CHICAGO/SAN ANTONIO: The Trinity University swimming and diving men's team had a very successful weekend. The team was split between the D3 Shootout at the University of Chicago, where it competed against nine other Division III teams, and a dual meet against the University of St. Thomas (Texas).
D3 Shootout Results
The men placed sixth at the D3 Shootout with 480 points over the two days of competition. The meet began with the 400 medley relay swum by Jack Hester (Round Rock, Texas / Cedar Ridge), Daniel Apostol (Billings, Mont. / Central Catholic), Nickolas Rotolo (Houston, Texas / Cairo American College) and Luke Fender (Jackson, Miss. / St. Andrew's Episcopal). The team took fifth place in 3:22.31, more than a second faster than last year's seventh-place swim.
Fender then raced the 500 freestyle, finishing ninth in 4:44.87, while Theodore Ho (Sugar Land, Texas / Clements) placed 14th in 4:41.81. Ho returned in the 200 breaststroke, taking 14th in 2:08.63, and freshman Ethan Lim (Frisco, Texas / Frisco) put together a standout swim to finish fourth in 2:05.33. Hester also placed fourth in the 200 backstroke with a 1:51.48, and Phillip Mu (San Antonio, Texas / Alamo Heights) followed in 13th with a 1:53.12.
Rotolo placed ninth in the 100 fly in 51.45, and Apollo Aceves (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. / Trabuco Hills) took 15th in 51.22. In the 100 freestyle, Fender placed ninth in 46.73, and Daniel Apostol (Billings, Mont. / Central Catholic) placed 19th in 47.43.
In diving, Aiden Musella (Corpus Christi, Texas / King) finished eighth on the one meter with a score of 266.35.
The Tigers closed the meet with the 200 freestyle relay of Mu, Rotolo, Apostol, and Hester. They finished seventh in 1:24.67, faster than last year's 1:24.90.
Results – St. Thomas
The Tigers who stayed in San Antonio swept the top three spots in four events to win 173-74. Trinity won 11 of the 14 events.
The meet opened with the 400 medley relay, where EJ Redson (Monrovia, Calif. / Maranatha), Jack Lynch (Fayetteville, Ga. / Starr's Mill), Jacob Sityar (Mansfield, Texas / Lake Ridge) and Nathan Perez (Alpharetta, Ga. / Johns Creek) won in 3:31.22.
Jonathan Renninger (Port Orchard, Wash. / Olympic) won the 400 IM in 4:16.30, with Austin Wickboldt (Houston, Texas / Cypress Creek) and Lumsdaine behind him for a Trinity sweep. Jason Allen (Springfield, Mo. / Springfield) won the 200 freestyle in 1:45.51, with Sean Easley (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) second in 1:46.61.
Caleb Del Rosario (Sudbury, Mass. / Lincoln-Sudbury) led a Trinity sweep of the 100 breaststroke in 59.11, ahead of Lynch (59.95) and Harry Davis (The Woodlands, TX) (1:01.67). Trace Briones (San Antonio, Texas / Health Careers) then led another sweep in the 50 freestyle in 21.36, with Chase Hays (Austin, Texas / Anderson) and Jaden Ferguson (Corpus Christi, Texas / Flour Bluff) following. Additionally, Hays won the 100 freestyle in 47.45, with Ian Truong (Tulsa, Okla. / Jenks) second.
As for the 200 backstroke and breaststroke, Davis won the 200 backstroke in 1:59.25, and Lynch won the 200 breaststroke in 2:10.62 with Lumsdaine second.
In distance events, Wickboldt won the 500 freestyle in 4:51.03 with Easley second. Renninger closed the individual events by winning the 100 IM in 53.66, ahead of Del Rosario and Davis for a final sweep.
The Tigers' 200 freestyle relay of Truong, Briones, Hays and Perez finished second in 1:26.61, just 0.11 seconds behind Saint Thomas's winning relay.
Looking Forward:
The Tigers are now gearing up to compete at their midseason meet, the Tiger Invite. This weekend's performances will likely give them extra confidence and set them up for exciting performances to come.
