INDIANA, Pa. --- It was a tight meet from start to finish, but the Golden Eagles men's swimming & diving team got the upper hand on IUP at Pidgeon Natatorium, defeating the Crimson Hawks 116-108 on Saturday afternoon. 
 
It was a back and forth afternoon at Pidgeon Natatorium, with every event playing a significant role in the final outcome. IUP won the 200 Free Relay, recording the top two finishes in the race, o just narrowly pull ahead of the Golden Eagles in the swimming events. Clarion's difference came with the advantage in the diving events, with the Golden Eagles scoring scads of points on the boards. Zach Schering won the 1-meter Dive with a score of 309.83, followed closely by Ethan Coronado and Zak Kennedy at 291.53 and 287.85, respectively. Schering also took second in the 3-meter Dive with a score of 267.75, with Michael Flamm (265.50) taking third.
 
It was the Golden Eagles who struck first in the meet, with the 200 Medley Relay team of Mason Peck, Dominic Cortopassi, Gavin Guckavan and Mason Irwin beating the Crimson Hawks by one hundredth of a second. Irwin held off the hard charge from the Crimson Hawks in the final leg, swimming a split of 21.78 to clinch the win.
 
Guckavan was the first Clarion swimmer to take an individual event on the day, pacing the field in the 50 Free. He won the sprint by six hundredths of a second, touching the wall in a time of 21.83.
 
Cortopassi followed with a win in the next individual event, taking the 200 IM with a time of 1:56.61. He also won the 100 Breast, beating IUP's Patrik Kudla by 0.15 with a time of 58.44.
 
Rounding out Clarion's winners in the pool on Saturday was freshman Jacob Rider, who won the 100 Back by a huge margin. He touched the wall in a time of 52.92, more than two seconds ahead of IUP's Alexander Roth for the win.