Over the weekend, the Binghamton men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed at the Harold Anderson Invitational at Rhode Island University. The men took first out of five teams with a score of 1074.5 setting three school records. The women’s team placed third out of seven, scoring 649.5 points.

“Overall it was a really successful weekend for both men and the women,” said Binghamton head coach Jerry Cummiskey. “We won on the men’s side but swam really well on both. I’m happy with how everyone performed.”

Two of the records set by the men were in relays. In the 400 freestyle relay junior Justin Meyn, sophomore Henry Shemet, freshman Eli Lanfear and sophomore Liam Murphy took first, (3:00.94) breaking the previous BU program record set in 2007 by less than a second. Murphy, Shemet and Lanfear were accompanied by sophomore Jake Vecchio for the 800 freestyle relay (6:41.21) that broke another school record by nearly two seconds.

The third record set was by senior Ryan Board in the 100 breaststroke. His preliminary time of 54.59 in the event broke his own previous school record by just over a fifth of a second.

“School records in the middle of the season and many lifetime bests and pool records, it was a pretty cool weekend,” Cummiskey said. “Definitely an exciting way to cap off the fall portion.”

Murphy then competed in the 500 freestyle, placing first and taking 20 points and breaking the pool record by over 15 seconds with a time of 4:29.33. On day two, he broke another pool record in the 200 freestyle (1:40.16) preliminary and went on to win gold in the event with a time of 1:40.24. Lastly, he won the 1650 freestyle (15:56.75) to grab BU another 20 points.

“[Murphy] has been a workhorse for us,” Cummiskey said. “He’s got a lot of range and you know, he’s really always up to compete so he was one of our top guys.”

In the men’s 200 IM the Bearcats took four of the top five spots with Shemet taking first and setting the pool record with a time of 1:49.77. The men finished day one in first by over 100 points. On day two, Shemet grabbed his second first-place victory and pool record in the 400 IM (3:58.79).

“I’m happy with how we performed and held on throughout the weekend,” Cummiskey said. “I think we did a good job of doing better at night than the mornings.”

On the meet’s opening day, the women took second in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:52.88. The team was composed of sophomore Maddie Hoover, sophomore Courtney Moane, freshman Lauren Kuzma and sophomore Molly Greeley. Moane added a first-place finish individually in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.24. Then on Saturday, the women’s team earned points early, taking first in the 200 medley relay (1:46.44) with Hoover, Moane, senior Belen Marriaga and sophomore Lara Geelen. The men did the same, finishing with a time of 1:30.25, breaking the pool record.

“I think we certainly got better for the weekend and we had a good Friday,” Cummiskey said. “I thought Saturday was really good. And I think we did a pretty good job today.”

Senior Chris Egan swept the men’s diving event, placing first in both the one-meter and three-meter competitions. On Friday, he won the three-meter with a score of 280.75, and on Saturday took the one-meter with a score 302.65, earning 20 points per win. Egan’s one-meter dive broke the previous pool record. Senior Amanda McGraw placed second in both events with scores of 250.35 in the three-meter and 280.60 in the one-meter. The senior was outscored by less than five points in each event.

“They’ve been consistent all year and are definitely the leaders on the diving end,” Cummiskey said. “They had a good weekend and definitely had good competition for them. They’ve been strong and consistent all year.”

This meet concludes the fall semester portion of the season. The teams will return to the pool on Saturday, Jan. 22 at St. Bonaventure. The meet will take place at the Reilly Center in Olean, New York with a time to be announced.

“At the end of the day, this weekend doesn’t really matter because we’ve got to do it when it counts in February,” Cummiskey said. “It’s definitely good to see progress this year and getting better and now we’ve got to make adjustments and do the work to be better.”