Piscataway, NJ – The Wagner College swimming and diving team set a school and Northeast Conference (NEC) record in the 200 free relay and sits in seventh place after the first day of competition at the Frank Elm Invitational, hosted by Rutgers University.
Freshmen Kelsey Eastman (Effort, PA / Pleasant Valley) and Kirsty Hessing (Bloomington, IL / Normal Community), along with sophomore Andrea Gustafsson (Malmo, Sweden / ProCivitas Privata Gymnasium), and senior tri-captain Anu Nihipali (Honolulu, HI / Hawaii Preparatory Academy) combined for a 1:33.84 finish in the 200 free relay, which bested the previous school record by 0.42 seconds and is the fastest time in Northeast Conference history. The quartet’s performance was good for fifth place in the competition.
The Seahawks finished sixth overall in the 400 medley relay, as Nihipali, senior Katja Claesson (Fullerton, CA / Troy High School), Gustafsson, and Hessing touched the wall in 3:48.04. In the 50 Free, Nihipali placed sixth overall, finishing in 23.65 seconds for her third top-6 finish of the day, while Gustafsson placed fourth in the C-Finals (23.94) and 20th overall.
“I’m very proud of the toughness the team showed today. swimming season-best times, many lifetime bests and a new school record,” said head coach Colin Shannahan. “Our divers competed fiercely against some of the best competition they will see all year and the swimmers gutted out some tough swims on some very short rest.”
In the 3-meter diving competition, Wagner notched a pair of top-10 finishes on the day. Junior Sam Lavrich (Audubon, PA / Methacton) finished fifth with 236.40 points, while sophomore Grace Solipaca (Philadelphia, PA / Bishop Eustace) placed eighth with 191.80 points.
“Today was our best performance of the year as a team,” said head diving coach Samantha Russo. “Going up against some of the best schools in the Northeast is not easy, but the team did a great job staying focused on every dive. We are really excited for the 1-meter competition on Sunday.”
As a team, the Green and White are in seventh place with 225 points and second among other Northeast Conference (NEC) schools, sitting only behind Central Connecticut in the overall standings after the first of three days in the pool.
The Frank Elm Invitational resumes tomorrow with five preliminary races, beginning at 9:30 am and seven finals at 5:00 pm. Live statistics for every competition can be found here.
News courtesy of Wagner Athletics.
