Ephs Leap into Championship Season at Electric Middlebury Invitational

COMPLETE RESULTS
 
Middlebury, VT – The championship season started off this weekend as the Ephs attended the annual Middlebury Invitational. This meet offered the opportunity to hone technique and lock in race strategy. Furthermore, several Williams swimmers tapered for the meet this weekend, posting incredible times across the board.
 
On the first day of the two day meet, the team of Aaron Stanton ('22), Timmy Page ('23), Jamie Lovette ('22), and Andrew Royek ('22) snagged the first of many wins for Williams in the 200 yard freestyle relay. Most notable among the swims were Page's 21.14 and Royek's 20.89, his first time dipping below 21 in the 50 freestyle.
 
John Gaffney (''22.5) posted the fastest 50 yard butterfly of the day, a speedy 22.70 which was a best time and would have earned him a top eight finish at the previous NESCAC Championship. Gaffney was joined at the top of the podium by Oliver Schalet ('25) in 23.47.
 
Timmy Page represented Williams in the 50 yard backstroke, touching home in 23.59 for the win. Tate Chutkow ('25) and Jacob Silberman ('23) placed second and third in the 50 yard breaststroke in 27.07 and 27.20 respectively.
 
The Williams divers competed their first 11 dive list of the season, posting impressive scores on both boards. Kobe Tray ('23) bested the field in the 1 meter competition by nearly 100 points, putting up a final score of 498.15.
 
Tray's 3 meter competition was excellently conducted and each dive was cleanly executed, resulting in a personal record of 532.95.
 
The final event of the session, the grueling 1000 yard freestyle, featured a showdown between training partners Zach Houlton ('24) and Sasha Shashkov ('23). A late push from Houlton brought the two distance swimmers close together, but Shashkov walked away with the win in 9:54.80.
 
The second session started Saturday morning with the 200 yard medley relay. Paul Leclerc('22), Dylan Aldana-Taylor('25), Andrew Royek, and Timmy Page posted the meet's fastest time in 1:33.85.
 
John Gaffney and Andrew Royek had incredible swims in the 100 yard butterfly. Gaffney led the field in a personal best of 50.23, and Royek time trialed the event, breaking the 50 barrier in a stunning 49.85 as the entire team cheered him on.
 
Williams fielded a dense 200 freestyle relay, capturing the first six places. Jamie Lovette won the event in 1:41.68, followed closely by Royek in 1:43.54 and Alex Atherton in 1:44.86.
 
Continuing the win streak, the Ephs placed first through fourth in the 100 yard breaststroke. Tate Chutkow won the competitive race in 58.12, Aldana-Taylor posted a speedy 59.03, and Jacob Silberman went 59.38.
 
Timmy Page, unsatisfied with his 50 backstroke time from the day prior, decided to time trial the event. It was immediately clear he was going to best his previous record, and he splashed home in 23.14, a significant improvement from 23.59.
 
Jamie Lovette finished first in the 500 yard freestyle in 4:39.78, followed by Sasha Shashkov in 4:45.84. In his second victory of the weekend, Page put up a blazing 1:53.58 in the 200 yard backstroke, leading the field by several seconds.
 
Andrew Royek took home the win in the 100 yard freestyle, out-touching a Middlebury contender and finishing in a personal best of 46.87.
 
Williams swimmers swept the top three places in the 200 yard breaststroke. The speedy cohort included Charlie Venci, Jacob Silberman, and Dylan Aldana-Taylor.
 
Oliver Schalet won the 200 yard butterfly, demonstrating his speed spreads across all strokes and distances. The rising first year came home in 1:57.38.          
 
The team of Aaron Stanton, Jamie Lovette, Paul Leclerc, and Andrew Royek capped off the final event of the meet, winning the 400 yard freestyle relay. The most notable splits from the Ephs were Royek's 46.13 and Page's 46.93.
 
Eph head coach Steven Kuster spoke highly of the his team's efforts at the meet, particularly those races by tapered swimmers. "The group did a great job this weekend preparing for the meet and racing. I thought they had a ton of really good swims. Seeing the seniors put up some great performances was heart-warming, very proud of them."
 
The tapered swimmers this meet acted as a litmus, displaying the Eph's incredible depth and sending a message to the rest of the NESCAC ahead of the conference championship. The NESCAC Championships will take place in three weeks at the brand new Colby natatorium. Leading off the meet will be the 800 yard freestyle relay, historically a very strong event for the Ephs, on February 17^th.