Both teams took first place at the 13th annual Butler Invitational

By Joe Clark, Sports Page Editor

Xavier men’s and women’s swimming teams both came in first place at last weekend’s Butler Invitational, with 32 top-three finishes in the meet.

The win was the first invitational win for both the men’s and women’s teams this season, and it was done in dominant fashion by both teams. 

On the women’s side, sophomore Kali Fischer won the 200m backstroke, while juniors Hannah Pugh and Brooke Atkins took second and third respectively. Fischer also picked up two second place finishes for Xavier, while also earning second as a member of a relay team along with Pugh, Atkins and senior Lydia Schaeffer. 

Sophomore Clara Keiser also picked up a win in the 500m freestyle, while freshman Mary Sweetman finished second. The women finished with a total of 824 points, 100 more points than the second place finisher. 

As for the men, junior Andrew Martin won both the 200m and 500m freestyle, while senior Ben Quon won the 200m backstroke. Junior Jon Bernard paced the field in the 200m breaststroke, winning with a time of 2:04.80. The 200m relay team of Martin, Quon, graduate student Christian Thomas and freshman Ethan Saunders finished third in the 200m medley. The 400m relay team composed of Martin, Thomas, freshman Gage Hannewyk and junior Ethan Wing finished second. Xavier will travel to Oxford, Ohio this weekend to face off against the Miami RedHawks.Xavier’s matchup against Miami is their last meet before the Big East Championships.  

The Big East Swimming and Diving Championships will take place Feb. 23 to Feb. 26 in East Meadow, N.Y.