SIOUX CITY, Iowa – For the first time this season, the Barton men’s and women’s swim teams competed on consecutive weekends. That will be the norm come January, but in the early stages of the schedule, the Cougars go about once a month.
Barton made the trip to Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa to compete in the Mustang Invitational Saturday. It was the first time this season the Cougars competed in an Invitational format.
The Barton men finished third at the meet and women fifth.
Host Morningside won the men’s meet with 794 points followed by Iowa Central with 695. Barton was third with 560. Augustana (SD) won the women’s meet with 973 points followed by Morningside with 654. Barton’s small squad scored 72 points.
“We swam a little tired probably more so from the long travel,” Head Coach Jonathan Reeder said. “The meet exposed some issues we need to correct before our next competition but in saying that, we also set a lot of new personal bests.
“We had some individuals swim in events they haven’t competed in and tried some new positioning on our relays. So everything considered, along with the overall improvements, I was really proud of the team and how they dug deep and competed.”
The lone win of the day came from Keagan Wilson. The only sophomore on the team, Wilson tied for the top spot in the 50m freestyle with a time of 22.46. He also finished second in the 100m butterfly with a 54.47 and third in the 200m butterfly at 2:06.90. During them meet he contributed to 66 of the Cougars’ points.
The Barton men had three more swimmers take home silver. A pair of Great Bend High graduates were among them. Phane Pedigo took second in the 500m freestyle with a time of 5:09.25. Sean Williams was second in the 200m breaststroke in 2:26.28. He edged out teammate Bailey Chavez, who took third in 2:27.59.
The other second-place effort was turned in by Dawson Gantenbein, a freshman from Valley Center. Gantenbein was the runner-up in the 200m backstroke in 2:05.89.
Chavez was fifth in the 100m breaststroke in 1:06.57 and sixth in the 200m individual medley in 2:13.86.
The Cougars’ 200m medley relay finished third during the day with Gantenbein, Chavez, William Spitz and Wilson in 1:42.17. The same quartet was third in the 200m freestyle in 1:31.65.
For the women, the highest place came from Kayla Hennan, who took sixth in the 200m breaststroke in 2:49.96. Freshman Regan Smyth contributed 37 of Barton’s points.
Barton has one more meet left before the Christmas break. The Cougars will head to Conway Arkansas for the Hendrix Invitational Dec. 1 and 2.

Teams Scores
Men
Morningside 794, Iowa Central 695, Barton 560, Midland 431

Women
Augustana 973, Morningside 654, Kearney 500, St. Mary 405, Iowa Central 376, Barton 72, Midland 30