SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore College men's swimming team stormed back in an electric finish at Ware Pool, overtaking Gettysburg College, 160.5-154.5, with a meet-clinching triumph in the final event on Saturday.  

The men's 400 freestyle relay of Danny Castle, Cami Wilson, Luke Magnuson and Sean Neirynck played heroes with a deciding victory in the final event. Despite trailing into the final stretch, Neirynck gained ground with an outstanding turn, which allowed the rookie to make a late pass on his Gettysburg challenger. The Garnet ended up winning the event with a Ware Pool record, while overtaking the Bullets in team points. 

Willing their way past their Centennial rivals, the men's squad collectively broke three pool records. Wilson took down a record in the 50 freestyle, while participating in broken records on the 400 freestyle and 200 medley relays. The senior combined for two individual victories and three relay wins. 

Andrew Hendrickson swam one of the biggest races of the weekend, headlining a top-three sweep in the 500 freestyle in one of the final events of the meet. The sweep earned crucial points for the Garnet as they overpowered the Bullets in the final few events. 

FRIDAY
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The 400 medley relay of Matvey Ivanov, Dylan Ling, Wilson and Neirynck earned a runner-up finish with a time of 3:23.20. Wilson posted a season-best in his 100 butterfly split, while falling just a few hundredths of a second short of his program record. Magnuson barely missed a lifetime best by hundredths of a second as a member of the team's B relay. 

- Castle won by a full second in the 200 freestyle. The junior touched at 1:41.66 to beat out a pair of Gettysburg swimmers, and record a season-best time. He later placed second in the 100 freestyle with a time of 46.31.

- Wilson swam to a time of 1:54.47, while finishing as the runner-up in the 200 IM. The time marked a lifetime best for the senior. 

- Damian Rene swam a 46.97 to earn the fastest result in the 100 freestyle time trials. The effort marked a college best, narrowly missing a lifetime best by a few hundredths of a second.

- Dylan Herink had the fastest time in the 100 breaststroke time trial, finishing at 57.85. The effort was a college best and ranks tenth all-time in program history. 

- Mateo Smith earned a second-place finish in the 400 IM, touching at 4:07.85. Matthew Kim followed in third place with a 4:09.14 finish. Smith posted his fastest result of the season in the event.

- The Garnet wrapped up the evening with a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Wilson, Magnuson, Neirynck and Castle recorded the seventh-fastest mark in program history with a time of 1:22.71. Wilson opened the relay with a Ware Pool record in the 50 freestyle, while outperforming the NCAA B cut. The senior's time is currently tied for 21st in Division-III. 


SATURDAY
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Jaime Taylor swam the fastest time in the 1650 freestyle, clocking in at 16:29.34 and picking up a key victory for his home squad. The first-year swam his way into the program's top-10 in the event. 

- The 200 medley relay of Wilson, Ling, Magnuson and Castle took down the pool record with a time of 1:29.63, while beating out the Bullets top relay. The swim ranked second all-time in program history, falling just a few tenths of a second short of the record, and currently sits inside the top-20 nationally. Wilson broke the program record with the opening 50 backstroke, racing to a split of 22.21. The Garnet also claimed third place in the event to earn crucial points. 

- Will Trone and Ling went second and third in the 100 breaststroke. Trone led the senior duo with a 59.00 effort, while Ling followed at 59.07.

- Wilson flirted with another pool record in the 50 freestyle, but finished a few hundredths of a second off the mark. The senior claimed first overall in the event with a time of 20.38. 

- Hendrickson led a Swarthmore sweep in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:41.73. Taylor followed in second place at 4:44.45, while Smith rounded out the trio at 4:47.58. The victory helped narrow the gap in a tight points race with the Bullets. 

- Wilson triumphed in the 100 butterfly to record his second victory of the afternoon. The senior finished at 48.04, while Magnuson followed at 49.88. Magnuson narrowly missed out on his personal best, which currently ranks seventh all-time. 

- The meet came down to the final event as the Garnet trailed by one point heading into the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Castle, Wilson, Magnuson and Neirynck won the event in dramatic fashion, outtouching the Bullets with a time of 3:02.49.  The result broke a pool record, while moving the relay squad into seventh all-time in program history. 

UP NEXT
The Garnet will compete in the Centennial Conference Championships, which begin Thursday, February 19 at Franklin & Marshall College.