Huskies Fare Well At Kutzown

 On Saturday the Bloomsburg University men's and women's swim teams traveled to Kutztown University where they competed in a tri-meet. The women's team competed against Mansfield, Edinboro, and Kutztown, resulting in wins in two of the three meets. They dominated Mansfield with a score of 221-35 as well as Edinboro with a score of 192-70. However, the Huskies lost to Kutztown University by only a few points, yielding a 139.50 to 122.50 loss. On the men's side the team swam against Edinboro and won with a score of 140-117.

            When the women's team competed against Kutztown, the meet became a race to the finish. The loss to KU does not seem to have hindered the women's team's confidence. Senior Ashley Carroll takes pride in her team's performance by saying, "Our team performed some of the best times of the season against KU." Some of these times were established when the women's team captured the win in the 200 medley, 100 free, as well as the 200 free. Senior Allie Reed took first place in the 200 medley with a time of 1:52:55. When an injury left Reed unable to swim, she spent a year out of the pool learning more about the sport. The valuable lessons Reed learned on her time off accounted for her good performance at the meet on Saturday.

            Overall the men's team swam very well at the meet by taking first in a number of events. Junior Derek Straub took first in 100 backstroke with a time of 55.33. Also, sophomore Jeremy Frey placed first in both the 200 free and the 200 backstroke. Adding to the list of accomplishments is senior Juan Castaneda who broke a Kutztown pool record when he finished first in the 100 fly with a time of 52.97. Juan, who knows all of his training is paying off, comments on his performance on Saturday by saying "I felt good" and credits that being "mentally prepared for the race" contributed to his record-breaking event.

            As the season continues, the Huskies continue to practice with intensity. The team is gearing up for the Zippi Invitational at Akron University then will train for upcoming meets. Reed believes the meet at Akron will be "a great opportunity for our swimmers to make PSAC qualifying times and personal best times." This positive outlook will only increase the Huskies chances of winning in their upcoming meets. In particular, the meet this Saturday against Ithaca College at 2:00 pm.