ITHACA, NY – The University of Rochester men's swimming and diving team set three additional school records and climbed up the leaderboard, finishing in second place in the team standings after wrapping up competition at the 2024 Ithaca College Bomber Invitational on Sunday afternoon.
 
Overall, the Yellowjackets tallied 1,435 points, ranking second of eight teams in the field. Host Ithaca was first with 1,845 points to claim the title, while Hamilton was the only other team above 1,000 points, finishing third with 1,393.
 
Rochester's records were set by the 200 medley relay squad of Max McClung, Brian Wong, Eli Muldoon and Ben Friedberg, with McClung and Wong also picking up individual records in the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke, respectively.
 
During the Sunday night finals, the relay started things off with its record-breaking time of 1:32.47, ending in second place overall. The group broke the previous record of 1:32.74 that was set back in 2015 by Russell Rosenkranz, Pat Davis, Brian  Wong and Brett Maus. Also, UR's 'B' relay ended 9th, with Venden Berge, Max Gjevre, Chad Buccella and Jeremy Mah swimming a time of 1:37.62.
 
In the lone men's diving event of the final day, Brendan Habert placed fourth in the 3-meter competition with a score of 403.10 points.
 
Up next was the 500 freestyle, with Rochester finishing with one swimmer in each of the finals heats. In the 'A' final, Bryce Berkhof placed fourth in 4:44.61. Nate Attwell was 11th in 4:51.55 and Johnathan Wu was 17th in 4:58.12.
 
McClung's record in the 200 backstroke followed, with the junior winning the event in 1:49.48, breaking his own record of 1:50.13 that was set last season at the UAA Championships in February. Teammate Connor Kann also competed in the 'A' final, placing eighth in 2:01.12.
 
In the next three events, Rochester had five finishers in the evening final sessions. During the 100 butterfly, three swimmers, Noah Falkenhagen, Muldoon and McClunng all were among the top-8 finishers. Falkenhagen was fifth in 52.51, finishing one-hundredth of a second ahead of sixth place Muldoon. McClung ended eighth with a 54.50 second time. During the 'B' final in the butterfly, Friedberg ended 13th with a time of 54.26 second time, while Buccella was 16th in 55.07.
 
Wong's record in the breaststroke was the next highlight, as the UR first-year placed first in 2:04.07. His record eclipsed the 2:05.57 time that was the previous record set in 2023 by Maxim Giller. Jack Zapp ended third in the same heat, swimming 2:07.00. The three other scorers were in the 'B' final, with David Kilway placing ninth (2:13.85), Buccella ranking 10th (2:15.44) and Phillip Brooke ended 13th (2:16.90).
 
In the 100 freestyle, Michael Scholz led the way with a third place result in 46.23 seconds. Falkenhagen finished eighth at 47.45 seconds. In the 'B' final, Kann was ninth with a time of 47.42 seconds, Attwell was 11th in 48.34 seconds and Mah ended 13th, touching the wall in 48.39 seconds.
 
The final individual event of the night was the 200 IM, with Zapp posting a victory in 1:55.22. Gjevre was UR's second finisher in seventh place (2:00.16), with Kilway (2:04.66) and Brooke (2:09.39) ending 17th and 20th, respectively.
 
Wrapping up the night was the 400 freestyle relay event, with Rochester's 'A' relay of McClung, Kann, Falkenhagen and Scholz placing third in 3:08.56. Right behind that group was the 'B' squad of Friedberg, Mah, Berkhof and Attwell who finished in fourth in 3:11.15.
 
The Yellowjackets are now off for the winter break and will next compete on January 18, 2025 in a dual match at RIT.