Youngstown State University
National Invitational Championship
Penguins Set Sights on CSCAA National Invitational Championship
3/12/2024 3:24:00 PM | Swimming and Diving
12 members of the Youngstown State men's and women's swimming programs will compete at the highly regarded CSCAA National Invitational Championship beginning on Thursday and concluding on Saturday at the Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training (FAST) facility in Ocala, Fla.
Prelims will begin at 9:30 a.m. each day followed by finals at 6 p.m. each evening.
Penguin Participants
Men:
Dominic Bono – 400 IM, 200 Back
Rares Druga – 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free
Jasper Liekens – 100 IM, 200 Fly
Kyle Mizell – 50 Back, 100 IM
Gavin Redden – 50 Fly, 100 Fly, 100 Free
James Slessor – 50 Breast, 100 Breast, 200 Breast
Christian Taylor – 500 Free, 1000 Free, 1650 Free
Gavin Webb – 500 Free, 400 IM
Relays: 200 Free, 400 Medley, 200 Medley, 800 Free, 400 Free
Women:
Hailey Clark – 1000 Free, 800 Free Relay
Miriam Frass – 500 Free, 400 IM, 1000 Free, 800 Free Relay
Madelyn Mahoney – 800 Free Relay
Brooke Schuette – 800 Free Relay
Last Time Out
The Penguins matched their best finish in program history at the Horizon League Championships that concluded on February 17. Both the men and women placed fourth in team standings and delivered numerous impressive individual finishes, including two champions.
The women's 800 free relay team of Miriam Frass, Madelyn Mahoney, Brooke Schuette, and Hailey Clark set the first school record relay mark since 2016. The impressive quartet clocked a time of 7:26.75 to finish third and earn a spot on the podium. Their time earned them a lane at the NIC.
The men's 800 free relay squad also set the school record in the event. The team of Gavin Webb, Christian Taylor, Jasper Liekens, and Rares Druga clocked a time of 6:37.94 to finish fourth and set the program record. Leading off the squad was Webb, who set the school record in the 200 free during the relay race.
Individually, Webb won the 1650 free for the third consecutive season, clocking a school-record time of 15:09.60 to win the event by a large margin. Taylor finished runner-up in the 1650 free to complete the one-two finish by the Penguins. Taylor delivered a remarkable personal record, clocking a 15:27.32.
Frass became the first YSU women's swimmer to become a Horizon League Champion since 2013 and is just the third in program history. Frass clocked a 4:21.37 in the event to shatter the school record and finish ahead of the runner-up by over three seconds.
The Penguins showed their distance strength with three placing in the top five of the women's 1650 free. Frass clocked a 16:56.27 to place second in the event for the second straight year. This top-two finish was her third of the meet, winning the 400 IM and finishing second in the 500 free. In addition to Frass' runner-up performance, Clark picked up the first podium finish of her career, placing third with a time of 16:59.35. Schuette finished fifth, clocking a 17:14.90.
Among numerous other impressive individual and relay performances that helped lead to NIC qualification, Dominic Bono clocked a 3:51.74 in the prelims of the 400 IM to break his own school record by nearly two seconds. He went onto finish fourth in the finals with a time of 3:52.95, just missing the podium.
Event Schedule
Thursday
200 Free Relay
50 Back
500 Free
50 Fly
200 IM
50 Breast
50 Free
400 Medley Relay
Friday
400 IM
100 Fly
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
800 Free Relay
Saturday
100 IM
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
400 Free Relay
1000/1650 Free
For results and updates, follow @YSUSwimDive on Twitter.
