ROCHESTER — In athletics there is a theory that testing yourself against the most difficult competition will increase your abilities against your usual opponents.

That is exactly what Jamestown Community College’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving did over the weekend as they took the water at Rochester Institute of Technology against seven NCAA Division III schools, with over 200 participants.

“This weekend was full of great opportunities for our kids. It’s advantageous to have a midseason meet with much tougher competition, but more importantly for us, it was getting more qualifying times for our national championship meet,” said head coach Todd Conklin.

The Jayhawks didn’t disappoint, with the men’s team claiming fifth and the ladies taking seventh.

“Super proud of all the kids,” Conklin said. “The entire coaching staff is pleased with what we accomplished in the first semester, and we look forward to nothing but better results in the second.”

Jamestown’s men jumped off the blocks with a huge fourth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Zach Johnson, Cameron Milewski, Christian Merrill and Daniel Peterson topped seven four-year teams to take the top-four spot.

That was the beginning of a fantastic event for Johnson. The South African finished in the top 10 in six different events. Sticking with the relays, Johnson, Merrill, Milewski and Peterson earned fourth in the 200-yard medley relay and sixth in the 400-yard medley relay in a team with Merrill, Peterson and Samuel Hersom. In the individual swims, the sophomore claimed fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke where teammate Diego Villarroel came in 18th. Johnson brought home ninth in the 400-yard individual medley with Villarroel in 12th. Flipping back to the breaststroke, Johnson was ninth in the 200 and Villarreol 16th. Lastly, Johnson finished 15th in the 200-yard individual medley, where he broke the program record with a time of 2:07:21.

The men’s 100-yard backstroke saw a trio of Jayhawks swim well. Merrill led the way with a ninth, Peterson came in 12th and Milewski was just behind in 13th.

Milewski and Peterson were also battling in the 50-yard freestyle where Cameron touched in at 22:71, good enough for 11th, and Daniel earned 13th.

It was also a great showing for Milewski in the diving well as he broke his own program record in the 3-meter, scoring a 343.05. The new record notched him in fifth for the event.

On the women’s side, Roxanne Lothian shined the brightest for the Jayhawks. The freshman captured JCC’s lone top-three finish with her swim in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:12:45. Katrina DeGroff grabbed 17th in the event. The South African brought home a fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke, sixth in the 400-yard individual medley, and 11th in the 200-yard individual medley. Lothian was also part of three relays for the Jayhawks, starting with the 200-yard freestyle, where she, Desiree Putt, Willow Chase and Emily Swan took sixth. Fellow Jayhawks Sophia Gervasio, Addison Lawson, Cassie Lyon and DeGroff grabbed 14th in a loaded field of 17 teams. Those same two relay teams also claimed seventh and 14th, respectively, in the 400-yard medley relay. Putt, Lothian, Swan and Chase were back in the water for the 200-yard medley relay, where they came in seventh, and the team of Gervasio, DeGroff, Lawson and Lyon touched in 14th.

Putt and Chase also swam well in the 100-yard backstroke, with Putt reaching for 11th and Chase 26th in a field of 32.

“We look forward to a tremendous holiday season, where we can really focus on the extra details of what we need to prepare ourselves for the second semester and, more importantly, the regional championships and the national championships,” Conklin said.

Before those championships, Jamestown will be back in its home pool for the JCC Invite on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 11 a.m.

WRESTLING

SANBORN — The Jamestown Community College wrestling team made the trip up north to take the mats at the Thunderwolves Open hosted by SUNY Niagara on Saturday.

JCC had four wrestlers compete in the open tournament with Joshua Kriger leading the Jayhawks with a 2-2 record. The heavyweight won his first two matches by decision and majority decision before dropping the semifinals and ending his meet in the consolation semis.

Fellow freshman Wyatt Bryman also started with a win before falling in a pair of bouts and having his day end in the consolation semis in the 141-pound bracket.

Jamestown captain Brad Smith brought home a 1-2 mark with his win coming by pin at 174 pounds.

Lastly, Shayne Irvin went 0-2 with a tough draw in the 157-pound class.

The Jayhawks have a couple of weeks off before they head to West Virginia for the Hilltopper Duals hosted by West Liberty University on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 10 a.m.

ICE HOCKEY

OLEAN — It was a perfect weekend for the Jamestown Community College hockey team, which swept its two games in Olean on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, the Jayhawks topped Alfred 8-3 at the Olean Recreation Center. That win was highlighted by freshman forward Noah Kellogg, who set a program record with six goals in a game. JCC moved over .500 on the year with the win, improving its record to 8-7.

Jamestown came right back on Sunday with another win at the Olean Recreation Center, this time 6-4 over St. Bonaventure.

The weekend sweep is part of a streak where the Jayhawks have won five of six games to raise their record to 9-7.

JCC returns to the Northwest Arena for their next game Friday at 7 p.m.