Gibson sets school record, Lions place second at King Invitational

BRISTOL, Tenn. - The Mars Hill men's swim team opened their 2023-24 season placing second at the King Invitational.

The two-day meet concluded Sunday afternoon.

The Lions' group of Thomas Gibson, Andres Bodington, Evangelos Daniil, and Joash McKonie placed second in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:27.32, earning 34 points.

Gibson set the school record in the 50 yard freestyle, turning in a time of 20.61 to take first and notch 20 points for the Lions. Daniil finished eighth in the event to earn 11 points.

Gibson also took first in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 50.91 to earn another 20 points to the Lions' total. In the 200 yard freestyle, Gibson swam a 1:40.22 to take first in his third event. Daniil placed third with a time of 1:46.02.

Bodington took first in several events over the two days. In the 500 yard freestyle with a finals time of 4:41.90, finishing 11 seconds ahead of second place and earning 20 points. In the 1650 yard freestyle, he swam a time of 15:57.88, nearly a minute ahead of the second place swimmer. Taking the 200 yard breaststroke, he turned in a time of 2:11.79.

McKonie won the 200 yard IM with a time of 1:57.74 to secure 20 points for the Lions. Matthew Goslin placed eighth, earning 11 points. In the 100 yard IM, McKonie swam a time of 51.41 for a first place finish and a new school record.

The Lions also won the 200 and 400 yard medley relays, combining for 80 points to the team total. Mars Hill finished with a total of 425 points.

To view the full list of results, please click here.

The Lions next swim on Saturday, October 7 when they travel to Emmanuel. The meet will start at 11 a.m.