Men’s swimming and diving races Navy, prepares for Championships: Behnen and Nangle shine in Navy meet
February 5, 2016
The Bison men’s swimming and diving team resulted in several successes after attending the Navy Invite. Louis Behnen ’17 took an individual victory, and JT Nangle ’16 tallied four top-five finishes to lead the Orange and Blue in the unscored meet. Several Bison will be returning to Navy’s pool in a few weeks for the upcoming Patriot League Championships.
“Coming out of the Navy Invite, the team is more confident and comfortable in Navy’s pool than ever before, which bodes very well for our championship meets,” Nangle said.
Along with the individual achievements highlighting Nangle and Behnen, the Bison saw impressive performances from Chris Devlin ’18, Jack Robinson ’17, Mitch Buccalo ’19, and Tyler Wenzel ’16. Behnen placed second in the 200 IM, followed by Buccalo and Wes Marberry ’16 in third and fourth, respectively. With Behnen leading the way in the 200 freestyle, the Orange and Blue swept the event, with Devlin, Robinson, Denver Freeman ’17, and Sam Rutan ’18 trailing closely behind.
The third-place 200 freestyle relay team consisted of Nangle, Marberry, Brian Phillips ’16, and Steve Grune ’16. Nangle then joined Robinson, Chadd Cummings ’19, and Vincent Filippini ’19 to earn third-place in the 200 medley relay.
Looking forward to the Patriot League Championship, Nangle also noted to look out for his teammates’ impressive performances.
“Sophomore Chris Devlin was the Patriot League champ in the 400 IM last year. Louis Behnen currently holds the team record in the 200 freestyle … and Jack Robinson is one of the strongest all-around contributors to the team,” Nangle said.
Wenzel recorded the second-best score in Bison program history on the three-meter dive, taking third and improving his personal best. Wenzel also tallied a third-place finish on the one-meter board. Tarik Lott ’18 and Will Rappaport ’16 were third-place finishers in the 100 butterfly and 200 backstroke, respectively.
With the Patriot League Championships quickly approaching on Feb. 17-20, the Bison will focus all their energy on preparing to return to Navy for the upcoming contest.
