William & Mary’s Sophia Heilen Takes Down CAA 100 Fly Record (52.70) On Day 2 Of WVU Invite

2023 West Virginia Invitational

• November 16-18, 2023
• Morgantown, West Virginia
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results (Day 2)

Day 2 of the West Virginia Invite featured the 200 medley relay, 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, and 800 freestyle relay.

Women’s Recap

After winning the 200 IM on day 1, William & Mary’s Sophia Heilen secured her second individual title of the meet in the 100 fly. The sophomore clocked a personal best of 52.70, marking a new program and Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) record. 

Heilen was also a member of William & Mary’s winning 200 medley relay (1:40.67), delivering a fly split of 24.06. 

Allie Waggoner from Seton Hall also added her 2nd individual victory of the competition last night, as she posted a program record time of 4:16.78 to decisively claim the 400 IM. Waggoner entered the meet with a personal best time of 4:22.10. 

The 200 freestyle went to Villanova senior Molly Benson, who cracked 1:49 for the first time with a 1:48.33. 

Rounding out the individual winners on the women’s side was West Virginia’s Mia Cheatwood and Northern Iowa’s Amber Finke. Cheatwood got her hand on the wall 1st in the 100 breast at 1:00.46, lowering her personal best in the event by a tenth. In the 100 back, Finke notched a best time of 53.73 en route to winning,

East Carolina secured their 1st victory of the invite in the 800 freestyle relay, where they combined for 7:24.76 to clear the field by three seconds. Heidi Bruining led the way for the Pirates with a 1:50.30 split on the third leg. 

Team Scores Through Day 2:

1. Navy – 344
2. West Virginia – 336
3. Villanova – 326
4. Delaware – 312
5. William & Mary – 304
6. East Carolina – 299
7. Northern Iowa – 209
8. Seton Hall – 75
9. Drexel – 152.5
10. Old Dominion – 75

Men’s Recap

The West Virginia men swept the relays of the evening, clocking a 1:27.05 in the 200 medley and a 6:34.19 on the 800 free. Danny Berlitz logged the top split of the team on the 800 with a lead off leg of 1:37.33.

Berlitz dominated the 400 IM, clocking a 3:46.53 to top his heat by almost ten seconds. His swim was not a personal best, but was faster than he was at the Big 12 Conference Championships in the spring. 

Roanoke Shirk added another win for the Mountaineers in the 200 free. He got his hand on the wall 1st at 1:37.42, narrowly beating his teammate Max Nielsen in 2nd (1:37.87). 

Jonah Harm and Ben Irwin captured an event each for Navy, with Harm taking the 100 fly (46.25) and Irwin winning the 100 back (47.57). Both were about a second off their respective personal bests.  

The 100 breaststroke went to Delaware junior Toni Sabev, who recorded a season best of 53.09. The event was one of the closer ones of the session, as Harm (53.25) and Kacper Karnik (53.57) finished within half a second of Sabev. 

Team Scores Through Day 2:

1. Navy – 800.5
2. West Virginia – 527
3. Delaware – 329
4. Drexel – 243
5. Seton Hall – 222
6. William & Mary – 218.5
7. Villanova – 150
8. Old Dominion – 116