyde (Tolland, Conn.) cruised to a win in the 200 yard IM in 1:51.76, finishing nearly eight seconds ahead of second placed Daniel Fauber of Gordon College. Hyde was also a part of both winning relays, teaming with James Black (Lynn, Mass.), Ryan Boraski (North Attleboro, Mass.), and Greg Youngstrom (West Hartford, Conn.) to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:22.09, and again with Youngstrom, Randy Dunton (St. Cloud, Fla.) and Dan Olivieira (Ludlow, Mass.) in the 400 medley relay, which posted a near 10 second victory in 3:22.98.
Drew Ledwith (Keene, N.H.) helped KSC sweep the top five places in the 500 yard freestyle with a tie of 4:29.00, followed by Alexander Turner (Lakeville, Mass.), Graham Lott (Gloucester, Mass.), Shahar Resman (Ashdod, Israel), and Matthew Ahlberg (Glastonbury, Conn.).
Oliveira won the 100 butterfly in 50.78 seconds, as KSC had four of the top five finishers in that event, while Dunton and Mark Strothenke (New Paltz, N.Y.) went 1-2 in the 200 backstroke. Dunton touched the wall first in 1:52.52.
The Owls also swept the top four places in the 50 yard freestyle, starting with Black's win in 21.18, with Youngstrom just behind in 21.26, and Boraski (21.36) and Harrison Hollingsworth (Derry, N.H.) (21.69) in third and fourth, respectively.
Josh Tuller (Plainview, N.Y.) and Cody Fitzgerald (Concord, Mass.) placed third and fourth on the 1-meter board; Tuller scored 392.95, while Fitzgerald scored 383.85.
Competition resumes on Saturday with preliminary events beginning at 10 am.
