In the last dual meet of the season, the Colby Aqua Mules swam a solid meet against the Bowdoin Polar Bears. Many team members had breakthrough swims, and those who did not have season bests were very close to those times. To start the meet, the 200 medley relay team of Sarah Nalven, Josie Bazemore, Rosie Wennberg, and Sarah Hansen posted a time of 1:56.38, good enough for third place. Colby’s B relay of Jess Blais, Martha Mesna, Kathryn Lee and Laura Burns placed 5th in 1:58.61. Also of note was the lead-off leg of the C relay by Carly Rushford, in which she split a 30.84, her fastest 50 backstroke of the season. The men’s A relay of John Madeira, Craig Zevin, Ryan Trafton, and James Hootsmans placed second in 1:44.50, while the B (Adam Spierer, Mason Roberts, Sam Andler, and Charlie Wulff) placed 4th. For the women’s mile, Many Ferguson took the win by 24 seconds, finishing in a solid 17:59.05. Leigh Carey also had a season best in the event, closing her race with serious speed and finishing in 18:59.19. It should also be mentioned that Chelsea Heneghan swam this even exhibition, and came back in the very next event, the 200 free, to win in 1:57.51. Ferguson did the same, finishing third in 2:01.38. Jenna Mahaffie was the third finisher for the Mules in 2:02.81, and Charlotte Veazie has a season best in 2:04.58. For the men, Andy Peterson was the top finisher, touching the wall 3rd at 1:51.34, followed by Ryan Fischer in 5th, touching at 1:55.25. The women 100 yard backstrokers finished 2-3 with Jess Blais finishing in a season best 1:03.04, and Kayleigh Monahan in 1:03.79. In the men’s backstroke, John Madeira had a season best time for second place in 58.18. The next event, the women’s 100 breaststroke, saw Josie Bazemore in 4th in 1:14.33, Martha Mesna in 5th in 1:15.29 (a season best), and Leah Walpuck in 7th in 1:18.66. In the men’s race, Craig Zevin finished second for Colby in 1:04.74, Mason Roberts took third in 1:05.24, and Adam Spierer finished 5th in 1:05.60. The 200 butterfly followed, with Kathryn Lee taking first in 2:13.65, and Rosie Wennberg in 3rd in 2:20.92, a season best. Hana Haver and Erin Schnettler took 6th and 7th in 2:25.49 and 2:28.46, a season best for Haver. Ryan Trafton and Sam Andler each had a five second drop in their 200 fly, finishing 3rd and 4th in 2:10.50 and 2:21.28. The sprinters showed true speed in the 50 free, with Jenna Mahaffie and Sarah Hansen finishing 3rd and 4th in 25.94 and 26.05. For the men, Ray Rieling, Tom Hurley, and Ben Lewis teamed up to take 4th, 5th, and 7th in 22.99, 23.27, and 25.14, all season bests. In the 1 meter diving competition, Martha Mesna finished 5th with a score of 150.90.
The 100 free was up next, where Chelsea Heneghan took second by two one hundredths of a second, finishing in 54.24, followed by Jenna Mahaffie in 4th (55.90) and Kayleigh Monahan in 5th in a season best 56.24. Ray Rieling was the top finisher for the men, taking 3rd in 50.52 and Andy Peterson was 5th in 52.04. In event 19, the 200 backstroke, Jess Blais had yet another season best, dropping 3 seconds to finish 3rd in 2:15.91. Charlotte Veazie finished 4th in 2:18.75, also a season best. For the men, John Madeira was 2nd in 2:04.86. Chelsea Heneghan took her second win of the day in the 200 breast, beating Bowdoin’s number one by three hundredths of a second in 2:33.12. Josie Bazemore finished 4th in 2:36.72, and Martha Mesna had another season best, finishing in 2:44.93. Ryan Fischer and Mason Roberts took 2nd and 3rd for the men in 2:18.56 and 2:22.90, a season best for Roberts. Mandy Ferguson won her second event of the day, the 500, in 5:18.60, a season best, and was followed by Leigh Carey in 4th in 5:30.10 and Heather Cronin in 5th in 5:34.07. Ray Rieling was the top finisher for the men in the same event, finishing in 5:08.12, a season best. Kathryn Lee and Rosie Wennberg went all out in the 100 fly, taking first and second in 1:00.68 and 1:00.95, a season best for Lee. For the men, Ryan Trafton finished 3rd in 55.84, a season best, and the same was true for Sam Andler, who finished 5th in 58.48. In the last individual event of the day, the 200 IM, Kathryn Lee took 2nd in 2:17.69, and Charlotte Veazie was third in a season best 2:21.69.
In the 400 freestyle relay, Colby’s A took second in 3:44.08, with Heneghan out in 55.28, Monahan second in 56.29, Hansen third at 56.21, and Ferguson anchoring in 56.30. The men’s relay finished in the same place, with Rieling leading off in 50.31, Peterson second in 51.78, Hurley third in 54.99, and Fischer anchoring in 52.98.
The final score of the meet was, for the women, Bowdoin 178, Colby 118, and for the men, Bowdoin 216, Colby 68. Colby’s next race weekend will be the NESCAC Championships.
