AKRON, Ohio – The Cornell men's swimming and diving team's strong showing at the Zippy Invitational continued on Saturday, as the Big Red clocked four all-time top-10 times in Cornell history on the second day of the meet at Akron's Ocasek Natatorium in Akron, Ohio.
Senior distance freestyle specialist Jake Lawson was among those that cracked the Big Red's all-time top-10 list, this time, in an event slightly outside his norm. Lawson, along with Jack Valiquette, made the A Final of the 400 IM, swimming his way to a third-place finish in 3:53.98. The time sits seventh in Cornell history. Valiquette touched the wall in 3:59.99 to place seventh, having posted a time of 3:55.23 in prelims to make the cut for the A Final.
Lawson also made the A Final of the 200 freestyle, leading a Big Red group that went 8-9-10 in the event. Lawson's time of 1:45.80 was good for eighth, with the senior having notched a time of 1:39.66 in prelims. Ricardo Martinez won the B Final in 1:39.79 to finish ninth overall, while Dominic Edwards placed just behind in 10th in 1:39.80.
Jeremy Marcin joined Lawson in making Cornell's all-time top-10 list on Saturday, as the junior made the A Final of the 100 butterfly and secured a top-three finish, placing third with the eighth-fastest time in the Big Red record books (48.24). Freshman Sebastian Wolff won the B Final of the event, finishing the race in 48.76 to finish ninth overall.
The 100 butterfly was one of two events in which Wolff won the B Final, as he also finished ninth in the 100 breaststroke in 54.88. He was a part of a Big Red group that placed four swimmers in the top-11 of the event, headlined by Jacob Bass' sixth-place finish in 54.73. Just as impressive, Bass' preliminary time of 54.66 ranks sixth all-time in Cornell history. Valiquette joined Bass in the A Final, his second of the day, placing eighth with a time of 55.85. Jack Casey finished 11th overall in 55.67.
In the diving events, the Big Red had all-four divers qualify for finals for the second-consecutive day, going 3-4-5-8 in the 1-meter competition. Jameson Crandell once again paced Cornell, finishing third with 285.95 points. Soodong Kim (279.25) and Matthew Warren (274.30) rounded out the top-five, placing fourth and fifth, respectively. Gabe Hartmann placed eighth with a total of 254.80 points.
Back in the swimming events, sophomore Logan Holt made the A Final of the 100 backstroke, clocking in at 49.42 to finish eighth. It's only a matter of time before Holt posts a Cornell all-time top-10 mark of his own in the event, with his time on Saturday falling just .01 seconds off the list.
The Big Red placed fourth overall in both relay events of the day, highlighted by the 200 medley relay team recording the eighth-fastest time in the Big Red record books (1:28.94). Holt, Bass, Marcin, and Wolff proved to be a strong combination in the race. Joseph Gurski, Lawson, Edwards, and Martinez teamed up in the 800 freestyle relay, finishing the race in 6:40.72.
After two days of competition, Cornell remains in second place with 1,219 points, leading third-place Oakland (983.50) by 235.50 points. Penn leads the seven-team field with 1,625.50 points.
The third and final day of the Zippy Invitational will commence for the Cornell men's swimming and diving team on Sunday. Prelims are slotted for a 9 a.m. start, with finals following at 4 p.m.
