A second-place finish in the final relay provided the difference in a 148-146 victory for the Wabash swimming and diving team over DePauw Friday night.
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The foursome of
Wyatt Tarter,
Elliot Johns,
Jack Belford, and
Chris McGue captured four points for their second-place finish (3:12.31) in the 400 freestyle relay, defeating DePauw's second team by three seconds and giving the Little Giants a two-point edge in the final scoring.
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Wabash nearly led wire to wire in the dual-meet competition against its archrivals. The Little Giants won 11 of the 16 events, starting with the 200 free relay.
Dakota Rhodes,
Zechariah Banks, McGue, and Tarter combined for a winning time of 1:35.61, providing an early lead for the squad.
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The Little Giants swept the top-three spots in the 1,000 freestyle.
Jack Belford touched first with a time of 9:48.16, followed by
Chris Dabrowski in second (10:01.52) and
Arturo Granados in third (10:12.54). Johns scored a victory in the 200 freestyle by finishing in 1:42.73, while
Joel Paquin added a point with his fifth-place finish (1:46.38). Rhodes scored two points with a fourth-place finish in the 100 backstroke (56.54) with
David Johnson adding another point with his sixth-place finish (57.07).
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With the lead trimmed to four points, Banks provided a boost with a victory in the 100 breaststroke (57.20). Josh Bleish finished fourth with a time of 1:00.95.
Kyle Louks won the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:00:86 with
Clayton Highum scoring two points with his fourth-place finish (2:03.38).
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DePauw narrowed the lead to three points after claiming first-, third-, and fifth-place finishes in the 50 free. Johns and McGue placed second and fourth with times of 21.68 and 22.09, respectively.
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The Little Giants' freshmen divers combined for 26 points in two diving events, starting with the one-meter competition.
Aaron Embree won with a total of 253.40 points. Max Van Deylen placed second with a score of 234.95.
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Johns and McGue stretched the lead once again by placing first (46.90) and third (49.11) in the 100 free. After DePauw captured the top-three spots in the 200 backstroke with the Little Giants answering with a fifth-place finish for Rhodes (2:09:38) and a sixth for
Joe Whitaker (2:13.88), Banks rallied Wabash with a victory in the 200 breaststroke. He touched the wall at the finish in 2:08.60 with Bleisch finishing fourth overall (2:12.87).
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Belford won the 500 free with a time of 4:38.28. Paquin finished fourth in the race at 4:50.19. Wabash relinquished the lead after the next race, the 100 butterfly. DePauw captured first through third to score 16 points with Wabash tallying three behind a fourth-place finish for Louks (54.13) and a fifth for Highum (54.61).
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Embree and Von Deylen gave the lead right back to the Little Giants with another 1-2 effort on the three-meter board. Embree won with a score of 257.85 with Von Deylen tallying 246.10 points to finish second. Banks followed with a win in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing in 1:59.76. Rhodes scored a key point with his finish in eighth place (2:09.27) to set up the final relay.
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Wabash defeated the Tigers for the second consecutive season, the first time the Little Giants have won consecutive dual meets in the rivalry since wins in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons, also marking the last time Wabash had won in Greencastle.
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The Little Giants return home for a double-dual meet Saturday, November 7 at 1 p.m. against Rose-Hulman and Manchester in the Class of 1950 Natatorium.
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