The Elizabethtown Blue Jays swim team had their first home meet on Oct. 24 against their Landmark Conference opponent in Goucher University and non-conference Immaculata University. The men’s swim team came into the meet 1-1, putting together a dominant 133-45 victory against Lycoming College after losing against Susquehanna University in their first meet of the season. The women’s team is off to a similar start, losing to Susquehanna in their first meet and putting together a strong performance against Lycoming with a 144-46 win.
The men’s 200 medley relay team, composed of sophomore Michael Tittermary, senior Garren McKenzie, sophomore Marco Niosi and senior Austin Smith, took care of business, winning the event over the other two schools. The Blue Jays were able to capture the victory in the 1000 free, led by senior Leif Hoffman with a time of 11:10, followed by graduate Griffen MacLaren who finished second. In the 200 free, Hoffman picked up second place for the Blue Jays, followed by first-year Cameron Stambaugh who picked up third.
Etown displayed some dominance in the 50 free as they finished first through fourth, with Tittermary leading the charge. Sophomore Barron Bishop picked up first place in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 28.66. Niosi led the Blue Jays in the 100 fly, scoring a second place with first-year Billy Bartolomei picking up third. Smith began the string of first-place finishes for Etown, winning the 50 free with Tittermary right behind him. Niosi won the 100 free event, and Hoffman took the 100 back event. In the 100 breaststroke, Bishop and Smith finished one and two, leading the rest of the field. In the 500 free, Bartolomei finished first with a time of 5:40 followed by sophomore Noah Lynch who picked up second. To round out the day, Hoffman, McKenzie, junior Paul Davis and Niosi won the 200 free relay, giving the Blue Jays a victory over Goucher 182-48 and over Immaculata 183-57.
The women’s team performed similarly, opening the meet with a 200 medley relay victory with the team of senior Kaylee Blair, senior Emma Sabalaske, senior Hailey Poulos, and first-year Katarina Linde picking up the win. First-year Olivia Goldman-Smith took second for the Blue Jays in the 1000 free with a time of 13:08. Poulos picked up second in the 200 free and Blair took the victory in the 50 back event, followed by first-year Emma Paul. Sabalaske took the win over Linde in the 50 breaststroke, beating her teammate by a game of inches. Poulos continued picking up strong finishes, winning the 100 fly with senior Jordyn Dutko finishing third. Sabalaske won the 100 free with a time of 1:00 and got another victory in the 100 backstroke, with Midura finishing second behind her. Blair won the 500 free event with Poulos right behind in second. Finishing the meet strong, Blair, Paul, junior Maya Veiss, and first-year Maura Swab won the 200 free relay. The Blue Jays were able to take down Goucher 171-49 and Immaculata 148-99.
The Blue Jays will swim next at Lebanon Valley College on Nov. 1 on the road. Their next home swim meet will be against Catholic University on Nov. 15.
