The Shippensburg University women’s swimming team completed its weekend with a fifth-place finish at the 2023 Franklin & Marshall Invitational held at the Kunkel Aquatic Center.
Junior Allie Keeling opened the final session for the Raiders in the 1,650-yard freestyle, taking fifth place in a time of 18:04.37. Keeling stayed consistent with her splits, with all her 50-yard times staying under 33.55 seconds. Freshman Michelle Kubiak competed in the morning and took 13th overall, touching the wall in 18:35.42.
Sophomore Makennah Fickett competed in the ‘A’ final of the 200-yard backstroke, placing 8th with a time of 2:13.64. Senior Marissa Bittner and freshman Caroline Schweigert swam in the ‘B’ final of the event, taking 10th and 15th with times of 2:10.19 and 2:13.37, respectively.
The duo of senior Alyssa Tomb and freshman Jazz Barry represented the Raiders in the ‘A’ final of the 200-yard breaststroke, with Tomb finishing in third place with a time of 2:23.91, and Barry taking seventh place with a time of 2:27.79. It was Tomb’s third top five finish of the weekend, and Barry’s third top seven finish.
Freshman Charlee Shaw swam in the ‘B’ final of the event, taking 11th place with a time of 2:28.92. Junior Emily Newton finished in 19th in the ‘C’ final, touching the wall in a time of 2:31.32.
The final individual swim of the evening saw senior Michaela Hersh take third overall in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:08.51. Hersh used a consistent pace to pull away from fourth place in the final 50 of the race.
In the morning, junior Lauren Croll swam the 100-yard IM, finishing in a time of 1:02.77. Her exhibition time ranked her seventh in school history in the event.
The quartet of Fickett, junior Gracie Wetzel, Tomb, and Barry finished the weekend with a eighth place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:38.91.
Overall, the Raiders amassed 41 total Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying standards, and advanced 34 total individual swims to finals throughout the weekend. SU also achieved five total top ten rankings in school history through the three-day invitational. The team finished fifth in the team standings, scoring a total of 879 points.
The Raiders will not compete over Thanksgiving and return to action Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2, at the Gettysburg Invitational.
1650 Free
5. Allie Keeling 18:04.37 (PSAC)
13. Michelle Kubiak 18:35.42 (PSAC)
Jordyn Kendig 19:28.58
Olivia Sitkowski 19:33.49
200 Back
8. Makennah Fickett 2:13.64 (2:11.02p) (PSAC)
10. Marissa Bittner 2:10.10 (2:12.59p) (PSAC)
15. Caroline Schweigert 2:13.37 (2:13.07p) (PSAC)
Kristin Gebhard 2:24.12
100 Free
Samantha Taylor 56.18 (PSAC)
Lauren Croll 57.33
Olivia Sitkowski 58.39
Brea Fennick 59.92
Caroline Schweigert 59.11x
200 Breast
3. Alyssa Tomb 2:23.91 (2:23.88p) (PSAC)
7. Jazz Barry 2:27.79 (2:28.88p) (PSAC)
11. Charlee Shaw 2:28.92 (2:30.04p) (PSAC)
19. Emily Newton 2:31.32 (2:33.60p) (PSAC)
Gracie Wetzel 2:35.87 (PSAC)
Emma Grove 2:37.04
Lexi Wagner 2:37.83
Jenna Ober 2:41.37
Rachel Johnston 2:45.13
200 Fly
3. Michaela Hersh 2:08.51 (2:09.80p) (PSAC)
Carol Fabian 2:26.88
100 IM
Lauren Croll 1:02.77x
Emily Newton 1:05.75x
Emma Grove 1:06.00x
400 Free Relay
8. Makennah Fickett, Gracie Wetzel, Alyssa Tomb, Jazz Barry 3:38.91
Samantha Taylor, Michelle Kubiak, Lauren Croll, Olivia Sitkowski 3:46.20
