AKRON, Ohio — The Golden Grizzlies concluded the Zippy Invitational with three victories inside the Ocasek Natatorium. The men's team finished in third place out of seven teams with 1,420.5 points, while the OU women placed fourth out of 10 programs with 1,079.5 points.

Susan LaGrand headlined the women's program with a victory in the 200-yard backstroke A-final. She claimed first in the event, her second of the invite, with a time of 1:54.58. Taylor Bailey came close to a win, as she finished runner-up in the 200-yard breaststroke A-final (2:12.54). 

Ronja Riihinen earned a trip to the 100-yard freestyle A-final, where she finished sixth, touching the wall at 50.39. Jordyn Shipps won the B-final with a time of 49.97, the fourth-fastest mark in the finals round. 

Emily Aycock led the Golden Grizzlies in distance action by garnering eighth overall in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:07.85). The quartet of Shipps, LaGrand, Mia Keranen, and Riihinen raced to a third-place time of 3:21.69 in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

On the men's side, Christian Bart took home first-place honors in the 100-free (43.70), good for his second event win of the weekend. Two other Golden Grizzlies in Mack Flowers and Jonas Cantrell finished in fifth and sixth place in the event with times of 45.66 and 45.74. Cantrell also raced to fifth overall in the 1,650-free at 15:50.43. 

Marko Khotynetskyi placed seventh in the 200-back prelims but bounced back with a runner-up finish in the events A-final (1:44.32). Rudy Aguilar added another strong performance on the weekend, as he captured a fourth-place mark in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:48.14.

Bart, Khotynetskyi, Flowers, and Aguilar closed the three-day meet with a win in the 400-free relay (2:56.58), cementing a third-place team finish for the Golden Grizzlies. 

The Zippy Invite marked the final event of 2021 for Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies will open the new year against Youngstown State on Jan. 15.