2023 Patriot Invitational
- November 15-18, 2023
- Fairfax, Virginia
- SCY (25 yards)
- Day 3 Results
The 2023 Patriot Invitational concluded on Saturday night at the Jim McKay Natatorium in Fairfax, Virginia. Florida Atlantic topped the overall scores for both the men and the women, as many meet records highlighted the final day of action.
Women’s Recap
Towson junior Bridget Thomas started off the night strong with a win in the 1650 freestyle. Her time of 16:53.57 narrowly misses her best of 16:50.17 from this meet a year ago. This swim currently ranks her 2nd in the Colonial Conference rankings, sitting only behind the 16:49.76 posted by UNC Wilmington senior Brooke Knisley at the Gamecock Invitational.
Towson sophomore Ally Frame made it two-in-a-row for the Tigers, winning the 200 backstroke in 1:56.26. The time recorded by Frame is not only a personal best, it currently leads the CAA conference rankings by just under 2 seconds. Last year, Frame placed 3rd in the CAA Conference final with a time of 1:57.62. This completes a sweep of the backstroke events for Frame, as she took the 100 backstroke win yesterday (53.40).
St. Bonaventure freshman Anna Forjan touched in 2nd place (1:59.31), while Anka Whelan of GMU grabbed 3rd (2:00.50). The time posted by Forjan marks a substantial drop from her previous best time of 2:02.05.
George Mason junior Ali Tyler posted a time of 49.55 to win the 100 freestyle. While her swim missed the meet record by just 0.01, it checks in as the fastest time in the Atlantic 10 Conference this year by 1.5 seconds. Mimi Watts touched 2nd in 50.07, while Nellie Thompson claimed 3rd in a time of 50.90.
A pair of FAU first-years went 1-2 in the 200 breaststroke, with Nula Gow leading the way in a time of 2:16.82. Bilu Bianchi touched just 0.32 behind to secure 2nd place, while Tiffany Matulis of Towson stopped the clock in 2:17.53 to grab 3rd.
Dolores Margni, a junior at Florida Atlantic, secured a win in the 200 butterfly with her performance of 1:59.96. The time checks in as a personal best time and ranks her 3rd in the American Athletic Conference. Silvana Cabrera (2:00.46) and Abigail Murtaugh (2:01.24) placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
George Mason University closed out the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay. The quartet of Shannon Judge (51.95), Emma DeJong (50.97), Peyton Brehmer (51.42), and Ali Tyler combined to stop the clock in 3:23.64. The time recorded by George Mason leads the Atlantic 10 conference rankings by just under 2 seconds.
Final Team Scores (Women)
- Florida Atlantic – 986 points
- Towson – 736 points
- George Mason – 605.5 points
- Richmond – 483 points
- American University – 376 points
- St. Bonaventure – 371 points
- Marist – 184.5 points
- UNC Wilmington – 43 points
Men’s Recap
FAU teammates Timo Paisley and Logan Thornsberry went head-to-head in the 1650 freestyle to start the final session, and they ultimately touched just 0.05 apart at the finish. Paisley got his hand on the wall first in a time of 15:36.36, while Thornsberry touched in 15:36.41.
The two teammates swam the races very differently, with Paisley taking it out much more aggressively through the first 1000. Thornsberry began to make his move after the 1000 mark, and pulled within 2 seconds of Paisley with 150 to go.
Split Comparison
| Timo Paisley | Logan Thornsberry | |
| Split @ 200 | 1:48.08 | 1:48.91 |
| Split @ 500 | 4:36.53 | 4:40.21 |
| Split @ 1000 | 9:21.73 | 9:26.50 |
| Split @ 1500 | 14:11.66 | 14:13.40 |
| Total Time | 15:36.36 | 15:36.41 |
The time recorded by Paisley checks in just shy of the 15:34.67 personal best he put on the books at the 2023 CSCAA National Invitational Championship.
Sean Colson, a sophomore at Towson, took the 200 backstroke win with a time of 1:45.89. He clocked a best time in the heats earlier in the day (1:45.79). The 1:45.79 performance ranks Colson 3rd in the CAA, only sitting behind Gavin Currie (1:44.16) and Kaloyan Levterov (1:44.64). George Mason’s Tate Anderson swam a 1:46.06 to take 2nd place while Taylor Eaton of FAU took 3rd (1:47.93).
FAU posted a 1-2 finish in the men’s 100 freestyle, with senior Jackson Kirk (44.42) out-touching teammate Jacob Rubin (44.48) by 0.06. Kirk led at the 50 turn by nearly a second (20.99 to the 22.02 split by Rubin), but Rubin closed much stronger to nearly catch Kirk the last 15 yards of the race.
Towson senior Brian Benzing continued to build on his strong performances from the previous two days with another win in the 200 breaststroke. Benzing stopped the clock in a time of 1:54.64 to take the win by nearly five seconds. The swim broke his own meet record by nearly two seconds from last year. George Mason’s Tyler Lentine clocked a 1:59.19 for 2nd, while Jack Sheehan of FAU finished in 3rd (2:01.06).
St. Bonaventure junior Alexander Behr was victorious in the 200 butterfly, stopping the clock in a final time of 1:46.60. He won the race by nearly 2 seconds, as Ian Rodgers (1:48.46) and Francesco Fiore rounded out the top three.
Towson ended the meet with another relay win in the form of the 400 freestyle relay. The Towson quartet consisted of Brian Benzing (44.05), Daniel McLaughlin (44.47), Ben Eischeid (44.07), and Luke Schwar (43.90) as they combined to post a time of 2:56.49. They had a second lead heading into the final exchange, but Jackson Kirk of FAU split 43.63 on the anchor leg to close the gap on Towson. FAU ultimately took 2nd in 2:57.15, with George Mason finishing 3rd (2:59.71).
Notably, both the Towson and FAU team finished under the old meet record of 2:57.36, which FAU broke en route to the victory last year.
Final Team Scores (Men)
- Florida Atlantic – 1059 points
- Towson – 860 points
- George Mason – 534 points
- St. Bonaventure – 505 points
- Marist – 366 points
- American University – 255 points
- UNC Wilmington – 114 points
- Marymount – 60 points
