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Three in Clarkson Junior Class win on Day Two of North Country swimming Invitational

Posted 11/18/18

Potsdam, NY – Though the program was unable to make it five straight years with a title at the North Country Invitational, both the Clarkson University Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving teams …

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Three in Clarkson Junior Class win on Day Two of North Country swimming Invitational

Posted

Potsdam, NY – Though the program was unable to make it five straight years with a title at the North Country Invitational, both the Clarkson University Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving teams produced solid performances at the annual event held at SUNY Potsdam's Maxcy Hall.

The Golden Knights' women finished in second place among six teams with 447 points, trailing only St. Michael's (507), but ahead of SUNY Potsdam (443), Monroe Community College (178), Erie Community College (88) and Genesee Community College (23). The men finished third with 453.5 points, narrowly behind St. Michael's (479) and SUNY Potsdam (469), but ahead of the three junior college as Monroe Community College finished at 257.5, Genesee Community College at 162 and Eric Community College at 62 points.

While Friday's proceedings saw several Clarkson women finish atop the standings in several individual events, only freshman Amelia Kanner was able to gain a first-place finish on Saturday, touching the pad first in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:57.73. The Golden Knights had numerous second-place finishes on the day, including both freestyle relays. The 200 freestyle relay team of Lauren Grasberger, Taylor Lee, Brooke Atkinson and Paige Fronczak combined for a time of 1:55.49, just three-tenths of a second off the pace, while the 400 freestyle relay group of Lee, Grasberger, Brooke Peters and Fronczak also came in second, closing with a time of 3:52.45.

Fronczak finished both of her starts in the top three, coming in second in the 100 freestyle (56.15) and third in the 200 freestyle (2:03.98). Grasberger also posted a pair of top three results, taking second in the 100 backstroke (1:04.57) and placing third in the 200 butterfly, just behind teammate Brooke Atkinson, who came in second in the event. Clarkson also had three of the top four spots in the 200 breaststroke as freshmen Taylor Lee (2:39.59, second), Kanner (third) and Peters (fourth) came up just short in the event.

Though Clarkson's men closed the gap from Friday, the Golden Knights were unable to completely overcome the 86.5-point deficit from the first 20 events, finishing 25.5 points off the pace. The same foursome of Benjamin Thibert, John Magnuson, Jacob Baker and Gavin Lopata swam as the 'A' relay in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, finishing the 200 in 1:40.08, only a half second off the pace, and ending the 400 relay with a time of 3:19.25. Thibert and Magnuson each won individual events, but each was closely followed by Jacob Baker. Thibert won the 100 backstroke in 56.23 seconds, beating out teammates Baker (57.47) and Jase Smith (58.55), while Magnuson took the title in the 200 butterfly in 2:03.64, just edging Baker (2:03.97). Both Magnuson and Baker bested the rest of the field by more than two seconds.

Brent Reid won top honors in the 3-meter dive with a score of 242.85 points, again scoring the only total above 200 points among the six competitors. Gavin Lopata also picked up significant points for the Knights' total by taking second in both the 100 freestyle (48.77) and 200 freestyle (1:51.02).