FT. PIERCE, Fla. (January 5, 2017) - The Indian River State College men's and women's swimming and diving teams returned to action for the second half of the season by hosting Lincoln College and Lewis University in the Indian River Winter Invitational.
The host team secured a victory in both the men's and women's competition. Final scores for the women were Indian River State 229-Lincoln 48 and Indian River State 204-Lewis 77; men's finals were Indian River State 245-Lincoln 46 and Indian River State 202-Lewis 80.
In the women's competition, IRSC won 15 of the 16 events contested with wins coming from Courtney Perrett (50 breast, 100 free, 200 IM), Natalie Grothe (50 and 100 fly), Adrianna Warning (1m and 3m diving), Madisyn Lyons (1650 free), Malin Wallen (200 free), Courtney Stewart (50 back), Osianna McReed (50 free), Ianthe Van Der Westhuizen (500 free), and Lauren Meyrick (100 breast). IRSC also won the 200 medley relay and the 200 free relay.
On the men's side of the competition, the IRSC men's team won 13 of the 16 events with wins also coming in both the relays. In the individual events, the winners were John Fauteux (50 breast, 100 free, and 100 breast), Jason Van Der Touw (1650 free and 50 back), Robby Costine (1m and 3m diving), Nick Loomis (50 and 100 fly), Luka Tomic (200 free), and Cameron Newton (50 free).
Prior to the holiday break, The River competed in Clearwater, Fla., at the Spartan Invitational hosted by the University of Tampa.
IRSC's athletes had some very good performances against some of the top NCAA Division 2 colleges in the country and came away with a team victory for the men, and 3rd place for the women. Other teams competing in the competition were NCAA Division 2 powerhouses NOVA Southeastern University (winners of the women's meet), competition hosts University of Tampa, Florida Southern College, Lenoir Rhyne University, and Rollins College.
Day 1 of competition started off with a second place showing from the women's 200 medley relay and a victory for Jason Van Der Touw, John Fauteux, Nick Loomis, and Gavin Erdmann in the men's 200 medley relay. In the 1000 freestyle event, top finisher for the women was Madisyn Lyons (12th), and for the men it was Luka Tomic (3rd), and Alex Berggren (5th).
The 200 freestyle relay saw a victory for the IRSC women (Osianna McReed, Courtney Perret, Courtney Stewart, and Malin Wallen), while the men's team placed 2nd.
On day 2 of the competition, top individual scorers in the 500 free came from Malin Wallen (5th) and Ianthe Van Der Westhuizen (7th). For the men, it was Luka Tomic (2nd), Jason Van Der Touw (3rd), and Alex Berggren (6th). In the 200 IM, Natalie Grothe was 7th, and for the men it was Cameron Newton (4th) and Andrew Wojcik (5th).
In the women's 50 free, Osianna McReed claimed the victory, while Courtney Perret placed 4th and Courtney Stewart earned 7th. The men had four swimmers place in the final heat with Gavin Erdmann, John Fauteux, Nick Loomis, and Paul Tobin placing 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 7th, respectively. In the final event, both the women's and men's 400 medley relays teams placed second.
Day 3 of competition saw a new NJCAA record established from Nick Loomis in the men's 100 fly. Loomis broke the record during the prelims of the event before returning in the evening to also claim the victory. His time of 46.93 is also ranked 34th nationally amongst all collegiate athletes.
Other top performances on the day came from Malin Wallen (4th) and Madisyn Lyons (8th) in the women's 400 IM, and for the men it was Andrew Wojcik (4th).
In the women's 100 fly, Osianna McReed took 3rd, and Natalie Grothe took 5th. Following Nick Loomis, other men in the final heat of the 100 fly were Gabrielle Sasia (3rd), and Harrison Howerton 6th. Competing in the 200 free, Sarah Dostie took 4th for the women, and for the men it was Luka Tomic (2nd), Jason Van Der Touw (3rd), and Cameron Newton (4th). In the 100 breast, top women's scorers were Courtney Perret (4th), Lauren Meyrick (5th) and Natalie Grothe (7th) while top men's scorers were John Fauteux (2nd), Andrew Wojcik (5th), and Joel Hansson (6th). In the final individual event of the night, the 100 back, Courtney Stewart (2nd), Kamryn Gallowich (6th), Gabrielle Sasia (3rd), Harrison Howerton (6th), and Nick Loomis (8th). In the 800 free relay, IRSC took third for the women and second for the men.
The fourth and final day of competition started with the longest event of the competition, the 1650 free. Placing in this event was Ianthe Van Der Westhuizen (3rd), Malin Wallen (6th), and Alex Berggren (4th). Other events contested on the night were the 200 back with Kamryn Gallowich (5th), Courtney Stewart (7th), Luka Tomic (2nd), and Harrison Howerton (4th). The 100 free saw Osianna McReed and Courtney Perrett place 2nd and 3rd, respectively, while for the men it was Gavin Erdmann (3rd), and Cameron Newton (6th). In the 200 breast, Nathalie Grothe placed 6th, while Andrew Wojcik placed 3rd, and Joel Hansson earned 4th. In the final individual event, IRSC gained another event win from freshman Gabrielle Sasia in the 200 fly while Nick Loomis secured a 3rd place finish.
With only one event left in the competition, IRSC just needed to legally finish its 400 free relay races to hold its positions in the team competitions. The women did so securing a 3rd place finish while the men placed second and won the overall men's competition.
The next meet for the IRSC teams will be on Friday, January 6 versus University of Tampa. The meet will take place in Ft. Pierce.