The men's swim and dive team opened the first day of the University of Minnesota Invitational with some strong performances and personal bests Friday night.

Victor Lara (Sao Paulo, Brazil) led the Falcons with a seventh place finish in the 500 free. His time of 4:55.47 was not only his personal best, but was also the second best time in UWRF history. Tory Sonstegard holds the best time, set back in 1995 with a time of 4:54.76. Lara's previous season best in the 500 free was 5:21.93. Lara also placed 14th in the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.49, which is the eighth best time in school history.

Lucas Hetzel (South Milwaukee, WI, South Milwaukee) finished 16th in the 500 free with his season's best time of 5:20.92. His previous career-best was 5:24.61.

The 200 free relay team of Lara, Isaac Milkey (Wisconsin Rapids, WI, Lincoln), Kevin Brian (Eau Claire, WI, Memorial) and David Zaske (Maple Lake, MN, Maple Lake) also had a strong performance, placing 13th with a time of 1:32.25.

Zaske would also place 18th in the 200 IM with a season's best time of 2:11.32 and 32nd in the 50 free with a time of 23.22.

The 400 medley relay team of Milkey, Zaske, Alexander Johnson (Schofield, WI, D. C. Everest) and Lara finished the day with a 13th place finish.  Their time was 3:56.42.

The Falcons will continue to compete at the University of Minnesota beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Results