PASADENA, Calif. (Jan. 13, 2023) – A shorthanded Whittier College men's swimming & diving team competed at Caltech on Saturday afternoon, a team is perennially in the top three mix at the SCIAC Championships. As such, the Poets continued their pursuit of SCIAC Championship form.
Freshman Thomas Langlois (Haut-Richelieu, QC, Canada) once against showed he can be a standout talent in the conference. He won the men's 500 (4:50.90) and 1000 Free (9:54.62) events as he has typically done at most dual meet encounters this season, but also made waves in the 200 Free where he put together a late run to challenge Caltech's top competitor in the event. Langlois finished with a 200 Free time of 1:47.57 just beneath his personal best for the year. Sophomore Garrett Dykier (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills) joined Langlois in the 200 Free as well as the 500 Free. The sophomore also helped lead a 200 Medley Relay team consisting of junior Nick Coltrin (Livermore, Calif. / Granada), sophomore James Saw (Cave Creek, Ariz. Desert Mountain) and freshman Nolan Morton (Kailua Kona, / Hawaii Kealakehe) that came within two seconds of topping their top time for the season.
Other Poets of note included Coltrin, who swam to a third-place finish in a fast 50 Free field that Caltech's winner break the program in the event. However, Coltrin posted a time in line with some of his fastest 50 Free performances of the season and managed to beat out three other Beavers with a 21.75. Coltrin also swam the 100 Free, where his 48.84 time tied another talented Caltech freshman, earning his team 3.5 points on the team score. Saw, meanwhile, swam to a third-place finish in the 100 Fly, while Morton took third in the 200 IM.
Whittier closed the day with the 400 Free relay, where Langlois, Dykier, Coltrin, and freshman Luca Samanta (Whittier, Calif. / Sonora) combined to yield a second-place time of 3:20.31.
Head Coach Michael Jafari and the Poets will aim to continue their pursuit of SCIAC Championship form in two weeks' time when they host the University of La Verne in the annual Senior Day meet.
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