MILWAUKEE – Behind ten individual victories and a pair of relay wins, the Milwaukee men's swim and dive team improved to 3-3 this season with a 186-55 win over St. Thomas Friday evening inside the Klotsche Natatorium.
The Panthers were led by an impressive performance on the boards by
Jared Kleczka. The junior tallied his sixth and seventh individual wins on the season and set a new personal best on the one-meter board with a score of 319.28. Kleczka also won the three-meter with a score of 331.28.
Adam St. John recorded a pair of runner-up finishes behind Kleczka but posted career bests on both boards. St. John finished with a score of 300.38 on the three-meter and 306.90 on the one-meter.
Jay Jensen also added a pair of individual wins, bringing his season total to seven. Jensen claimed the top spot in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 9:40.48 and won the 500 free at 4:42.99. In both events,
Vince Chiappetta was runner-up posting times of 9:50.22 (1000 free) and 4:46.56 (500 free).
"It was great to get our last weekend of dual meets off to such a great start," head coach
Kyle Clements said. "As our season starts to come to an end our team members are in a lot of different places in their training. The group that is finishing their season this weekend turned in multiple lifetime bests, season bests, and won multiple events for us today. They are offering the rest of the roster a glimpse of great swims to come."
In the 100 free,
Jonathan Kollen touched the wall at 47.85 to finish first while
Griffin Hawley was close behind at 48.96 for second. Hawley finished runner-up in the 50 free (21.70), finishing just behind
John Ruan (21.64).
Four other Panthers earned individual wins, including
Robert Petersen, who posted his top time on the season in the 100 butterfly (51.78).
Ben Huynh won the 100 backstroke at 52.82 and
Brady Basile won the 200 free with a time of 1:44.90.
Zach McClellan collected a win in the 200 IM at 1:57.54.
Milwaukee recorded a pair of relay wins in the meet, with the team of
Ben Huynh,
Sam Hauke,
Hayden Christiansen, and Ruan winning the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:35.24. Ruan,
Ben Lorenz, Jensen, and Hawley won the 200 free at 1:25.34.
The Panthers will close the regular season tomorrow, as divers will compete at the UIC Diving Invitational at 11 a.m. while the rest of the team hosts UW-Stevens Point at 3:30 p.m. inside the Klotsche Natatorium.
"We are looking forward to finishing out the dual meet season tomorrow," Clements said. "We also get to recognize our seniors who will be swimming their last meet here in Milwaukee."
