Early Bird Invitational a challenge for swim team

By Jeremy Johnson
jjohn308@mscd.edu

The Metro swimming and diving team kicked off the season with a pair of seventh place finishes this weekend at Colorado State University's Early Bird Invitational in Fort Collins.

The 'Runners fared well considering; other than the Colorado School of Mines, Metro was the only other Division II team to compete at the invite.

Division I schools Texas Christian University, Colorado State University, University of Wyoming, Air Force Academy, University of Colorado-Boulder and University of Denver, also competed. TCU took first place in both men's and women's competition, with 1024.5 and 1152.5 points respectively.

"It's good for our team to see what is out there and see the competition," head swimming and diving coach Winthrop Dyer said. "It's good for (the team) because it opens their eyes and shows them where they need to be."

Discouragement was not necessary as both squads showed marked improvement from last year. The women scored 91 team points compared to two the previous year. The men scored 145 points for an improvement of 97 points compared to last year's invitational.

Junior swimmer Casey Story led the men's team in points, placing a team-high 7th in the 100-yard breaststroke and also finishing 14th in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Freshman Jake Haffner finished in 15th place or better in four different events, including an 11th place finish in the 100-yard backstroke.

Junior Ryan Moseman also scored in four different events for the Roadrunners.

Freshman Kathy Lind anchored the women's efforts with a 12th place finish in the 100-yard backstroke, while junior Jessica Barrios followed suit with a 13th place finish in the 100-yard butterfly event.

The strongest showing for the men and the women came in the relay events. The men's team finished in the top 11 of five events, including an 8th place finish in both 200-yard and 400-yard medley.

The women's best relay was also in the 200-yard medley, where they took 9th place. They also finished 10th in both the 200-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle.

"The competition gave us a true indication of how our current training is going and sets the direction for the upcoming weeks," Dyer added.

The Roadrunners face Air Force and Mines again, along with University of Nebraska-Kearney and Colorado College this weekend. The event will be held Oct. 29 in Ft. Collins and is being hosted by AFA.