Senior Sara Kraus improved upon her school record in the 400 individual medley on Friday, Nov. 22, highlighting a busy second day for the 12th-ranked Hope College women's swimming and diving team at the Total Performance Invite, hosted by Kenyon College.

Kraus (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford HS) placed second overall in the evening finals with a time of 4:28.34, topping her previous mark set earlier this month by .67 seconds. Kraus' time is the fifth-best in NCAA Division III and the top time among MIAA swimmers this season. 

No. 2 Kenyon continues to lead the meet with 1,892.5 points, while Hope is secure in second place with 940 points. No. 14 Case Western Reserve (Ohio) ranks third with a score of 707.5. 

No. 17 Carnegie Mellon (Pennsylvania) and West Chester (Pennsylvania), a member of NCAA Division II, are just outside of podium placing, while No. 23 SUNY-Geneseo, NAIA member Lindsey Wilson (Kentucky), and John Carroll (Ohio) round out the field. 

Hope opened the evening session with a near-school record in the 200 medley relay. The team of Kraus, senior Lauren Ryle (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central), senior Greta Gidley (Franklin, Michigan / Mercy), and junior Laurel Wasiniak (Northville, Michigan / Northville) finished second with a season-best time of 1:42.17, just .14 seconds shy of the school record set last season.

The race also improved the Flying Dutch's existing NCAA "B" cut time and marked the top 200 medley relay time in the MIAA this season.

Gidley led the way for Hope in the 100 butterfly with a third-place finish. The result was one place above her preliminary showing, where she posted a season-best 55.63 to establish an NCAA "B" cut during the morning swim. 

Four other Hope swimmers placed in the 100 fly finals, including Wasiniak, who went a season-best 57.01 in the B final, placing 12th overall and posting the sixth-fastest time in Hope history. Freshman Emmy Sower (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) finished 14th overall and recorded the ninth-best mark in school history with her time of 57.32 in the morning prelims. 

The Flying Dutch dominated the 400 individual medley, led by Kraus' school record in the A final. The B and C finals were won by Hope as a total of seven swimmers picked up points in the event. Sophomore Anna Stolle (Fishers, Indiana / Hamilton Southeastern) finished 11th overall and won the B final with a season-best 4:38.00, dropping over five seconds from her morning swim and vaulting five positions from her preliminary seed. Junior Ashlea Swingewood (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel) won the C final and placed 21st overall with a season-best 4:43.79. She was seeded 25th after the morning swim and dropped over six seconds in the evening session. 

The 100 breaststroke was a tale of two sessions. In the morning prelims, Ryle secured an NCAA "B" cut and was .6 seconds off her own school record with a time of 1:03.66. Gidley posted a season-best time of 1:04.79 in the morning heats, moving her up to sixth place on Hope's top 10 list. Ryle and Gidley would hold their positions in the evening A final, placing fourth and sixth, respectively. 

In the evening B final, sophomore Dillon Horsley (Indianapolis, Indiana / North Central) dropped two seconds from her morning swim to finish 14th overall with a season-best mark of 1:04.15. In the process, she established her own NCAA "B" cut and moved from sixth to third on Hope's top 10 listing for the event. 

Four Hope swimmers scored in the 100 backstroke, led by Kraus, who placed second with a season-best time of 55.87, improving her NCAA "B" cut time. Junior Katie Hermann (Canton, Michigan / Mercy) finished eighth overall. 

Ryle, Wasiniak, freshman Emme D'Errico (Farmington Hills, Michigan / Farmington), and senior Katie Weedon (Whitinsville, Massachusetts / Whitinsville Christian) also teamed up to place seventh in the 800 freestyle relay, closing out the day with a season-best time of 7:44.11. 

In diving, senior Molly Leonard (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central) led Hope on the three-meter board, placing fifth with a season-high score of 371.48. Senior Hope Weeda (Grandville, Michigan / Calvin Christian) also recorded a season-best mark, scoring 353.78 points to place seventh. 

The Total Performance Invite will conclude on Saturday, Nov. 23, with the preliminary session beginning at 10 a.m., followed by finals at 5:30 p.m.