Men’s Swimming comes up short at Towson

The Hopkins men’s swim team was in action this past Saturday, Jan. 24 at Towson University. Sophomores Andrew Greenhalgh and Evan Holder both won a pair of events at the meet, though the overall result was a loss for the Blue Jays away from home.

Freshman Mark Wilson, sophomores Evan Holder and Jeremy Bauchwitz, and senior Greg Kogut helped Hopkins to a second place finish in the 200 medley relay. The four combined for a time of 1:33.40, missing out on a first place finish by only 0.22. Following close behind were freshmen Kyle Otazu and Michael Ashmead, sophomore Brian Pon, and senior Dylan Davis, who finished in third place with a time of 1:37.01.

Greenhalgh then began his winning night as he won the 1000 free by over 16 seconds faster than the second place finisher. He set the second fastest time in program history, clocking in at 9:17.99. Holder then followed suit with the first of his two wins, as he won the 200 free with an NCAA Provisional Time 1:40.65.

Senior Dylan Davis and sophomore Patrick Flynn touched the wall second and third in the 100 backstroke, with Davis coming in at 54.60, with Flynn right on his heels at 54.93. The 100 breaststroke saw more Jays place in the top three, as sophomore Bryan Pon clocked in at 59.52, a time good enough for third place. He just beat out teammate Holder and Towson’s Ryan Martin, both of whom finished within half a second of Pon.

Senior Greg Kogut was able to earn an NCAA Provisional Time in the 200 fly, earning it with a time of 1:53.02, the fastest time of any Jay in that race. The 50 free saw even more Jays place with top three honors, as sophomore Jeremy Bauchwitz placed second with a time of 21.61 and freshman Michael Ashmead took third with a time of 21.86. Bauchwitz continued his top three pursuit with a second place finish in the 100 free with a time of 47.21.

Freshman Andrew Gibson then continued the theme of top three finishes as he earned a third place finish with a time of 1:56.57 in the 200 backstroke. Sophomore Scott Sterrett also swam his way to a third place finish, this time in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:10.17. Greenhalgh then got back to his winning ways, as he outswam his competition in the 500 free, doing so in the winning time of 4:33.99. The Jays also had third and fourth place finishers in the 500 free, with Otazu grabbing fourth in 4:47.33 and sophomore Josh Hughes earning third place honors with 4:46.80.

A time of 50.68 was good enough for Kogut to earn second place in the 100 Fly, continuing the trend of top three finishes for Hopkins. Freshmen Jan Hagermeister and Austin Wilson finished in third and fourth place, respectively, with times of 53.96 and 55.58, respectively. Holder then went on to earn his second win of the night, taking top honors from the 200 individual medley. The race also earned him an NCAA Provisional Time of 1:53.08, beating out all other competitors by more than four and a half seconds. 

Freshman Mark Wilson also got into the top three, earning third place with a time of 1:59.57. Senior Ryan Cunningham earned fourth place with a time of 2:01.52. In the final event of the meet, the Jays took second place in the 400 free relay. Ashmead, Bauchwitz, Kogut and Otazu finished in 3:08.30. In third place, the team of Flynn, Greenhalgh, senior Aaron Katrikh and Cunningham finished with a time of 3:18.48.

These stellar results came less than a week after Greenhalgh was named the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmer of the Week for his races in a Hopkins win over St. Mary’s and Stevens. He earned the honor for the second time this year. The team’s result against Towson moves it to 5-3 on the season, with Towson improving to 8-1.

Hopkins will be back in the pool on Friday, Jan, 30 as it hosts Mary Washington, at a meet scheduled for 5 p.m.