2024 Sun Belt Conference Champs Day 2: James Madison Wins 4 of 5 Events to Take Big Lead

2024 SUN BELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Dates: Wednesday, February 14 – Saturday, February 17
• Location: Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center, Orlando, FL
• Defending Champions (women): N/A
• Live Results (MeetMobile)
• Live Video: ESPN+
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide
• Psych Sheet
• Day 1 Results|Day 1 Recap
• Day 2 Results

TEAM SCORES

1. James Madison – 395
2. Marshall – 288
3. Georgia Southern – 141
4. Old Dominion – 62

After James Madison and Marshall were tied following the first day of the meet, JMU broke away on day 2. and finished the night with a lead of more than 100 points. Senior Jess Pryne was great for James Madison, winning the women’s 200 IM in 1:59.54. She was out fast, splitting 26.39 on fly and 29.25 on back for a 55.64 on the opening 100. Pryne then tacked on a 34.80 breaststroke split and finished the race off with a 29.10 coming home.

JMU then put up a 1-2 finish in the 50 free, seeing Jamie Cornwell win the race in 22.88. Cornwell won the race by more than a quarter-of-a-second, as her teammate, Alexandra Volk, touched 2nd in 23.14. Of note, both Cornwell and Volk are sophomores.

Naturally, Cornwell and Volk were both on James Madison’s 200 free relay, which won and broke the Sub Belt Conference record in the process. Volk led off in 23.30, then Madison Cottrell ripped a blistering 22.07 on the 2nd leg, Sydni Diehl split 22.72 on the 3rd leg, and Cornwell anchored in 22.60. The quartet combined for a 1:30.69, shattering the conference record, which had stood at 1:31.61.

JMU also picked up a win in the diving event of the day, 3-meter. Junior Alexa Holloway earned the victory with a final score of 324.35.

The only event that James Madison didn’t win on the night was the 500 free, where Marshall senior Eszter Laban clocked a 4:53.07. It was an incredibly tight race, as James Madison’s Angela Ritchie came in 2nd with a 4:53.29 and Katelyn Fitzgerald finished 3rd in 4:53.35. Ritchie was actually slightly ahead of Laban going into the final 50 of the race, however, Laban was able to come home faster than Ritchie, enough so that she got her hand on the wall first.