GRINNELL, Iowa –
Josh Wu's (So./Germantown, Wis./Germantown) victory in the 200-yard freestyle highlighted 13 top-10 finishes for the Carleton College men's swimming & diving team on Day 2 of the Pioneer Classic. The Knights concluded the meet in third place out of eight teams.
"A primary goal for the teams this week, both in the pool and on the boards, was to push and challenge them with focused and heavy training prior to heading into meets where they would have strong competition and the fullest competitive event schedules they have experienced since fall of 2019," said Carleton head coach
Andy Clark. "We are at the halfway point in our season, and the competition that both the swimmers and divers had was an ideal check point for them to see where they are in terms of their skill, fitness, diving and racing abilities, and mentality to be consistent in their approach and execution. Overall, the teams did extremely well and while there were some challenging moments, I think the efforts and results we saw were a good indication of the potential that both squads have for stronger performances when we head into the championship season."
Saturday began with a sixth-place result for the Knights in the 200-yard medley relay.
Ethan Tun (Fy./Potomac, Md./Landon),
Kevin Chen (Jr./Normal, Ill./Normal Community),
Sam Glaubitz (So./Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca), and Wu combined on a time of 1:39.79.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Wu reached the wall in 1:46.83, more than three seconds better than his seed time.
Ian Scott (So./Seattle, Wash./Garfield) was ninth in the same event with a time of 1:50.53.
The next event, the 100-yard breaststroke, saw Chen tie for 10th place as he covered the distance in 1:01.96.
Tun was eighth in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing at 55.60.
The 1650-yard freestyle saw
Byron Jia (So./Minnetonka, Minn./Breck) turn in a sixth-place result, covering the mile in 18:00.03.
The 100-yard IM saw three Knights rank among the top-10 finishers. Tun was third at 54.75, Wu took fourth at 55.01, and
Carl Zhang (Jr./Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) placed ninth at 56.12.
Zhang was right back in the water for the next event, taking sixth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:01.62.
Wu turned in his third top-5 result of the day when he was the runner up in the 100-yard freestyle after clocking a time of 47.81
The 200-yard butterfly saw
Sean Smith (Fy./Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee) turn in a sixth-place finish as he reached the wall at 2:05.04.
The meet concluded with the 400-yard freestyle relay. Carleton's top entry placed fourth as Scott,
Aidan Jalili (Fy./Burlington, Vt./Lawrenceville), Glaubitz, and Wu posted a time of 3:15.72.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton prepares for its regular Winter Break Training Trip. This year the Knights will be in the Florida Keys from December 7-15.
Friday's Recap
