Canton, Ohio – The third day of competition at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) / Mountain East Conference (MEC) Swimming and Diving Championships took place on Friday, Feb. 14 in Canton, Ohio at C.T. Branin Natatorium. With the bulk of the competition now in the rearview mirror, the Oilers are in an enviable position with both teams holding the top spot with only one final day remaining.

Findlay's women, ranked 12th in the country, have continued to push the gas pedal and now have scored 1,436 points. The Oilers men, ranked 24th in the country, are also in first, now with 1,333 points scored.

Friday's Top Performances
Women

• Freshman Sophie Busby took runner-up in the women's 500-yard free, finishing in 5:01.21—an NCAA B standard time—just 0.11 seconds behind the winner.
• For the third consecutive season, senior Sasha Melnyk claimed the 100 backstroke title, this time with an NCAA B standard time of 54.16, breaking the program record set in 2017. She also set a new meet record, swimming the fourth fastest time in Division II this season.
  • Sofia Lesmes Montes (So.) finished runner-up with a time of 55.9, meeting the NCAA B standard.
• Katie Susi (Jr.) successfully defended her title in the 100 breast. She clocked in with a B cut time of 1:03.01.
• Winning the 200 butterfly for the third consecutive season was Emily Mears-Bentley (Jr.). with an NCAA B cut time of 2:01.72.
• In the 800 freestyle relay, the Oilers were winners as Lesmes Montes, Macee Reckard (Jr.), Abbie Kmet (Sr.) and Mears-Bentley teamed up to touch the wall in 7:30.81 which set a new meet record.

Men

• Matteo Filippi (Jr.), making a great case for Swimmer of the Meet, picked up yet another conference title in the 500 free, winning the race in a time of 4:28.69. This marks his third event crown at the championship. This time meets the NCAA B cut while also establishing a new meet and school record.
• After five years of domination from former standout Tim Stollings, the Oilers have their newest winner in the 100 backstroke in Randy Keener (Jr.) with a time of 48.45. That time meets the NCAA B standard.
• Senior Luca Chiandussi defended his 100 breaststroke title, finishing in 54.18—an NCAA B standard time.
  • Marko Priednieks finished runner-up in the event with a time of 55.41.
• Winning his first ever conference title was David Schlor (So.), who took the crown in the 200 butterfly. He clocked in with a time of 1:52.02.
• In the last finals event of the night, the Oilers continued their winning ways with a dominating performance in the 800 freestyle relay. Dags Bregis (Sr.), Tyler Thomas (Sr), Leland Woeste (Fr.), and Santiago Arteaga (So.) won the event with a time of 6:50.04. Findlay has now won the event at conference in five consecutive seasons.

Team Scores
Women

1. Findlay- 1463
2. Hillsdale- 1045.5
3. Frostburg State- 717
4. Ashland- 693.5
5. Wheeling- 428
6. Fairmont State- 388
7. Davis & Elkins- 282
8. Salem- 236
9. West Virginia Wesleyan- 174
10. Malone- 164

Men

1. Findlay- 1333
2. Ashland- 1118
3. Frostburg State- 821
4. Fairmont State- 489
5. Wheeling- 443
6. Salem- 375
7. Davis & Elkins- 375
8. Malone- 256
9. West Virginia Wesleyan- 165

Findlay will be back in action for the final day of the event, tomorrow, Feb. 15. The prelims will be held in a morning session with finals to follow in the evening. All coverage of the event can be found on findlayoilers.com including the live stream via the Great Midwest Digital Network.