GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men's swimming and diving team picked up a victory in the team's first dual meet of the season, a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) clash against Ohio Wesleyan University. The Owls welcomed the Battling Bishops to the Steen Aquatic Center on Friday evening, and Kenyon whipped up a 180-21 victory to start the season with a 1-0 dual record.
The Owls dominated the dual, winning every event and taking the top three spots in every event where Kenyon had three competitors. Ohio Wesleyan racked up a second-place finish, but the podium was otherwise held by the home team.
A pair of juniors had the most individual success for Kenyon. Both Kirill Sidorko and Owen Peterson picked up a pair of first-place finishes. Sidorko secured wins in two swimming events, while Peterson paced the Owls in both diving events. In the lanes, Sidorko's wins came in the 200-yard individual medley (1:53.62) and 50-yard breaststroke (26.42). On the boards, Peterson tallied 299.40 points over six dives on the one-meter board and edged out teammate James Lackner by a little over six points from three meters up, 243.45-236.85.
Andre McCloud, Sam Miller, and Nicholas Theodos highlighted Kenyon's relay racers as the trio teamed up on each of the winning relay quartets. Joined by Djordje Dragojlovic, the Kenyon B squad started the night with a win in the 400-yard medley relay, touching a couple of seconds ahead of the Kenyon A team at 3:32.12. In the evening's final race, the three Owls joined with Teo Jaworski on another Kenyon B team, beating the A squad with a time of 3:12.35.
A different Owl won each of the remaining individual events. Sophomore Roman Savage started things off with a win in the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.75), while first-year Spencer Stluka followed up with a winning 50-yard freestyle time of 21.33. Fellow first-year Neil Abrahamson placed second behind Stluka in the freestyle sprint (21.82), but Abrahamson clinched first in the 50-yard butterfly at 22.88.
Jaworski, a junior, touched 1.7 seconds ahead of OWU's Nathan Ambler in the 100-yard freestyle at 48.10. First-year Charlie Green paced the field in the 50-yard backstroke at 24.55, which was followed by the night's longest race, the 500-yard freestyle, which was won by junior Ethan Manske, who paced the field by over 11 seconds at 4:39.02.
With their first dual meet in the books, the Owls will quickly look to double their dual meet wins when they hop back in the pool in a few hours. Kenyon will welcome No. 8-ranked Denison University to Gambier at 10 a.m. tomorrow for another NCAC dual matchup at the Steen Aquatic Center. The Owls will be looking for a fifth straight regular-season win against the Big Red. Last year, Kenyon knocked off Denison 151-147 in a dual meet before holding off the Big Red for a second straight NCAC Championship.
