Army vs Bucknell
- January 13, 2024
- West Point, N.Y.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Army Athletics
WEST POINT, NY – Army West Point swimming & diving had a successful senior day from Crandall Pool on Saturday afternoon, with each team logging a conference win over Bucknell.
The Army men improved to (3-2,2-1 PL) in dual meets this season with a 218-81 victory while the women moved to (3-2, 2-1 PL) with a 207-93 win. The Black Knights claimed the top spot in 30 of 32 events in a dominating effort.
Before the meet, the class of 2024 comprised of Bruce Bannister Jr., Joanna Conrad, Adam Elahmadi, Aurelie Migault, James Pinter, Ian Tansill, Sam Wesley and Melinda Zhang were honored as part of senior day festivities.
Migault continued to pace the field in all three of her individual events, winning the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 IM while being apart of the winning 200 medley relay qaurtet which also featured Zhang. Zhang went on to get a victory of her own, recording a 56.04 mark in the 100 fly, with Molly Webber close behind in second. Webber claimed an event victory as well in the 200 free (1:51.77)
Clara Williams also had a stellar day, posting three event victories. She began with a win in the 1000 free (10:35.89), with Bridget O’Shaughnessy giving the Black Knights a one-two finish. Her second win came in the 50 free (23.90) as Army continued to fill the podium with Grace Wagner (24.51) and Rea Smith (24.62) close behind to round out the top-three. Finally, Williams logged a 5:03.64 mark to secure a third victory in the 500 free.
The diving events saw a clean sweep for Army with four different first-place finishers. Abigail Gibbs claimed the top spot in the 1M (249.53) with Minh Donnell (231.00) and Ava Ramirez (222.15) rounding out the top-three. Ramirez went on to secure first-place in the 3M (277.58).
On the men’s side, Isaac Newman continued his strong campaign with a 299.10 to win the 1M, as David Manelis (289.65) and Elahmadi (275.48) also medaled in the event. Manelis went on to post a 304.73 score in the 3M for a first-place finish.
Alex Edwards was apart of the winning 200 medley relay team along with Kohen Rankin, James Pinter and Ben Vorthmann (1:30.37), before posting individual wins in the 100 breast (56.32) and 200 back (1:49.86). Vorthmann got a win of his own in the 50 free (20.82), with Thomas Hadji (20.96) landing in second. Rankin saw another victory in the 200 IM, posting a 1:50.57 mark, as Joey Kling was just .07 seconds behind in second-place. Kling would not be denied the win in the 100 back, registering a 50.16 mark to top the the rest of the field by over a full second. On the women’s side, Layne Peterson claimed the 100 back top spot with a 57.39 before also winning the 200 back (2:01.38).
Maxwell Jordan had a comfortable win in the 500 free, coming in at 4:34.43, with George Glover VII giving Army another one-two finish. Glover also had a big performance it he 200 free, coming in at 1:39.65 to claim to pace the field. Thomas Hadji (45.24) and Meghan Cole (52.32) gave Army a sweep in the 100 free, while Kalvin Hahn (2:00.19) won the 200 breast by over six seconds. Jackson Pogue logged a 1:49.00 in the 200 fly to give the Army men another victory, while Margaret Kroening (2:04.63) paced the women’s side for a second-place finish.
The Army men will return this Friday to host Columbia from Crandall Pool at 5:00 p.m., while the women will recover until traveling to Loyola for another Patriot League matchup on Saturday, January 27th.
POST-MEET REACTIONS
“I love Firstie Night because it’s an opportunity to compete at our best while recognizing and celebrating our leaders and all that they have given to our program over the last 4 years. As a group, we’ve experienced so many great and not so great moments together. Their plebe year was dominated by Covid quarantines and weekly Covid testing. Their Yuk year was an interesting hybrid year of Covid and a transition back to normalcy and really starting to build the program into where we are now. And, their cow and Firstie years have just been phenomenal. They’ve been a corner stone of our program from day 1 and I’m so proud to have the opportunity to coach them and watch their growth over the last 4 years. Beyond great teammates and athletes, they are passionate and driven young leaders who will do amazing things for our country and in their lives. As for the meet, our team always is at their best when we are competing for our firsties. There was energy and focus from the get go and many of the little racing details that were off yesterday were much better today. I’m excited that they’ve got the next 40 hours off to relax and reset before we head into the final phase of our season!
– Head Coach Brandt Nigro
“Energy and effort levels remained high going into a back to back competition. Minor tweaks and changes are beginning to fall into place with the divers. It’s great to see Freshman Ava Ramirez win her first duel meet! We’re starting to peak right when we need to so it’s exciting watching everything begin to come together!” – Head Diving Coach Connor Dorff
“The meet went really well on the diving side. We trained really hard on our training trip in Fort Lauderdale and when we returned to West Point before school started, and it definitely paid off today. I felt really good and strong on the boards and I’m looking forward to Patriots and Zones.” – Ava Ramirez
“This weekend the Army Team fought hard to defend Crandall from Penn State and Bucknell. Although we lost to Penn State, it was a fantastic demonstration of how gritty our program is-going near best times after a grueling winter training block. The Bucknell meet helped us simulate a conference environment and I believe the results were there. We are on our way to a very fast Patriot League Championship.” – Owen Harlow
“There’s something to say about this team’s toughness. We’ve had a long period of training that’s culminated to this point and there’s no group I’d rather share our highs and lows with. I’m very thankful to share senior day with this team and with our supportive family and friends!” – Melinda Zhang
ARMY TOP FINISHERS
1M diving: Abigail Gibbs (249.53) – 1st
1M diving: Isaac Newman (299.10) – 1st
3M diving: Ava Ramirez (277.58) – 1st
3M diving: David Manelis (304.73) – 1st
1000 free: Clara Williams (10:35.89) – 1st
1000 free: Wes Tate (9:27.16) – 1st
200 free: Molly Webber (1:51.77) – 1st
200 free: George Glover VII (1:39.65) – 1st
100 back: Layne Peterson (57.39) – 1st
100 back: Joey Kling (50.16) – 1st
100 breast: Aurelie Migault (1:03.43) – 1st
100 breast: Alex Edwards (56.32) – 1st
200 fly: Margaret Kroening (2:04.63) – 2nd
200 fly: Jackson Pogue (1:49.00) – 1st
50 free: Clara Williams (23.90) – 1st
50 free: Ben Vorthmann (20.82) – 1st
100 free: Meghan Cole (52.32) – 1st
100 free: Thomas Hadji (45.24) – 1st
200 back: Layne Peterson (2:01.38) – 1st
200 back: Alex Edwards (1:49.86) – 1st
200 breast: Aurelie Migault (2:16.77) – 1st
200 breast: Kalvin Hahn (2:00.19) – 1st
500 free: Clara Williams (5:03.64) – 1st
500 free: Maxwell Jordan (4:34.43) – 1st
100 fly: Melinda Zhang (56.04) – 1st
100 fly: Jack Mowery (50.58) – 2nd
200 IM: Aurelie Migault (2:06.17) – 1st
200 IM: Kohen Rankin (1:50.50) – 1st
W 400 free relay: Clara Williams, Molly Webber, Melinda Zhang, Grace Wagner (3:28.57) – 1st
M 400 free relay: Wes Tate, Jackson Pogue, Alex Edwards, Owen Harlow (3:02.18) – 1st
W 200 medley relay: Layne Peterson, Aurelie Migault, Melinda Zhang, Meghan Cole (1:44.41) – 1st
M 200 medley relay: Alex Edwards, Kohen Rankin, James Pinter, Ben Vorthmann (1:30.37) – 1st
Courtesy: Bucknell Athletics
