CLEVELAND, Miss. – The William Carey University men's swim & dive team opened the fall portion of its season with a first-place finish at the Magnolia Invite, hosted by Delta State.
 
The Crusaders began the meet with a strong performance in the 200-yard Medley Relay. The quartet of Lucca De Moraes, Hunter Boudreau, Nedas Giedraitis, and Janos Szabo earned a second-place finish. William Carey also placed fourth with the team of Blake Talbert, Alexander Grenardo, Maciej Leszczynski, and Blaise Boyd, while Yaseen Abdelgawad, Tom Poyen, Emil Subotikj, and Adam Salama finished fifth.
 
In the 1,000-yard Freestyle, Miguel Vieira led the way with a first-place finish, while Braedan Jacobs added a third-place effort. De Moraes followed with a runner-up finish in the 100-yard Backstroke, posting a time of 51.87, and Abdelgawad came in fourth.
 
Boudreau claimed the top spot in the 100-yard Breaststroke with a winning time of 57.58. Grenardo added a second-place finish with a time of 1:00. William Carey continued its success in the 200-yard Butterfly, where Yusuf Balaban touched the wall first in 1:55, while Giedraitis finished third.
 
The Crusaders dominated the 50-yard Freestyle, sweeping the top three positions. Szabo captured first place, followed by Leszczynski in second and Boyd in third. Szabo later added another victory in the 100-yard Freestyle, while Talbert and Salama placed third and fourth.
 
William Carey kept the momentum going in the 200-yard Backstroke, as De Moraes secured another victory. Poyen finished second and Eduardo Galan placed fourth. The Crusaders also turned in a standout performance in the 200-yard Breaststroke, placing four swimmers among the top five finishers. Boudreau won the event with a time of 2:08, Grenardo finished second, and Dumas Loubeyre-Molinari and Joshua Pratt rounded out the group with fourth- and fifth-place finishes.
 
Jacobs and Vieira gave Carey a one-two finish in the 500-yard Freestyle, with Jacobs taking first and Vieira finishing second. Leszczynski continued the team's strong showing by winning the 100-yard Butterfly with a time of 50.77. In the 200-yard Individual Medley, Abdelgawad and Balaban delivered another one-two finish for the Crusaders.
 
William Carey closed out the meet by placing three teams inside the top five in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay. The team of Szabo, Boyd, De Moraes, and Leszczynski finished second with a time of 1:26. Talbert, Jacobs, Giedraitis, and Salama placed fourth, while Josiah Blankenship, Boudreau, Abdelgawad, and Galan rounded out the top five with a fifth-place finish.
 
The Crusaders return to action on Friday, October 23, at the Biloxi Natatorium. Competition is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.