Both the men’s and women’s swimming teams were crowned Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champions this season. The men outdistanced their closest opponent, Shippensburg, by nearly 300 points, while the women cruised on by Clarion University by 100.In the final six events on Sunday, West Chester men won five of them. This was the men’s eleventh consecutive title, an uncanny feat. The Golden Rams brought home 16 total individual titles.
Senior Max Golebiewski was named the Swimmer of the Meet. He won seven conference championships himself, including four relay races.
The women’s championship was their seventh in the last nine years, also an incredible feat. Altogether, they won seven championships.
Jackie Borkowski was named the Swimmer of the Meet on the women’s side of things, taking home five conference championships herself.
This past weekend, the qualifiers competed in the NCAA Championships in Houston, Texas. Both teams displayed exceptional talent, as the men placed tenth on the weekend, and the women fifth.
Max Bernardes was the first Golden Ram to reach All-American status, taking sixth in the 1,000 yard freestyle Wednesday. The men would finish out the opening day of competition in ninth place. Golebiewski was the next place finisher for West Chester, taking fifth in the 200 yard freestyle. That was not enough though, as West Chester slipped to eleventh place in the standings.
Bernardes helped bring West Chester back into the top 10 Friday, placing seventh in the 500 yard freestyle race and earning his second All-American title. The relay team of Brendan Fanslau, Rod King, Kenny McCormick, and Golebiewski placed sixth in the 400 medley relay, the final event of the weekend, to solidify their spot in the top ten. This capped off an impressive season for the men.
The West Chester women’s swimming and diving team had an impressive run at the NCAA Championships.
Jackie Borkowski was the lone West Chester woman to attain All-American status on Wednesday, taking an impressive third in the 50 yard freestyle competition. After the first day, they stood tied for the eighth spot. The team moved up to seventh the second day, after impressive performances by both relay teams.
The 200 free relay of Borkowski, Kristen Montello, Megan Bauer, and Chrissy Stern, and the 400 medley relay, of Borkowski, Bauer, Rachel Gale, and Erin Fischer each placed among the top eight. Erin Fischer also contributed individually, as she finished eighth in the 100 butterfly.
On Friday, the ladies moved up one more to sixth spot, as three more All-Americans were crowned.
Jackie Borkowski picked up another individual placement, taking third in the 100 backstroke. Danielle Ierley added to the scoring, placing eighth in the 500 free. Each of these two were also a member of the 800 free relay team, along with Bauer and Montello.
The Lady Rams equaled Friday’s performance Saturday, as they attained three more All-American statuses, and moved up one more spot to fifth place.
Jackie Borkowski finished off the NCAA Championships in amazing fashion, earning two more All-American recognitions. She placed runner up in the 100 yard freestyle, and participated in the 400 medley relay race which placed fourth, along with Bauer, Ierley and Montello. Borkowski finished the weekend with three individual and four relay All-Americans.
Heather Varas earned the last of the All-American recognitions on the diving board, where she placed eighth in the 3 meter dive.
Both the men’s and women’s teams capped off an amazing year last weekend. Both were flawless in PSAC play, losing zero dual meets and sweeping the championships. They each placed in the top ten too in the NCAA Championships. It is going to be hard for these teams to build on what they have accomplished this season.
Ryan Frisco is a second-year student majoring in Communication studies. He can be reached at RF648257@wcupa.edu.