Patriot League Championships: Day One

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, February 18. NAVY opened up an early lead in both the men and women’s competition after the first day of the Patriot League Championships, held at the Mids’ home facility of Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md. Navy won the first seven events of the evening, including sweeps of the 200-yard freestyle relay, the 500 free and the 200 individual medley. After the first day, the Mids lead Bucknell in both competitions, with a 297-205 advantage on the women’s side and 317-172 on the men’s.

In women’s competition, the foursome of Thuy-Mi Dinh, Toni Paruso, Kellie Darmody and Tara Chapmon won the 200 free relay, setting a facility record with an NCAA B-time of 1:31.63. Bucknell’s foursome came in second in 1:33.59, while Colgate took third with a time of 1:34.01. Aaron Aiken, Alex Buck, Marshall Daniels and Frank Komadina won the men’s 200 free relay for the Mids in a time of 1:21.93. Bucknell and Lehigh took second and third, respectively.

Chapmon added a second victory in as many events while also breaking her own Patriot League record in the 500 free. She touched the pad in 4:43.44, eclipsing the mark she set during last year’s League championships and improving upon her NCAA B-cut standing. It’s Chapmon’s third consecutive Patriot League title in the event, and she’s the second student-athlete to accomplish that feat. Meghan Thiel of American is the other, who did it from 2005-07.

Navy also had a virtual stranglehold on the men’s 500 free, with the Mids taking the top six spots in the final. James “Mac” Anthony won the event in 4:22.15, 1.5 seconds ahead of teammate and last year’s winner Erik Hunter. Laura Gorinski and Adam Meyer precipitated Navy’s sweep of the 200 IM. Gorinski finished in an NCAA B-cut mark of 2:01.77, while Meyer touched the pad in 1:45.82, also a B-cut time.

Navy ran their streak to seven consecutive wins when Dinh captured the 50 free. She is the first four-time Patriot League Champion in the event. She finished in 22.70, with Bucknell’s Molly Goebel in second with a time of 23.51. Alyssa Tran of Army finished third.

Eric Sokolosky was the lone swimming winner on day one who was not a Midshipman. The Bucknell sophomore won the men’s 50 free with time of 20.79, edging Navy’s Aaron Aiken by .04 seconds. The two had been running close all day, as they both entered the finals with the same preliminary time of 20.74.

Navy picked up another sweep, taking both 400 medley relay events. Darmody, Gorinski, Paruso and Chapmon finished in 3:42.11, eclipsing the B-cut standard and winning the race by nearly three seconds. Colgate and Bucknell finished 2-3. The men won with a time of 3:18.93, while the Bison finished second in 3:21.00. Chapmon finished the evening with three victories (one individual), while Darmody and Paruso each had two, both in relays. Dinh and Gorinski also ended the night with two victories, with each picking up one individual win. Meyer and Aiken were double winners for the Mids on the men’s side.

Army’s Lindsay Adao picked up the lone victory of the evening for the Black Knights. Last year’s Diver of the Meet has a strong early bid to repeat after posting a win in the women’s three-meter event. She finished with 273.00 points, ahead of Navy’s Courtney Vandemont (262.20) and Bucknell’s Allison FitzPatrick (249.15).

The Patriot League Championships resume Friday with preliminaries at 10:30 a.m. and the finals at 6 p.m. The entire event is streamed via Patriot League All-Access, and membership costs $7.95. Those purchasing the All-Access package will also be able to stream the remaining regular season Patriot League basketball games through the end of February.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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