Cleveland State Opens Action at OSU Winter Invite

Cleveland State Opens Action at OSU Winter Invite

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Cleveland State University men's and women's swimming & diving programs opened action in the Ohio State Winter Invitational Saturday inside the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.

Eight Vikings combined for career best times in 12 events on the first day of the final meet in advance of the Horizon League Championships.

Sophomore Austin Spruill posted a pair of top-10 finishes Saturday while resetting career best times in two events. He was 10th of 24 competitors in the 100 butterfly in 51.51 seconds after tallying a new career best in the prelims (50.65). Spruill was ninth in the 100 backstroke in 52.48 seconds after again resetting his career best in the preliminaries (51.23).

Sophomore Spencer Tretter finished 13th of 27 competitors in the 100 freestyle in 47.02 seconds, a new career best. Classmate Ryan Sedlak was 16th in 47.64 seconds after setting a career best in the prelims (47.58). Tretter also set a new career best in the 100 breaststroke in 58.47 seconds as he finished 12th. He finished right behind junior Ryan Johnson, who was 11th in a season-best time of 57.27 seconds.

Freshman Josh Hodges also set a career best in the 100 breaststroke preliminaries but did not contest the finals. Hodges finished 10th in the 400 IM in a career best time of 4:06.65.

Freshman Liam Halpin set a career best in the 500 freestyle prelims (4:45.84) but did swim in the finals.

CSU's 200 medley relay team took fourth in 1:34.20. Spruill led off and was followed by Johnson, freshman Patrick Lance and Sedlak.

On the women's side, freshman Shaw Barney reset career bests in two events. She was 12th of 20 swimmers in the 100 backstroke in 58.35 seconds. She was also 11th of 20 in the 100 fly prelims in 57.56, over two seconds better than her prior career best, before scratching out of the finals.

Sophomore Lauren Frank and junior Emma Flynn both set season bests in the preliminaries in the 100 fly and finished 14th and 15th respectively (1:00.34, 1:01.12).

Freshmen Dana Bender and Amelia Besterman both shattered their career bests in the 400 IM as they finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Bedner finished in 4:36.07 and Besterman stopped the clock in 4:40.73, as both were over three seconds faster than their prior career best.

Junior Kimberly Jimenez was CSU's top finisher in the 100 freestyle in a season-best time of 53.25 seconds, taking 22nd of 36 competitors. Frank was 26th in a season-best 54.27 seconds.

CSU took third in the 200 medley relay in 1:48.58. Bender, Barney, Frank and Jimenez comprised the quartet.

The meet will conclude Sunday with seven more individual events and two relays for each gender.