HAMPTON, Va. – The Salisbury University men's swimming team made it back-to-back Yellow Jacket Invitational titles, leaving no doubt on day three-of-three in the water on Sunday afternoon at the Hampton Aquaplex.
The Sea Gulls finished the weekend gauntlet with 1,052 points, towering above the field of eight teams and finishing nearly 700 points better than second-place Washington & Lee (817). It marks the Salisbury men's third midseason invitational championship in four seasons; in addition to last year's Yellow Jacket title, SU claimed the Cougar Splash Invitational crown in Nov. 2022.
PRELIMS
- Finalists in the 200-yard backstroke: Everett Rachael (1:50.70, 1st), Lucas Mitchell (1:51.97, 2nd), Gabe Erb (1:54.00, 4th), Mark Dattilio (1:54.74, 6th).
- Finalists in the 100 freestyle: Mason Potts (45.52, 2nd), Owen Brewer (45.82, 3rd), Michael DeSimone (46.12, 5th), Themo Rigakos (46.25, 6th).
- Finalists in the 200 breaststroke: Dominic Kazzi (2:04.19, 1st), Brady Wolf (2:05.47, 3rd), Michael Paulos (2:08.58, 8th), Aidan Loehr (2:09.71, 11th).
- Finalists in the 200 butterfly: Logan Edge (1:50.11, 1st), Cameron Byrd (1:50.40, 2nd), Shane Hall (1:54.16, 4th), Mitchell (1:56.08, 5th).
FINALS
- Owen Mahoney led a Sea Gull sweep of the podium in the 1,650 free, touching first in 15:58.96. Matt Merke finished second in 16:01.58, while Ethan Lloyd (16:18.16) took third.
- Everett Rachael (1:49.70) and Lucas Mitchell (1:51.44) finished one-two in the 200 back, while Mark Dattilio (1:54.02) just missed the podium in fourth.
- Owen Brewer claimed gold in the 100 free in 45.35 seconds, while Mason Potts (45.67) secured the bronze.
- Brady Wolf (2:03.69) and Dominic Kazzi (2:03.75) dueled each other for the gold in the 200 breast, with Wolf taking the mark and Kazzi settling for silver.
- Cameron Byrd (1:49.96) locked down gold in the 200 fly, leading a pack of four SU swimmers who finished in the top five, including Logan Edge (1:50.50) in second.
- Salisbury closed the weekend with gold and bronze in the 400 free relay. The A-team of Rachael, Potts, Michael DeSimone, and Brewer outfoxed W&L by eight hundredths of a second with a winning mark of 3:00.84. The B-side (Byrd, Kyle Skelly, Kazzi, Themo Rigakos) placed third in 3:04.82.
PROGRAM RECORDS
WEEKEND WRAP-UP
- The Sea Gulls won gold medals in 13 of 18 events and captured a grand total of 38 of a possible 54 medals, good for over 70 percent of all podium positions.
- Mason Potts medaled a team-leading seven times, winning five golds.
- Per Swimcloud, SU produced nine of the top 10 swimmers over the weekend. Potts and Owen Mahoney tied for the team lead with 62 points each.
After competing for four straight weekends and five of the past six, Salisbury is off the next weekend before hosting Division I UMBC in its final action before the midseason hiatus. First events from Maggs Pool on Saturday, Dec. 6, are set for 1 p.m.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 206 conference championships, and have produced 53 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
