Bentley Swimming Bests St. Michael’s

Photo Credit: Bentley Athletics

COLCHESTER – The Bentley swimming and diving teams swept St. Michael’s College on Wednesday afternoon as the men picked up a close 149.5-130.5 win, and the women came out on top 169-112.

Bentley Men’s Press Release

Recording a half-dozen 1-2-3 finishes and capturing 12 of 16 events overall, the Bentley University men’s swimming and diving team cruised to a 149.5-130.5 victory over St. Michael’s College Wednesday afternoon at the Ross Sports Center. The win in the team’s first meet in a month extended the dual winning streak of the 5-3 Falcons to four.

Eight different swimmers captured single events, including junior Tim Connolly (Dorcester/ Boston Latin Acad.) who helped the Falcons win the meet-opening 400 yard medley relay in 3:46.29, Bentley’s best time of the season. He also was first to finish in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:03.59. That relay also included senior Janco Cornelius (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield HS), sophomore Colin McCarthy (Glastonbury, Conn./Northwest Catholic HS) and junior Sebastian Bury (Bellevue, Wash./ Newport Senior HS).

The winners of the individual events that Bentley swept the top three positions included sophomore Dennis Witol (Bowie, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) in the 1650 free (18:05.34), freshman Aiden Karam (Norwich, Conn./Norwich Free Acad.) in the 200 free (1:51.76) and sophomore Gregory Coleman (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North HS) in the 500 free (5:19.12).

Bentley also went 1-2-3 in both one-meter diving events with junior Colton Bridge (Tolland, Conn./Tolland HS) the winner in both with scores of 166.05 and 240.90. It marked the seventh straight meet that he has swept the diving.

Bentley’s other 1-2-3 showing came in the 200 free relay with Witol, freshman Chris Vukas (Randolph, N.J./Randolph HS), junior Nick Toselli (Barrington, R.I./Barrington HS) and sophomore Liam Bartlett (Syracuse, N.Y./William Nottingham HS) winning in 1:32.94.

The other Falcon first-place finishes were posted by senior Josh Witty (Los Gatos, Calif./ Los Gatos HS) in the 50 backstroke (26.50), senior Connor Mulvey-Hudson (Ardmore, Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep) in the 50 breaststroke, sophomore Matt Ahlmeyer (Morris Plains, N.J./Morristown HS) in the 200 butterfly and freshman Jon Boains (Unionville, Conn./Farmington HS) in the 200 individual medley (2:09.20).

Bentley’s final three dual meets will be at home, beginning Sunday against Keene State (1 pm).

Bentley Women’s Press Release

With sophomore Kaitlin McGahie (Boylston, Mass./Tahanto Reg. HS) and senior Nadine Edwards (Danbury, Conn./Danbury HS) leading the way, the Bentley University women’s swimming and diving team returned from a month-long exam and holiday break to best St. Michael’s College, 169-112, at the Ross Sports Center Wednesday afternoon.

Both were double-winners in individual events with McGahie first to finish in the 50 yard breaststroke (32.96 seconds) and the 100 free (56.12). Edwards spent much more time in the pool, taking the 200 free in 2:04.00 and the 500 free in 5:35.32.

McGahie got the Falcons off to a strong start, helping Bentley take the 400 medley relay in 4:17.22. That quartet also included a trio of freshmen: Emily Niemiec (Meriden, Conn./Francis T. Maloney HS), Anne Warren (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron HS) and Jessica Chen (Darien, Conn./ Darien HS).

Both McGahie and Edwards were part of the winning 200 free relay team, along with Chen and senior Danielle Hellstern (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug HS). They edged St. Michael’s by 0.69 seconds, finishing in 1:44.23.

Bentley’s other wins were earned by junior Courtney Stone (Andover, Mass./Andover HS) in the first one-meter diving event (168.45), senior Paige Wilde (Naugatuck, Conn./Holy Cross HS) in the other diving competition (223.95), Niemiec in the 200 breaststroke (2:38.23) and sophomore Nicole Hellstern (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug HS) in the 50 butterfly (29.83).

Bentley, 5-3 after winning its fourth straight, will host Keene State Sunday at 1 pm.

St. Michael’s Press Release

Saint Michael’s College men’s and women’s swimming & diving student-athletes won nine events on Wednesday while another school record fell during a pair of dual-meet losses to Bentley University in the Ross Sports Center. The 4-2 Purple Knight women dropped a 169-112 decision, while the men are 1-4 after a 149.5-130.5 setback. Both Falcon squads are now 5-3.

First-year Pierce Farrington (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) won all three events he entered while setting his sixth school record of the season, clocking in with a winning 23.99 during the 50-yard butterfly to better Tim McGrath’s ’12 six-year-old mark. Farrington touched the wall in 22.05 in the 50-yard freestyle and 48.58 in the 100 free.

Senior Nathan Paluso (Windham, Maine/Windham) held off a Bentley swimmer to capture the 200-yard breaststroke by 0.28 seconds with a 2:24.11 performance. Paluso also tied for second in the 50-yard breaststroke and took third in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:21.40, falling just 0.31 seconds shy of second. Farrington and Paluso joined first-years Joe Carroll (Andover, Mass./Andover) and Zach Kosakowski (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) for a third-place finish during the 400-yard medley relay.

Kosakowski notched third-place showings in the 50- and 200-yard backstroke events, while sophomore Cam Thirkell (Tyngsboro, Mass./Tyngsboro) was third in the 200 fly. During one of the one-meter diving competitions, senior Nick Youmans (Mountainside, N.J./Governor Livingston) totaled 172 points to place fourth, but within 2.8 of the runner up. With the score, he qualified for next month’s New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association (NEISDA) Championship.

The Purple Knight women earned five victories, with senior Steph Nadow (Charlton, Mass./Saint Peter-Marian) and sophomore Lindsay McNall (Colchester, Vt./Colchester) both accounting for two of them. Nadow captured the 50 back in 29.17 and the 200 back at 2:19.04, with first-year Sammy Sidorakis (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) third in the latter. Nadow also helped a 200 free relay quartet clock in at 1:44.92 to place second and come within 0.69 seconds of the winners. McNall, junior Julie Shea (Peabody, Mass./Peabody Veterans Memorial) and sophomore Katrina Wiesner (Bow, N.H./Bow) also swam legs.

McNall won the 200 fly in 2:16.36 – with senior Olivia Hamilton (Bourne, Mass./Bishop Stang) third in the race – and the 200 IM with a time of 2:17.49, coming within 0.74 seconds of her own school record. McNall sided with Shea, Wiesner and senior Kim Brady (Morris Township, N.J./Academy of Saint Elizabeth) for a cumulative 4:17.50 in the 400 medley relay to take second and fall just 0.28 ticks shy of first. Brady won the 50 free in 26.33, while Wiesner was third at 26.81, just 0.11 seconds out of second.

Wiesner was second in the 100 free, with Brady taking fourth but coming within 0.05 seconds of third, while Shea was second and third in the 50 and 200 breast races, respectively. Shea clocked in at 32.98 in the 50 breast, just 0.02 seconds short of first. First-year Ally Fischang (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) took second in the 50 fly in 30.07, only 0.01 seconds ahead of classmate Theresa Murphy (Pittsfield, Mass./Pittsfield), and was also the runner up in the 200 free, where Brady placed fourth with a time that left her 0.40 seconds out of third. Fischang was third during the 500 free, and first-year Genevieve Gigandet (Groveland, Mass./Central Catholic) nabbed third during a one-meter diving event.

The Purple Knights take part in their third meet in eight days by hosting The College of Saint Rose on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Results: St. Michael’s vs. Bentley

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