Marshall Swimming and Diving bested the competition with 1,483 points and outlasted host West Virginia University by a margin of 73 points on Saturday, Oct. 5, to solidify its title as back-to-back champions of the West Virginia Games.
“As a team, we wanted to come in and defend our title from last year. Starting off the season with a win is always exciting, and it gives us an extra boost in preparation and training for the next meet,” swimmer Audrey West said. “We hope to continue building off success and find ways to get better as we move throughout the season.”
The Herd won six events on day two of the meet. Grace Kelsheimer qualified for the NCAA Diving Zones in the women’s 1-meter diving, scoring 294.15. Molly Warner tallied two wins in the women’s 200-yard Individual Medley and 200-yard Backstroke.
“Grace had another banner day and got her second NCAA Zone standard on 1-meter,” head coach Ian Walsh said. “Molly had a phenomenal day, tripling the 200 Back, 500 Free and 200 IM, winning the 200 Back and 200 IM.”
Victories continued to pile up for the Herd, first in the women’s 400-yard Medley Relay with the team consisting of Kseniia Luniushina, West, Madeline Hart and Warner. The quartet of Hart, Luniushina, Mia McBride and Parker Lynch wrapped up the event with a win in the women’s 200-yard Freestyle Relay.
“The first event on Saturday morning comes from how we as a team carry our energy from the night session to the next morning,” West said. “We wanted to execute our best possible relay legs for each other knowing that big points come from scoring relays and have fun while doing it.”
Marshall continued to dominate the competition in the women’s 200-yard Breaststroke, with the team taking five of the six top spots. Paige Banton took the top spot with Jenna Bopp placing second, Madelyn Akin in third, West in fourth and Eszter Laban in sixth.
The Herd returns to action on Oct. 18 in the Steel City of Pittsburgh to face off against Duquesne.
Joseph DiCristofaro can be contacted at [email protected].
