WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Williams hosted a tri-meet against MIT and NYU today in the Samuelson-Muir Pool. The Ephs picked up a victory over MIT for the second year in a row, and took their first loss of the season against NYU.
The meet started off with the 400 medley relay. The A team was led off by Charlie Venci '25, with a speedy 51.91 to put the Ephs in 2nd behind NYU. Michael Grover '26 dove in next for the breaststroke leg, splitting 58.44. Barrett Heritage '25 took the reins next, swimming a 49.85 100 butterfly. When Oliver Schalet '25 dove in, the Ephs were in 3rd and 0.8 seconds behind MIT in 2nd. Schalet split an incredible 45.25 to overcome the MIT team and secure 2nd for the Ephs in 3:25.45.
The Williams distance group showcased their depth today in the 1650. The event was won by an NYU first-year in 16:15, but Williams earned a 2-3-5 finish. Nye Hanan '28 sped ahead of the field in the beginning of the race, and executed a strong race to touch in at 2nd in 16:24.69. Carter Anderson '25 was just behind in 3rd at 16:27.48. Will Hook '28 put together a great race to earn 5th for the Ephs in 16:35.25.
The 500 was later won by the NYU first-year, with Hanan again taking 2nd. Hanan was just a second behind the NYU swimmer in first, finishing in 4:40.96. Ryan Nunez '27 won 3rd for the Ephs with a solid 4:44.99. Carter Anderson placed 5th in 4:47.57.
NYU and MIT out-scored Williams in breaststroke events today. NYU first-years swept a 1-2 finish in the 100 breaststroke, but Michael Grover '26 stopped the clock next at 58.94 in 3rd. Ian Fournier '28 was just behind, finishing 4th at 59.15 and out-touching an NYU junior by 0.15 seconds. In the 200 breaststroke, Grover finished 8th in 2:14.25 while Seth Riley '28 placed 9th in 2:14.64.
The 200 freestyle was an exciting race between Oliver Schalet '25 and an MIT first-year. The MIT swimmer turned ahead at the 100 mark, but Schalet overtook him in the 3rd 50. The Williams captain maintained his lead in the final lap to win the event in 1:41.11, 0.1 seconds ahead. Harrison Williams '25 earned 3rd for the Ephs in 1:43.59.
Schalet went on to win the 100 freestyle, out-touching a NYU sophomore by 0.07 seconds to earn victory in 45.95. Theo Randall '27 had a strong race to place 3rd in 46.61.
Another NYU first-year won the 100 backstroke. Charlie Venci '25 had a stellar in-season swim to earn 2nd for the Ephs in 51.52. Gabe Lee '26 placed 5th in 52.49, just 0.07 seconds behind an MIT swimmer in 4th. Lee went on to place 3rd in the 200 backstroke, behind two NYU swimmers. Lee even-split his last 3 50s to touch the wall at 1:54.70. Whitman Horton '28 won 7th place points for Williams in 1:56.14, while Aidan Lee '27 finished hard in 8th at 1:57.13.
Barrett Heritage '25 took off blazing in the 100 butterfly, speeding ahead of the field. With a strong final underwater leg, Heritage held on to his lead through the end of the race to win the event in 50.24, 0.26 seconds ahead of the MIT swimmer in 2nd. Noah Labich '25 swam his in-season best time to place 7th in 51.17. The 200 butterfly was a close race between an MIT sophomore and Ryan Nunez. The MIT swimmer turned a body-length ahead of Nunez at the 150 mark, and despite Nunez coming home faster, the MIT swimmer touched the wall 0.14 seconds ahead. Nunez finished 2nd in 1:53.18, and Noah Labich '25 earned 5th in 1:56.68.
The 50 freestyle was a strong event for Williams. An NYU senior won the event by 0.4 seconds, but Theo Randall '27 sped to 2nd in an incredible 21.19. Mason Green '27 had an outstanding start to win 3rd for Williams in 21.34. Barrett Heritage '25 and Kevin Whitworth '26 finished 5th (21.51), and 7th (21.91), respectively.
Williams shone on the diving boards today, with Diving Coach Brandon Pearson holding that this was one of the best performances by the Williams divers in his two seasons with the Ephs. Calder Biondi '28 took the prize in the 1-meter competition, winning with a 321.10 after an impressive 5125 and incredible debut of a 205c. Haochen Liu '27, in his first comeback meet after an injury, finished 2nd in 289.85. Ben Lowy '28 had a stellar 1 meter list, executing a high-scoring 303c to earn 5th with 243.35 points. Gabe Swisher-Rosa finished with 210.45 points.
Calder won for a second time in the 3-meter competition with 342.80 points, with Haochen scoring close behind in 2nd with 333.85 points. Gabe Swisher-Rosa had the 4th highest score with 267.90 points, after an amazing 205. Ben Lowy '27 scored 252.65 points, outscoring an NYU senior by half a point.
In the 400 IM, Oliver Schalet '25 placed 4th in 4:09.96 while Henry Campbell '27 (4:12.85) and Aidan Lee '28 (4:13.21) placed 9th and 10th.
The final event of the meet was the 200 freestyle really. The A team of Mason Green '27 (21.44), Barrett Heritage '25 (21.43), Harrison Williams '26 (21.05), and Theo Randall '27 (20.28) placed 2nd to NYU in 1:24.20.
The Ephs will compete at home again tomorrow, against Conn College for their senior meet.
