Tweet

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech swimming and diving program kicked off day one of the H₂Okie Fall Invitational winning nine of the 12 events to lead the five teams on Thursday at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. Senior Heather Savage and sophomore Kaylea Arnett remained undefeated on the season, winning the 50 freestyle and 3-meter, respectively.

Arnett’s 3-meter score of 377.35 broke the CAC record as well as the Virginia Tech record, which were set back in March at the 2012 ACC Championships here in Christiansburg.

The Tech women head into day two first with a total of 430 points, while South Carolina follows with 244. With a score of 159, William & Mary is third and Liberty and Connecticut round out the bottom with 156 and139, respectively.

For the men, the No. 15 H₂Okies sit first with a score of 449.5, while the No. 21 Gamecocks follow second with 324.5. The Huskies are third with 162 and the Tribe rounds out the pack with 119.

The H₂Okies started out strong, taking the first women’s event. The women’s 200 freestyle relay team of Katarina Filova, Heather Savage, Emily Ryczek and Margaret Parcell placed first with a NCAA B standard time of 1:30.90 to claim its first title of the night.

The men matched the women, as the quartet of Zach McGinnis, Joe Bonk, Greg Mahon and Emmett Dignan swam a B standard 1:19.49 to claim the 200 freestyle relay as well.

Laura Simon took second in the first individual race for the H₂Okies as she touched the wall at the 4:52.37 mark of the women’s 500 freestyle. Rachel Sepanski (4:57.30), Becky Flora (4:58.42), Katie Rogers (5:00.03), Gabrielle Bishop (5:00.37) and Katarina Filova (5:03.07) all closed the championship heat with placing fourth through eighth, respectively.

Greg Mahon was the next event winner for the H₂Okies. The senior swam a time of 1:48.98 for his first NCAA qualifying B standard time. Four Tech men followed to go 1-2-3-4-5 in the event.

Tech swept the 50 freestyle events. Savage continues to be undefeated this season, as the senior swam her second B standard time today, touching the wall at the 22.78 mark. Filova followed in fourth place with a time of 23.35 and Parcell took seventh at the 23.73 mark.

For the men, Bonk touched the wall with a time of 20.32, while Dignan placed fifth and Michael Hallock and McGinnis took sixth and seventh, respectively.

The night ended with the 400 medly relays. The squad of Holly Harper, Alyssa Bodin, Savage and Filova won the final event for the women with a B standard time of 3:40.63. For the men, the quartet of McGinnis, Nathan Hoisington, Mahon and Bonk took the event with a B standard time of 3:14.56 for the H₂Okies.

In addition to Arnett, Kelli Stockton and England Barimo also competed for the women. Stockton placed fourth with a score of 283.05, while Barimo took eighth hitting a 217.35.

For the men, Logan Shinholser was victorious in the 1-meter event. The senior recorded a score of 376.85 to take the title, while Kyle Butts was the next H₂Okie to place, as he took fourth with a score of 306.05. Freshman Logan Stevens competed in his first collegiate event and took fifth hitting a score of 302.65 and hit the NCAA Zone qualifying mark.

Competition will start back up tomorrow, Nov. 16, with the preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m. The diving competition begins at 12 p.m., followed by finals beginning at 6 p.m., which will be streamed online at: http://www.fansonly.com/schools/vtec/allaccess/index.html?media=345584

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).