PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Berthiaume '24
WORCESTER, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College capped the second day of the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving Championships with both teams in fourth place at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Sports and Recreation Center on Saturday.
The SJC women are in fourth with 350 points while the Monks' men have accrued 22 total points. Norwich University continues to dominate the women's side with 646.5 points and has essentially secured the men's title going into the final day with 370 points.
For the women, Simmons University is second with 559 points and is followed by Regis College (354.5), Saint Joseph's (183), Elms College (321), University of Saint Joseph (297.5), Albertus Magnus College (154.5), and Colby-Sawyer College (154).
On the men's side, Regis remains in the second spot with 137 points, followed by Colby-Sawyer (27), Saint Joseph's, University of Saint Joseph (19), and Albertus Magnus College (6).
One team record was broken on day two, as the SJC 200-Free Relay quartet – Berkley Hutchins, Brooke Podsiadlo, Tiffany Twombly, and Kiley Matthews – posted a new program best 1:45.71 time and finished third in the event.
Hutchins also clinched an individual conference championship with a 2:36.97 time in the 200-Breast.
The last day of the conference championships starts with prelims at 10:00 AM and closes out with finals at 5:00 PM.
GNAC RELEASE:
WORCESTER, Mass. – Norwich concluded day two of the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Championships still in the lead after more strong performances. The women's program collected a two-day total of 646.5 with the men gathering 370 points heading into the final day of competition. The final day of GNAC Championships begins tomorrow (Feb. 4) at 10 a.m. with a morning preliminary session.
There were nine more events scored on Saturday (Feb. 3).
In the women's championship, Simmons maintained its second place spot, finishing day two with 559 points. Regis was able to leapfrog Saint Joseph's (Maine) to take over third place with 354.5 points, while the Monks fell to fourth with 350. Elms remains in fifth place with 321 points, while the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) stayed in sixth, checking in with a 297.5-point total. Albertus Magnus was able to barely climb past Colby-Sawyer, finishing the day with 154.5 points to the Chargers 154.
Regis and Colby-Sawyer retained their second and third spots in the men's championship race with 137 and 27 points, respectively. Saint Joseph's (Maine) ranked fourth with 22 points, followed by the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) with 19 and Albertus Magnus with six.
The Cadet women won three events on Saturday, including the 200 freestyle relay to open the session. Alannah Kelliher, Hannah Shaner, Brandy Lewis, and Jenna Tschida won the event with a finals time of 1:43.58. Lewis also won the 500 freestyle, touching the wall at 5:25.00, giving her third gold medal at this year's championships. Norwich's final individual champion on day two was Reilly Laitala who won 1-meter diving with a score 407.10, giving her golds in both diving disciplines.
The Sharks also had a strong Saturday, winning three events. Camelia Hannah was Simmons' first individual champion, taking the 50 backstroke title with a time of 29.10. Carli Quinlan also earned another individual championship, claiming 50 freestyle title with a time of 24.49. Quinlan earned her fifth gold medal at the 2024 Championships in the 800 freestyle relay, joining Isabel Barry-Ruiz, Katelyn Quinlan, and Kenzie Lowry for a time of 8:18.53.
The three other women's individual champions on Saturday were DeAngela Fobbs from Elms who won the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.67, Berkley Hutchins from Saint Joseph's (Maine) who won the 200 breaststroke at 2:36.97, and Olivia Luhnau who captured the 100 IM title, clocking in at 1:04.42.
The Cadet men were dominant on Saturday, claiming the event titles in all nine disciplines conducted on day two. Benjamin Stark, Kristian Adlianitski, and Martin Adlianitski were all part of both of Norwich's freestyle relays. They joined Will Thompson in the 200 for a time of 1:26.92 and Andrew Clark in the 800, finishing in 7:11.74.
Stark and both Adlianitskis also earned individual titles, bringing their gold medal totals to five apiece. Martin Adlianitski was the champion in the 100 butterfly at 51.32, Stark won the 500 freestyle at 4:42.75, and Kristian Adlianitski earned the 200 breaststroke title, finishing at 2:13.41.
Thompson claimed two more individual honors of his own, winning the 50 freestyle, touching in at 21.85, and the 100 IM at 54.36. He now has six golds at the 2024 Championships. Adrian Riendeau claimed the final swimming individual title, winning the 50 backstroke at 24.90, while Aidan Grady added a 1-meter diving title to his 3-meter gold the day before. He registered a score of 429.05.
Prior to the finals session on Saturday evening, the graduating seniors from each school were recognized in a special ceremony. The full list of honorees is included below.
The GNAC Swimming & Diving Championships will conclude tomorrow, Feb. 4 with the final seven events. Finals will begin at 5 p.m. with the 2024 GNAC Women's and Men's Swimming & Diving Champions crowned and the swimming major awards announced at the end of the meet.
SENIOR RECOGNITION
ALBERTUS MAGNUS - Olivia Rocheleau, Brittany Yarrow
COLBY-SAWYER - Julianna DeGray
NORWICH - Aidan Danforth, Aidan Grady, Tobias Macedo, Anthony Rabbia, Noah Scott, Benjamin Stark, Daniel Taylor, Logan Wineriter, Heather Ansley, Cassidy Chadock, Angelina Kelliher, Hannah Shaner, Kayla Waszak
REGIS - Samuel Madriz, Grace Heffernan, Megan Miller
SAINT JOSEPH'S (MAINE) - Shawn Perry, Brooke Podsiadlo, Ashley Thompson
SIMMONS - Diana Martinez, Caroline Mazariegos, Katelyn Quinlan
UNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH (CONN.) - Joseph Guerin, Tim Magill, Andrew Parisi, Adelina Marcille, Jaelynn Solorzano
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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