2024 WVU Invite
- November 20-22, 2024
- Morgantown, WV
- 25 Yards (SCY)
- Participating Teams: WVU, Navy, James Madison, Old Dominion, Villanova, William & Mary, Clarion, Duquesne
- Full Results: Day 1 | Day 2
Men’s Meet
The Navy men extended their lead to 656 points on Day 2 of the 2024 WVU Invitational, again flexing their depth and relay strength. They won the opening 200 medley relay with a quartet of Ben Irwin (21.76), Juan Mora (24.01), Lachlan Andrew (21.01), and Gavin Green (19.69) clocking 1:26.47 to finish .73 seconds ahead of WVU.
It was a closer race in the closing 800 freestyle relay as the Midshipmen out-touched the Mountaineers by two-tenths. Navy was ahead at the final exchange and held off a late charge from WVU anchor Christian Simpson, who split 1:37.50 to nearly run down Navy’s anchor.
Navy also picked up wins in the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke. 3x 2024 Patriot League champion Ben Irwin won the 100 backstroke in a season-best 47.06, while Juan Mora led a 1-2 Navy finish in the 100 breaststroke with a 52.82, .33 seconds off his lifetime best.
The Old Dominion men had a strong session, as sophomore Zach Redding won a pair of events and senior Gustaf Hansson set a school record in the 100 backstroke. Hansson clocked a 47.73 to rewrite the program record and finish third.
First, Redding won the 100 fly in 47.12. It’s a 1.38-second drop for Redding, who touched ahead of a Navy 2-3 finish from Irwin (47.67) and Andrew (48.34). Redding earned his second win of the session in the 200 freestyle. After swimming a lifetime best of 1:38.21 in prelims, he smashed that mark by 1.57 seconds to touch first in 1:36.64.
West Virginia’s Danny Berlitz won his second event of the meet in the 400 IM, following up his 200 IM win on Day 1. Berlitz crushed the ‘A’ final with a 3:48.39, winning by 6.04 seconds.
Women’s Meet
After a strong second day, the Villanova women have surpassed William & Mary for the lead after two days of the 2024 WVU Invitational. The ‘Cats had multiple podium finishes on Day 2, highlighted by junior Arabella Lee swimming the 100 butterfly in a personal best. Lee, the defending Big East champion in the 100 fly, swam a 53.71, coming four-tenths from her lifetime best.
Meanwhile, William & Mary, West Virginia, and Navy each picked up two event wins. William & Mary won the 200 medley relay by more than a second to kick off the meet as Sarah Dunham (25.66), Ellie Scherer (28.30), Lindsay Juhlin (23.71), and Caroline Burgeson (22.6) clocked 1:40.27.
Later, Claire Neilly won the 400 IM for the W&M women, swimming a 4:15.28. She was the only one in the field to break 4:20, as Villanova’s Anna Farley swam 4:20.78 for 2nd place, herself finishing almost a second ahead of teammate Peri Gaguzis (4:21.76).
Gabriela Martin De La Torre factored into both of West Virginia’s wins. First, she swam 1:49.56 to win the 200 freestyle. Then, she led off the Mountaineers winning 800 freestyle relay, getting the group started with a 1:50.46. Maddie Smutny (1:52.13), Miranda Kirtley (1:51.09), and Olivia Busch (1:52.04) followed, winning in 7:25.72.
As on the men’s side of the meet, the Navy women won both the 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke. Lauren Walsh earned gold in the breaststroke, swimming a 1:01.65 to out-touch Scherer’s 1:01.89. Ela Habjan won another close race in the 100 backstroke, coming from behind to get the better of WVU’s Delaney Cox by a hundredth, 54.32 to 54.33.
Team Scores Thru Day 2
Men
- Navy — 1851
- West Virginia — 1195
- Villanova — 810
- Old Dominion — 723
- William & Mary — 617
- Clarion — 212
Women
- Villanova — 1233.5
- William & Mary — 1215
- Navy — 1174.5
- West Virginia — 1054
- Old Dominion — 324
- James Madison — 187
- Clarion — 160
- Duquesne — 72
