LYNCHBURG, Va. — The Washington and Lee University men's swimming team claimed eight event victories, including three apiece from Ryan Smith, Ben Blomgren and Leighton Chapman, to defeat the University of Lynchburg in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) dual meet Saturday afternoon.
The Generals (2-1) captured seven individual events and the 200-yard medley relay, with Smith, Blomgren and Chapman each earning two individual victories while contributing to the winning relay. Smith swept the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley, Blomgren claimed both breaststroke events and Chapman won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races. First-year Owen Cullaty added a victory in the 200 butterfly as W&L swept the top three scoring positions in four individual events.
Up Next: Washington and Lee returns to action Thursday, Nov. 5, when the Generals host Southern Virginia University in a non-conference dual meet at 6 p.m.
W&L Event Winners
Notable Performances
- Smith, Blomgren and Chapman each contributed to three event victories, combining for six individual wins and teaming with Ross to capture the 200 medley relay in 1:34.57.
- Smith won the 200 backstroke in 1:59.70, edging teammate Carter Whetstine (2:00.11) by 0.41 seconds. He later captured the 200 IM in 1:58.84 to lead a 1-2-3 sweep alongside John Ramos (2:02.06) and Reid Vandervoort (2:03.37). Smith also finished second in the 100 backstroke (53.34), followed by Whetstine in third (54.36).
- Blomgren swept the breaststroke events, winning the 100 in 59.77 seconds and the 200 in 2:16.09. Ramos placed second in both races, recording times of 1:01.59 and 2:16.24, respectively. Hayden Stallings completed W&L's sweep of the 100 breaststroke with a third-place finish (1:03.18).
- Chapman swept the sprint freestyle events, winning the 50 freestyle in 21.38 seconds and the 100 freestyle in 46.67. Eli Koh finished second in the 50 (21.95) and third in the 100 (47.89), while Jackson Brooks completed the 50 freestyle sweep in third (22.02).
- Cullaty led a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 butterfly, touching first in 1:54.56. Ross followed in second (1:59.10), while Matthew Franklin placed third (2:00.77). Cullaty also finished second in the 100 butterfly (51.48), just 0.15 seconds behind Lynchburg's Henry Brooks.
- The Generals opened the meet with a 1-2 finish in the 200 medley relay. Smith, Blomgren, Ross and Chapman claimed first in 1:34.57, while Whetstine, Ramos, Cullaty and William Gordon followed in 1:37.81.
- Lucas Chacon recorded runner-up finishes in both distance freestyle events, posting times of 10:18.38 in the 1,000 freestyle and 4:57.04 in the 500 freestyle. William Thomas added a third-place finish in the 500 freestyle (5:01.33).
- Erik Szabo placed second in the 200 freestyle (1:45.80), finishing 0.44 seconds behind Lynchburg's JC Gordon. Thomas added a fourth-place finish in 1:47.80.
- W&L's 200 freestyle relay team of Szabo, Cooper Tinsley, Chacon and Noah Ramos finished third in 1:30.38. The Generals' A relay was disqualified following an early exchange.
By the Numbers
- Total Events: 14
- Event Wins: 8 of 14
- Winning Percentage: 57.1%
- Top-Three Sweeps: 4
- Top-Three Event Finishes: 14 of 14
