Swim Season Kicks Off with Home Duel Against Augustana

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (10/28/2023) — The Monmouth College men's and women's swimming teams began their seasons on Friday night with a home duel against Augustana College. The men fell 144-38 while the women lost 153-31.

Men

The men were led by freshman Tariq McLarty (South Holland, Illinois) who won the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 48.9 seconds. Freshman Jaeden Peters (Greenfield, Indiana) was second in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:25.91.

Freshman Luke Foster (Galesburg, Illinois) and sophomore Ethan Main (Oneida, Illinois) both scored in the 200 yard IM with times of 2:14.93 and 2:21.76 respectively. Foster also scored points with a third-place finish in the 100 yard backstroke.

Freshmen Eli Wills (Blue Springs, Missouri) and Kody Coyne (Bluffton, Indiana) scored in the 50 free with times of 24.06 and 25.32 respectively. Peters and Brady Hild (Tremont, Illinois) scored in the 200 free while Hild added points in the 500 free.

Wills and Tristan Kennon (Flossmoor, Illinois) earned Monmouth points in the 100 yard butterfly while Coyne and Main scored in the 100 yard breaststroke.

The 200 yard medley relay team of Foster, Camden Schmidt (Washington, Illinois) , McLarty and Kennon was third with a time of 1:44.12. Schmidt, Peters, Wills and Hild were third in the 200 free relay as well.

Women

Cally Tate (Monmouth, Illinois) took second in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 26.38 while Emily Davis (Beloit, Wisconsin) also scored points in the event. Tate was also second in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.12.

Freshman Aiden Bach (Stetsonville, Missouri) was fourth in the 200 yard IM with a time of 2:25.73 and Nicole Fitch (Marengo, Illinois) scored the Scots a point in 2:34.84. Bach added a fourth place finish in the 100 yard backstroke.

Mady Gaus (Herscher, Illinois) swam the 200 yard freestyle in 2:19.56 to score two points. She scored two points in the 100 yard butterfly while freshman Rudy Poffinbarger (Rockford, Illinois) also scored. Fitch finished fourth in the 500 yard freestyle, just ahead of Poffinbarger as both scored points.

Freshman Claire LaBadie (Griffith, Indiana) scored a point in the 100 yard freestyle. Katie Oberheu (Fort Worth, Texas) and Davis both scored points in the 100 yard breaststroke.

The 200 yard medley relay of Tate, Oberheu, Fitch and LaBadie was third in 2:03.97 while Bach, Poffinbarger, Davis and Oberheu were third in the 200 free relay.

The Scots were originally scheduled to host Knox last Friday but that meet was canceled. The Scots swim at Illinois College next Saturday at 1 p.m. The next home meet is a double duel against Grinnell and IC on Saturday Nov. 11.