The Shippensburg University men’s swimming team finished three days of competition on Sunday with a sixth-place team finish at the 2022 Franklin & Marshall Invitational held at the Kunkel Aquatic Center.
Sophomore David Johnson (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) won the 1,650-yard freestyle, delivering a solid time of 16:32.90 to lead all competitors. It was one of 15 Raider performances on the day that satisfied the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) individual qualifying standard.
Graduate Andrew Hale (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) capped off an excellent weekend as the runner-up in the 200-yard breaststroke, swimming 2:05.68. Hale’s lifetime best of 2:03.71, achieved in 2021, remains second all-time in SU history. Freshman Nate Wauls (Landsdale, Pa./North Penn) swam 20th in the pre-consolation final with a time of 2:15.23.
Senior Elijah Zinn (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg Area) and sophomore Nathan VanNatter (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) paced six Raiders with league qualifying marks in the 100-yard freestyle. Both men swam 47.41 seconds in prelims, tying for eighth seed. Zinn ended up swimming in the championship final, finishing eighth in 47.78 seconds, while VanNatter swam in the consolation final and placed 13th in 47.67 seconds.
Junior Michael Salvatori (Springfield, Va./St. John Paul the Great) won the consolation final of the 200-yard backstroke, swimming 1:55.16 in the evening finals for a two-second improvement from his morning prelim. His PR of 1:52.77 was set as a freshman; that time ranks fourth in school history. Senior David Bussard (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) was two places behind Salvatori in the consolation final, touching the wall in 1:56.51.
Graduate Vin Salvatore (Howell, N.J./Howell) won the consolation final of the 200-yard butterfly with a ninth-place time of 1:57.41, improving by two seconds from his morning prelim. Sophomore Zaidian Van Orden (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) competed in the pre-consolation final and finished in 2:01.95. Johnson and Salvatori also satisfied the league standard in the event in exhibition swims.
Van Orden, VanNatter, Zinn and Hale combined for a sixth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:09.93.
Shippensburg will not compete next week during Thanksgiving and return to action Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2-3, at the Gettysburg Invitational.
1650 Free
1. David Johnson 16:32.90 (PSAC)
200 Back
9. Michael Salvatori 1:55.16 (1:57.25p) (PSAC)
11. David Bussard 1:56.51 (1:58.17p) (PSAC)
Michael Hannig 2:08.62
100 Free
8. Elijah Zinn 47.78 (47.41p) (PSAC)
13. Nathan VanNatter 47.67 (47.41p) (PSAC)
JC Greenwood 48.90 (PSAC)
Kevin Noldy 48.95 (PSAC)
Tylor Yakaitis 49.05 (PSAC)
Matthew Beard 49.43 (PSAC)
Jason Chatell 54.70
200 Breast
2. Andrew Hale 2:05.68 (2:07.42p) (PSAC)
20. Nate Wauls 2:15.23 (2:15.52p) (PSAC)
200 Fly
9. Vin Salvatore 1:57.41 (1:59.56p) (PSAC)
20. Zaidian Van Orden 2:01.95 (2:03.76p) (PSAC)
David Johnson 1:58.52X (PSAC)
Michael Salvatori 2:00.86X (PSAC)
Matthew Beard 58.12x
400 Free Relay
6. Zaidian Van Orden, Nathan VanNatter, Elijah Zinn, Andrew Hale 3:09.93
Kevin Noldy, Tylor Yakaitis, David Johnson, Matthew Beard 3:15.16
