YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Led by multiple event wins and a steady string of top-three finishes, the IUP swimming and diving teams turned in another strong showing Friday during Day 2 finals at the Youngstown State Invite.
IUP opened the night with a second-place performance in the women's 200 medley relay. The team of Kasha Stokes, Tina Cudina, Gem Crittenden and Katie Crosscut finished in 1:44.62, less than half a second behind Edinboro. The Crimson Hawks' B relay added depth with a sixth-place finish. The men's A relay of Alexander Roth, Patrik Kudla, Trent Powell and Stephen Goff placed fifth in 1:33.42 against a field led by Youngstown State.
Crittenden delivered one of the top individual results for IUP by winning the women's 400 IM in 4:28.67. IUP packed the A final with five swimmers finishing in the top seven, including Summer Esson in fourth, Benedetta Bellini in fifth, Kyla Kramer in sixth and Catrina Miller in seventh. In the B final, Cally Edner won her heat in 4:42.82.
Crosscut added a fourth-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.30. Freshman Kaleese Jallow placed eighth in the A final, and Jensen Westrick, Jordan Crupie and Addy Gurganus all scored in the B final.
Freshman Destini Homan led IUP in the 200 freestyle, taking fifth in 1:59.74. Graduate student Avital Flaishman added a seventh-place finish.
Cudina continued her strong meet by winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.21. Kramer and Miller added fifth- and sixth-place finishes, and five IUP swimmers scored in the B final, including Vhenekai Dhemba and Ellie Speer.
Stokes claimed another win for IUP in the 100 backstroke, touching in 54.94. Lilly Farmer earned a third-place finish in 58.53, and Crupie placed sixth to give IUP three of the top six spots.
On the men's side, Powell finished fifth in the 100 butterfly in 50.42, while freshman Riley Yute took seventh. Goff added a podium finish for the men in the 200 freestyle, placing third in 1:43.60. Davies finished sixth in the 100 breaststroke and Kudla took eighth.
Roth led IUP in the men's 100 backstroke with a fifth-place finish in 52.12, while Ty Uhlig clocked 51.20 to place third overall.
The YSU Invite concludes Saturday with the final day of events, where IUP will look to close out the meet with additional podium finishes.
