Junior Ian Simpson and sophomore Anthony Ferrell lead Men's Swimming and Diving in 196-66 victory over Wilmington

By Caleb Scott

ADA — Junior Ian Simpson (Strongsville) and sophomore Anthony Ferrell (Canton/Glen Oak) each finished first in three events to lead the Ohio Northern men's swimming and diving team to a 196-66 victory over Wilmington.

The Polar Bears improve to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Quakers fall to 1-1, 1-1.

Simpson teamed up with Ferrell, sophomore Pete He (Mason), and senior Logan Pfeifer Bucyrus/Colonel Crawford) to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:37.46.

Simpson also finished first in the 100 back in :55.20 and the 100 IM in :55.93.

Ferrell took first place finishes in 50 breat and 100 breast in :27.46 and :59.91, respectively.

The sophomore also finished third in the 100 IM in :57.71.

He took first place in the 100 fly in :52.88, while Pfeifer finished first in the 50 back in :26.09.

Freshman Nolan Huey (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge) recorded two first place finishes as he won the 200 free in 1:48.89 and the 100 back in :55.47.

The freshman also finished second in the 100 back in :55.47.

"We were excited to open our OAC season against the Quakers. It's a great environment when you can race against a team who matches up with good character," said head coachPeggy Ewald. "We got to see where our freshman will grow and where we need to continue work. The meet event list was a fun competitive meet to kick off our dual season. All meets are tests to what you are doing daily in practice. This test demonstrated great execution of the changes we are asking of the athletes. We will need to continue pushing out the comfort zone. In doing so, the team will grow."

Senior Eric Chen (Mason) teamed up with junior Thomas Golba (Kettering/Archbishop Alter), senior John Raker (Lebanon/Lakota West) and freshman Ryan Groehl (Marysville) and finished first in the 200 free relay in 1:27.62.

Chen also finished second in the 100 IM in :56.27.

Raker finished second in the 100 breast in 1:03.02, while Golba finished second in the 50 free in :22.45.

Groehl finished second in both the 50 back and 50 fly in :26.47 and :25.12, respectively.

Freshman Nathan Donatelli (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) finished first in the 1000 free in 10:49.92, while junior Conor Cassara (Westhampton, N.Y./Westhampton Beach) took second in the 50 breast in :28.57.

The team of Huey, Golba, Raker and Groehl finished second in the 200 medley relay, while senior Joey Mullen (Springfield/Shawnee), sophomore Justin Chapman (Springboro), and freshman Collin Mastowski (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville Area) teamed up with Groehl to finish second in the 200 free relay.

Northern will return to the pool Saturday as it travels to OAC-foe John Caroll for a dual meet at 11 am.