The men’s swimming and diving team maintained their domination at the PSAC Championships this past week at Cumberland Valley High School.
Seeking their 15th consecutive PSAC Championship, the Golden Rams got off to a fast start on Thursday. The 200-meter medley relay team got things going, swimming a time of one minute, 31.9 seconds, to hit an NCAA “B” cut time and take first in the event. The team is made up of senior Calvin Starosta, junior David McCormick, freshman Luke Maguire, and junior Ryan Stahley.
The Rams took the top two spots in the 1000 freestyle, with freshman Bradley Strathmeyer taking first in a time of 9:20.94, and sophomore Jared Haley coming in second with a time of 9:28.02. Both time hit the NCAA “B” mark.
On Friday, the men took two more events in the 400 medley relay and 500 freestyle. The 400 medley, made up of Starosta, Maguire, Stahley, and sophomore Bogdan Grebenyuk established a new PSAC record with a time of three minutes, 20.43 seconds. Strathmeyer followed up his Thursday performance with another victory, bringing home the 500 freestyle in 4:29.23, beating out teammate Haley once again as he finished second.
The relays continued to go to West Chester as they finished first in the 200 freestyle relay. McCormick, Stahley, sophomore Alex Muraro, and senior Tommy Rhoads finished with a time of 1:21.87, hitting an NCAA “B” time. McCormick was not finished as he added a first place finish in the 200 individual medley recording a time of 1:50.59.
Day three continued to showcase West Chester’s domination over the competition. Grebenyuk won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 55.39 seconds. Rhoads, Strathmeyer, McCormick, and Haley combined to win the 800 freestyle relay with a time of six minutes, 44.43 seconds. Rhoads was not finished as he claimed the top spot on the podium in the 200 free with a time of 1:40.82.
Starosta kept the winning going as he won the 100 backstroke in 50.44, while junior Evan DeaKyne won his first PSAC title, winning the 400 individual medley in 3:59.35. The Golden Rams have accumulated 573 points over the first three days of the competition and hold a very comfortable lead over second-place Bloomsburg who only has 328 points entering the final day of competition.
Clarion is third with 319, while Gannon is in fourth with 318. Edinboro rounds out the top five with 261.
The women’s swimming and diving team has also been taking the PSAC Championships by storm. On Thursday, the 200 medley relay of junior Megan Winslow, junior Amelia Buckley, sophomore Alexis Walley, and junior Mia Barone won with a time of 1 minute, 45.97 seconds. To say that the women dominated the 1000 freestyle is quite an understatement as they took the top six spots, with junior Kacie McNichol edging out her teammates for first.
While the Lady Rams won only a single event of Friday, they still recorded more points than any other team. Sophomore Lauren Carastro won the 500 free with a time of 4:56.77, besting sophomore teammate Codyanne Murtaugh who finished second.
Saturday saw two more events taken by the Golden Rams. Buckley won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.53, and the 800-yard freestyle team of Walley, Barone, Carastro and Murtaugh touched the wall in seven minutes, 33.02 seconds.
The ladies have a comfortable 200-point lead heading into the final day of competition having recorded 508 total points. Clarion is second with just 305.5. IUP are in third with 268, Gannon fourth with 250, and like with the men Edinboro rounds out the top five with 234.
Riley Wallace is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies with a journalism minor. He can be reached at RW718681@wcupa.edu.