By Dominic Rapposelli
Sports Editor
Washington College men’s swimming finished eighth of 12 programs at the annual Franklin and Marshall College Invitational. The Invitational serves as the mid-season point for the Shoremen, who have just one more meet before the end of the calendar year.
The meet was highlighted by sophomore Nathan Rawa and junior Connor Kravitz-Yoffee, who swam their way into the program top ten over the weekend.
Rawa took third place at the meet, with a 51.10 finish in the 100-yard backstroke, putting him at fourth in program history at the event. Rawa broke his own fourth place record by .06 seconds.
The swimmer also added a fourth place finish in the 200-yard backstroke (1:53.97) and a sixth place nod in the 100-yard butterfly (50.03). Rawa continues a standout campaign, taking home his second Shoreman of the Week honor this season.
Kravitz-Yoffee finished with a time of 16:50.59 in the 1650-yard freestyle. He launched himself up two spots in the program leader board to sixth all time.
Senior Chase Henson added a seventh place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (58.13) and ninth in the 100-yard individual medley.
Fellow senior Zach Affeldt added a pair of top ten finishes as well. Affeldt scored a eighth place time in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:11.80) and 10th in the 400-yard individual medley (4:13.90).
Seniors Justin Fitzpatrick, William Schmidt, and Patrick Downes also earned points for the Shoremen.
Fitzpatrick had a time of 51.57 on his way to a 14th place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. Schmidt grabbed a 20th place finish in the 100 yard backstroke. Downes rounded out the trio with a 19th place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle.
“The biggest thing for us is to keep working on the little things. We’re coming off mid-season and had a lot of personal best times,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s a lot of momentum heading into the last week. We’re going to treat this like the cherry on top.”
The Shoremen will have their last meet of 2024 on Dec. 7 against Widener University. The team will enjoy a few weeks off before making their annual week-long training trip to Florida in early January.
“I think the message we are trying to send to our team is to have a positive attitude heading into this last meet and to keep doing the right things,” Fitzpatrick said.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics.
Photo Caption: The Shoremen are looking for a strong meet with Widener.