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CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech swimming team closed out its regular season as the H₂Okies concluded the second annual Virginia Tech Invitational. The Tech women earned three more titles, while the men took home two golds.

“It turned out to be a great weekend for the H₂Okies,” commented head coach Ned Skinner. “In particular, the multiple best times for almost all of our swimmers. For us, that is what it’s all about, sacrificing an entire year for this opportunity. We are very proud of our swimmers for laying it on the line. The rest of the team gains a lot of energy from the success of the swimmers from this meet, so we always look to capitalize on momentum and we hope that this will inspire our conference team to greatness.”

Margaret Parcell started the day off for the H₂Okie women, as she placed third in the women’s 100 freestyle with a career-best 52.16. For the men, Bryan Uncur also placed third as he touched the wall at the 45.47 mark.

Katie Steeves took home the first title of the day for Tech, as she touched the wall at the 2:18.71 mark in the 200 breaststroke, which marks a career best. Natalie Leake and Abby Houchin followed right behind taking second and third place, respectively. Leake came in with a career-best 2:19.08, while Houchin also set a career best with a time of 2:19.62. In the men’s 200 breaststroke, Harrison Cefalo came in second with a career-best 2:01.39, which is seven seconds better than his previous career mark.

Caroline Higgins took home the 200 backstroke title for the women as she came in with a career-best 2:02.38, while Aubree Duncan placed second with a time of 2:02.53. Tom Sheranek took home the 200 backstroke title for the men, as he swam a ‘B’ cut time of 1:45.75 which also set a pool record.

In the 200 butterfly, Dana Kalnins placed third with a time of 2:05.71 for the women, while James Crabb recorded his second title this weekend as he touched the wall at the 1:46.43 mark which set a pool record, a career best and a ‘B’ standard. Morgan Latimer came in second with a career-best 1:47.48, which was also a ‘B’ standard.

Blaire Kinsey took home her second title of the weekend as she touched the wall at 2:04.81 in the women’s 200 IM, which set a career best. For the men, Cefalo came in second with a time of 1:53.17, bettering his career best by almost four seconds.

The 400 men’s and women’s freestyle relays teams both recorded ‘B’ cut time trials. The women’s team consisting of Heather Savage, Parcell, Addie Carne and Emily Ferguson swam a time of 3:24.08, while the men’s quartet of Michael Hallock, Greg Morgan, Emmett Dignan and Gregory Mahon touched the wall at the 2:58.14 mark.

The 2011-12 season continues next Wednesday, Feb. 15, as Tech hosts the ACC Championships for women’s swimming and diving as well as men’s diving at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. Live coverage will be available on www.theacc.com.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).