The Youngstown State men's and women's swimming and diving teams took the short trip to Akron this weekend as they competed in the two-day Akron Zips Classic.

The Penguin women picked up their first win of the weekend when junior Miriam Frass finished first in the 500 free with a time of 4:55.45. The Penguins swam very strongly in this event, as freshmen Olivia Sweetman and Morgan Glass finished second and third behind Frass.

The trio finished one-two-three in the 1650 free as well, as Frass swam a time of 16:41.22 to win the event, with Sweetman and Glass finishing right behind her.

In the three-meter dive, sophomore Hanna Held took home a first-place finish as she scored 269.80 points.

Frass also claimed a second-place finish in the 400 IM as she clocked a time of 4:28.06.

The 800 free relay squad of Frass, Madelyn Mahoney, Glass, and Sweetman finished third, clocking a time of 7:34.16, which was less than six-tenths of a second slower than the second-place team.

Senior Oliwia Kaniak and junior Eloise Fisher finished closely together in the 100 breaststroke, as Kaniak finished fourth with a time of 1:03.75, and Fisher's time of 1:04.55 was good enough to give her a sixth-place finish.

The women finished third overall out of four teams, putting together a total team score of 762 points.

Like the women, the Youngstown State men picked up their first individual victory of the weekend in the men's 500 free. Fifth-year Gavin Webb was victorious in the event, swimming a time of 4:32.09 to pick up the win.

The Penguin men dominated the top of the leaderboard in the 50 free, as they claimed five of the top six spots, collecting 78 points in that single event. Freshman Jacob Gramer finished first as he swam a time of 20.66, and then Rares Druga (third), Gavin Redden (fourth), Darren Laing (fifth), and Lorenz Beck (sixth) finished closely behind.

Lang and Redden swam very well in the 100 free, as Laing claimed first place with a time of 45.13, and Redden finished second, swimming a time of 45.17.

Another event that was Penguin-heavy towards the top was the 400 IM, as senior Dominic Bono claimed first place as he swam a time of 3:59.23. Joining him towards the top of the leaderboard was Gavin Webb, who finished second with a time of 4:00.63, and Terin Frodyma also finished in the top five as his time of 4:07.59 was good enough for a fourth-place finish.

Bono claimed another victory during the meet, as he finished first in the 200 backstroke after swimming a time of 1:49.17. The Penguins were well-represented towards the top of the leaderboard as Soma Albert finished second, and Ales Zupanec and Ethan Ferroni finished fourth and fifth.

Junior Brooks Adams claimed a first-place finish in the three-meter dive for the second-straight meet, as his point total of 265.60 just edged out the second-place finishing total by five-tenths of a point. The point total set a new meet record. Fifth-year Cody Thill finished third, putting together a total score of 275.60.

The sixth individual victory on the day for the Penguin men belonged to James Slessor, who's time of 2:00.36 in the 200 breaststroke set a new Akron Zips Classic meet record.

The Penguin men had a strong meet when it came to relays. The 400 free relay team of Lorenz Beck, Darren Laing, Gavin Redden, and Jacob Gramer set a new meet record as they won the event with a time of 3:00.56. The 200 free relay team of Gramer, Laing, Redden, and Rares Druga finished in first place with a time of 1:22.68, finishing just under two-tenths of a second before the second-place team from Xavier. The 400-medley relay team of Elliot Elmore, James Slessor, Lorenz Beck, and Jacob Gramer had an impressive second-place finish, swimming a collective time of 3:18.00. The 200-medley relay team, which also consisted of Elmore, Slessor, Beck, and Gramer, also finished second, as the group swam a time of 1:30.08, just two-hundredths of a second slower than first place.

Gramer, Redden, and Beck also had good individual finishes in the 100 butterfly, as Gramer finished second with a time of 49.14, Redden finished third as he swam a time of 49.22, and Beck rounded out the top five as he finished with a time of 49.75.

Elmore also finished runner-up individually in the 100 backstroke, with a time of 50.54 that was just under two-tenths of a second slower than the first-place time.

Slessor and Dominic Panozzo both claimed top-five finishes in the 100 breaststroke, as Slessor finished as the runner-up in the event after swimming a time of 54.71, and Panozzo's time of 57.18 was good enough for a fourth-place finish.

Gavin Webb also had a strong performance in the 1650 free, as his time of 16:08.98 was good enough for a third-place finish.

The men finished in first place with a point total of 1149.5 points, which was 66 points ahead of second-place Xavier. This was the second meet victory of the season for the men, as they also defeated St. Bonaventure in a dual to open the season in Youngstown on Sep. 26-27.

Up Next

The Penguins will be back in action on Oct. 26 when they travel to New York for a dual with Niagara.

For news and updates throughout the 2024-25 season, follow @YSUSwimDive on X.