Bucknell Men’s Swimming and Diving continued their regular season this past Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Bison Fall Invite meet, hosted at the Kinney Natatorium. The Bison squared off against Seton Hall and Binghamton, and although the meet was not scored, the afternoon was full of impressive times and performances from the Bison.
Chris Kopac ’25 was the star of the show for the Bison, bringing home victories in both the 100-yard breaststroke and the 400-yard individual medley. The Bison will look to Kopac all season for some big contributions in his final year with the team. Beyond Kopac’s excellence, the Bison had a plethora of podium finishers.
In the 400 IM, Riley Twiss ’27 finished just .11 seconds behind Kopac to earn second place. Dante Buonadonna ’28 and Alex Crossing ’26 finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the same event to ensure Bucknell’s dominance. In the 50-yard freestyle, Colin Smith ’27 and Kopac finished mere tenths of a second behind Binghamton to grab second and third place.
The Bison were just as good on the diving board as they were in the water, as Jackson Vinarub ’26 fought his way to a second-place finish in the one-meter competition, with Jack Krug ’26 and Connor Thurston ’27 finishing just behind him. Krug and Thurston followed up their third and fourth-place finishes in the one-meter with identical finishes in the three-meter event.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Sam Sweetser ’26, Ed Park ’25 and Caleb Kubiak ’27 delivered second, third and fourth-place finishes, while Shane Wynne ’26, Twiss and Damian Czartoryjski ’28 had the same results in the 200-yard butterfly.
Overall, the Bison came up big in all areas, and this meet should prove to be a launching pad for a season of excellence in the Patriot League. They’ll be hosting Patriot League foes Navy, American and Lafayette on Saturday, Nov. 9 for a meet that should be full of competition and exciting finishes throughout.
