Big Red off to fast start in Oxford
The Denison men's and women's swimming teams opened the Miami Invitational with strong finishes in the opening two events of the three-day meet.
On the men's side, junior Al Weik, the NCAA Division III national record-holder in the 1650 freestyle, picked up his "A" cut with a winning time of 15:36.77 in the mile.
DU also posted a win in the 800 free relay as Sean Chabot, Carlos Maciel, Jackson Humphrey and Spencer Fronk combined for an 'A' cut time of 6:39.26.
The Denison men lead the Miami Invitational through two events with 226 points. Wright State University is second with 222 points.
In women's events, DU sits in second-place through two events with 259 points. First place belongs to the host, Redhawks, with 339 points.
Denison got a 13th place finish from first-year Taylor Johns in the 1,650 free after a 'B' cut time of 17:19.75. Mary Cullen and Janet Watson followed in 15th and 16th place, respectively with NCAA provisional times. Cullen touched in 17:22.54 and Watson finished in 17:22.97. Also posting a 'B' cut in the mile was sophomore Elizabeth Flaherty who placed 21st.
In the 800 freestyle relay, Denison posted an automatic qualifying time of 7:32.80 which placed them fourth overall. Swimming in the relay was Alyssa Swanson, Michelle Howell, Libby Dalziel, and Molly Willingham. Denison will return to action for preliminaries on Friday morning at 9 a.m. in Oxford, Ohio. The Denison divers will compete on Friday and Saturday at the Calvin College Winter Invitational.