DANVILLE, Ky. – On Friday and Saturday, the Milligan University swimming programs took part in the Colonel Classic, hosted by Centre College in Danville, Ky. In an event that the squads have been attending for multiple years, the Buffs put up strong showings yet again, including a second-place finish for the men and a fourth-place conclusion for the women.

Milligan's women's 200 Freestyle Relay began the day by finishing fourth in 1:41.33. The 'A' group consisted of Madison Akbari, Emily Dubes, Lauren Brindle and Mary Grace Bitting.

The men had two groups in the top three of the men's 200 Freestyle Relay, as their 'A' group pulled in with a triumph in 1:22.49 and their 'B' squad placed in third at 1:27.36. The winning team included Paxton Smith, Christoph Haenel, Michael Rinaldi and Caleb Fry, while the third-place finishers were Andrew Dawson, RJ Brumit, Wyatt Pierce and Gellert Szedlak.

Two Milligan women reached the top three in the 500 Freestyle, as Riley Renaud completed the race as the runner-up in 5:18.21, and Emily Newman swam a 5:22.66 to place third.

Peter Gilbert ended up fourth in the men's 500 Freestyle, clocking in at 4:46.46.

Abigail Maniace came away with a fourth-place showing in the women's 200 Individual Medley, touching the wall in 2:14.75.

The men nearly swept the top five in the 200 IM, as they claimed the No. 1, No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 slots in the race. Robert Adam won with a standout 1:52.45 mark, while Haenel was behind him by just under half a second at 1:52.90. Elijah Holliman came in fourth with a time of 1:55.17, and Caleb Fry posted a 1:56.32 to come in fifth.

Brumit came away with fifth place in the men's 50 Freestyle, completing the sprint in a time of 21.81.

The Milligan men competed in the 400 Medley Relay race with all three of their squads in the top six. The Water Buffs' top squad was able to win the event in 3:21.56. That group included Smith, Adam, Haenel and Fry. The 'B' team, that placed fifth in 3:31.72, had Colin Burnette, Dawson, Brumit and Szedlak.

A group consisting of Dubes, Teagan Jose, Bitting and Akbari completed the 200 Medley Relay in 1:54.19, which was good enough for fourth place in the event.

The men's 200 Medley Relay squads finished similarly to their 400 Medley placements. Brumit, Adam, Haenel and Fry teamed up to swim a 1:32.32 to win the race. This time, Milligan's 'C' team ended up in fifth, touching the wall in 1:37.71. Spencer Hall, Holliman, Reef Parman and Nolan Hill were part of the effort.

Katelyn Williams placed fifth in the women's 400 IM, clocking in at 4:54.12 as the lone Buff competitor in the event.

Maniace (1:00.35, 4th) and Bitting (1:00.97, 5th) both ended up in the top five of the women's 100 Butterfly for MU.

Milligan's men took four of the top five spots in the 100 Butterfly, as Smith (50.04, 1st), Brumit (50.90, 2nd), Hall (51.89, 4th) and Parman (52.00, 5th) made up that list.

Haenel then blitzed the competition in the men's 200 Freestyle, swimming a 1:40.73 clip to take the title by nearly two-and-a-half seconds.

Jose's effort in the women's 100 Breaststroke equaled a fourth-place showing in 1:10.32.

Two men for the Buffs ended in the top three in the men's 100 Breaststroke, as Adam's 56.68 earned him the top spot on the podium and Fry's 57.73 made him the third-place finisher.

Mia Windham then finished fourth in the 100 Backstroke and clocked in at 1:00.77.

Newman, Peyton Brady, Renaud and Bitting teamed up for the women's 800 Freestyle Relay and finished in 8:23.10 to place fifth.

Two Milligan men's contingents finished in the top five of the men's 800 Freestyle Relay. The 'A' team, who placed third, included Burnette, Sergio Tudor, Nathaniel Halloran and Smith. They posted a 7:08.81. River Rockholt, Hill, Adam and Rinaldi came away with fifth in a time of 7:20.23.

The women's 1650 Freestyle was next, and Milligan had three top-five finishers. Brady came away with second and a time of 18:06.19, while Renaud finished in third with a mark of 18:23.72. Williams' 18:52.88 was good enough for a fifth-place conclusion.

Peter Gilbert (16:37.70, 3rd) and Michael Cellucci (17:27.73, 5th) each came away with top-five results in the men's 1650 Freestyle.

In the 200 Backstroke, the MU women saw Windham blaze to a 2:10.17 mark and a second-place finish. Abbie Christensen was also a top four swimmer in the event, placing fourth with a clip of 2:16.25.

Smith and Brumit, who both had stellar weekends, placed second and third in the 200 Backstroke, respectively. Smith tallied a 1:52.36 and Brumit had a 1:58.32 time to his name.

Haenel (45.85, 1st) room home the crown in the men's 100 Freestyle, and the Buffs also had Burnette reach fifth place with a clip of 48.34.

Jose came out with a fifth-place conclusion in the women's 200 Breastsroke in 2:31.46 for the Buffaloes.

Holliman took the title in the men's 200 Breaststroke, completing the race in a blazing 2:05.08.

Adam (1:54.53, 1st) and Parman (1:58.89, 4th) were top-four contributors for the Buffs in the men's 200 Butterfly, the last individual event of the weekend.

The men's 400 Freestyle Relay was dominated by the Buffaloes, who swam to a 3:04.43 mark to win the final title of the weekend. Smith, Adam, Haenel and Fry combined to achieve the feat.

Click HERE to view the full results. 

The first meet of the semester for the Buffs is in the books, and they now have a pair of dual meets to look forward to. First, it is a trip to Jefferson City, Tenn., where the Water Buffs will face NCAA DII Carson-Newman University on Jan. 17 starting at 1 p.m.