AKRON, Ohio --- The Golden Eagles men's swimming & diving team kicked off their midseason meet with a pair of strong finishes on Thursday, competing on the first of four days at the Zippy Invite hosted by Akron.
 
Competing in a loaded field made up primarily of Division I competition, Clarion came close to hitting a pair of NCAA B Cuts on their first night in the Rubber City. The 200 Medley Relay team of Mason Peck, Dominic Cortopassi, Gavin Guckavan and Mason Irwin took sixth place with a time of 1:30.16, less than three seconds shy of hitting a B cut time of 1:27.39.
 
In the second event of the night, the 800 Free Relay team of Cortopassi, Peck, Guckavan and Irwin were just a few seconds shy of breaking a school record, taking fifth in the field with a time of 6:43.60. That was close to the program record of 6:39.74 set just a few years ago.

Action will continue for the next three days at Ocasek Natatorium, with prelims starting at 10 a.m.