Potsdam, NY – Five swimmers from the Clarkson University Swim team had two top-five finishes at the North Country Invitational as the Golden Knights closed out the annual two day-event Saturday afternoon.
The Clarkson men finished in fourth place among six teams with 335 points, just five tallies behind the third-place squad, while the women took fifth out of six teams with 176 points. The Golden Knights are off until the Liberty League Championships to be held at the University of Rochester, beginning on the final day of this month.
A pair of upperclassmen led the way for the Golden Knights at the event. Senior Paul Telesca (Liverpool, NY) finished in second place in both the 50 freestyle (22.84) and the 100 freestyle (2:10.33), and was the top finisher for any of the Clarkson swimmers with those results. Classmate Sean Parnett (Clifton Park, NY) matched Telesca’s effort in the 200 butterfly by taking second overall in that event in 2:10.33, and then added a fourth-place showing in the 500 freestyle race with a time of 5:10.33.
Freshmen Jon Ketcham (East Aurora, NY) and Sam Zagrobelny (East Aurora, NY) also each placed in the top five of two individual events each, with Ketcham placing third in both the 100 breaststroke (1:04.86) and the 200 breaststroke (2:24.76). Zagrobelny came in fourth in the 50 freestyle (23.07) and was fifth in the 100 butterfly (56.68). Other swimmers finishing in the top five in one individual event were sophomore Tyler Nichols (Spencerport, NY), who came in fifth in the 200 backstroke (2:05.77), freshman Nick Short (Endwell, NY), who was one spot ahead of Zagrobelny in the 100 butterfly (56.57), and Sam Zwierzchowski (East Amherst, NY), who came in fifth in the 200 butterfly in 2:24.00.

Jillian Brown (Kenmore, NY) was the lone swimmer on the women’s side to finish in the top five in two separate events, taking fourth in the 50 freestyle (26.73) and moving up a spot for third in the 100 freestyle (58.42). Kelly Mulvehill (Penfield, NY) was the only other Clarkson female swimmer to reach the top five at the event, finishing fifth in the 200 butterfly in 2:44.11.