This past Wednesday through Saturday, the RPI men’s swimming and diving team traveled to the Webster Pool outside of Rochester for the state championship meet. In three days of events the team finished with a final team score of 857, which placed them fifth out of 13 teams.
A number of swimmers had break-out performances at the meet, the most significant of whom was senior Ben Fell. Ben, who overcame an injury during the season, came out strong from the get-go at the state meet with a first place finish in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:38.80. He also qualified as a B cut for the national championship meet. Supporting him in the 500 free was his younger brother Pat Fell, who finished less than two tenths of a second behind Ben with a B cut time of 4:38.98. Ben returned the next evening and guaranteed his trip to nationals with an A cut time of 1:41.49, resulting in a first place in the 200 yard freestyle. On the third and final day, Ben again earned a B cut with a third place time of 46.65 in the 100 freestyle.
Senior Eric Johnson led the other individual performers with two eighth place finishes in the 400 IM, 4:29.05; and the 200 fly, 2:01.71. He also held an 11th place finish in the 500 free in 4:53.79. Pat Fell continued his events with a third place finish in the 200 fly, 1:57.50 and a fifth place in the 200 free in 1:44.63. Rob Olivo took two seventh place finishes in the 100 back, 57.03 and the 200 back, 2:04.45 along with an 11th place in the 200 IM, 2:02.43. Alvin Peh finished fifth in the 400 IM, with a time of 4:20.09, sixth in the 200 back, with a time of 2:00.73 and tenth in the 200 IM, with a time of 2:01.34. Brian Geiger took two fifth place finishes in the 100 breast, with a time of 1:00.29, and the 200 breast, with a time of 2:13.60. Bryant Eadon took ninth in the 200 back with a time of 2:02.26. In diving senior Eric Internicola scored 344 on the three meter event which earned him sixth place.
The team came out strong in relay events, with a second place finish from the 800 free relay team of P. Fell, Eadon, Johnson and B. Fell in 7:01.35, the same group of swimmers also took fifth in the 400 free relay in 3:12.37. Two relay teams finished sixth, the 400 Medley relay team of Peh, Geiger, P. Fell, and B. Fell with 3:35.75 and the 200 Medley relay of Olivo, Geiger, P. Fell, and B. Fell with 1:39.07. The team of Eadon, Blankenmeyer, Rutkowski, and Allen rounded out the relays with a seventh place finish in the 200 free relay in 1:30.79. The bulk of the team is now enjoying a much-needed rest as they begin the off-season while Ben Fell joins his teammates from the women’s team in training for the national championship meet.
