CAMBRIDGE, MA - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's swimming team wrapped up a strong three-day performance at the highly competitive MIT Invite, finishing fifth overall in a field of seven teams that featured several nationally ranked programs.

The meet opened on Friday with distance events and a single relay. Sam Ciegler made an immediate impact in the 1650 freestyle, placing sixth overall with a time of 16:33.72, one of his best long-distance efforts of the season. The Engineers also competed in the 800 freestyle relay, with the quartet of Jason Weller, Philippe Diaz, John Hobden, and Tyler Kim combining for a ninth-place finish in 6:57.68.

On Saturday, RPI continued to climb the team leaderboard with a series of strong relay and individual performances. The Engineers opened the session by taking sixth in the 200 freestyle relay, as Beckham Palmer, Tyler Kim, Ethan Young, and Jason Weller posted a time of 1:24.62.

Later in the evening, Hayden Dinkin delivered RPI's best individual result of the day with a fifth-place finish in the 200 butterfly, clocking 1:51.32. In the 400 medley relay, the team of Weller, Peter Meehan, Dinkin, and Kim placed tenth in 3:26.83, capping off a productive day of competition.

Sunday's final session featured several more top-10 individual finishes for the Engineers. Ciegler returned to the pool with another solid performance in the 500 freestyle, taking eighth in 4:39.71. Weller led the way with a standout swim in the 200 backstroke, earning second place in a time of 1:48.99, and followed that up with a sixth-place finish in the 100 freestyle at 46.06 seconds. Kim contributed another top-eight result with an eighth-place showing in the 200 individual medley (1:56.56), adding to his multi-event weekend. RPI concluded the meet with the 400 freestyle relay, as Young, Weller, Palmer, and Kim worked together to place tenth in 3:07.58.