CHICAGO – The 23rd-ranked Tiger men's swimming & diving team is in fifth place after the opening day of competition up against a strong field of nationally-ranked teams at the D-III Shootout, which is hosted by sixth-ranked University of Chicago.
The hosts are in the lead by just over 60 points ahead of eighth-ranked Washington-St. Louis University. Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Hope College, ranked 13th and 16th, respectively, are just ahead of the 199 points scored by Trinity on day one. The Tigers are less than 25 points from second place after Friday's events.
First-year John Key (El Paso, Texas / Franklin) scored a pair of solid times in two individual events and capped the evening by running the anchor leg of Trinity's 800 free relay team that finished fifth in a time of 6:57.22. That time places the relay team also comprised of juniors Michael Kohl (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) and Nathaniel Early (Austin, Texas / Westwood), along with first-year William Walker (Houston, Texas / Westside). Key was also fourth in today's 400 individual medley in a time of 4:06.15 that puts him fifth in school history in that event. He also placed ninth on the Tiger all-time list with his time of 58.70 seconds in the 100 breaststroke.
Kohl also finished second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.90 seconds that was just 0.16 seconds from the gold. He later raced to a 12th-place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 52.39 seconds.
Also earning a second-place finish in today's meet was junior diver Konstantine Partalas (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan), who scored 243.10 points in the 1-meter competition.
Before his part in the 800 free relay, Walker also had some nice individual results in both the 200 free and the 200 butterfly. Walker finished the 200 free in 1:44.17 and was seventh in the 200 fly with a time of 1:58.36. Junior John Fontenot (Austin, Texas / St. Andrew's) also completed the 200 fly in 1:58.95 for the Tigers.
The meet started with the 200 medley relay that featured veterans Matteo Lanzara (Moraga, Calif. / Campolindo), Kendal Southwell (Rio Rancho, N.M. / Calvert Online Academy), Caleb Manifold (Helotes, Texas / Homeschool), and Early. Lanzara, Manifold, and Early are all juniors this season, with Southwell competing in his senior year for the Tigers. The Trinity relay team finished fifth in 1:32.97 on Friday, which is also ninth on Trinity's all-time list.
Lanzara went on to compete in the 400 IM (4:15.89) and the 100 back – finishing fourth in the backstroke event in just 51.19 seconds. Southwell and Early both earned a pair of fifth-place individual finishes as well. Southwell was fifth in the 100 breast in 58.21 seconds, while Early touched the pad in 1:41.79 for fifth place in the 200 free. Manifold raced in the "B" final of the 50 free in 22.08 seconds – just over a second behind Kohl's time.
Up Next
The Tiger team will complete the D-III Shootout on Saturday, with swimming events starting at 11:30 a.m.
