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Butterfly and backstroke specialist Cristian Pong has committed to swim at Loyola University in Maryland for his collegiate career. He hails from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he swims for Chambersburg Memorial YMCA and competes for Chambersburg Area High School. He will join the Greyhounds in the fall of 2026.
He publicized the announcement on social media, writing:
I’m excited to announce my verbal commitment to Loyola University. I want to thank my coaches, family, and teammates for pushing me towards my goals. I also want to thank Coach Jay and Coach Brian for giving me this opportunity. Go Hounds!
Pong’s target meets of the last high school season were the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) District 3-3A meet and the PIAA 3A State Championships, both held two weeks apart in early March.
At Districts, he walked away with bronze in the 100 fly (50.61) and sixth in the 100 back (52.47), and contributed a 22.02 split on the fourth-place 200 free relay and a 22.74 fly leg on the 200 medley relay that took eighth.
The State Championships saw Pong hit the wall eighth in the 100 fly, clocking 50.06, in addition to touching 22nd in the 100 back at 52.75. The only relay he swam at this meet was the 200 free relay, where he produced 21.97 to help his team to 20th.
He wrapped up his season at the YMCA National Championships, which took place at the end of March. His highest finish came in the 200 fly, where he clocked a pair of best times on the day, 1:52.57 in prelims before nabbing 17th in finals with a time of 1:50.98. He also clocked 49.90 for 21st in the 100 fly, took 45th in the 100 back with 52.23, and swam 21.65 for 72nd in the 50 free.
Pong’s lifetime best in the 100 fly, 49.21, stems from the 31st Annual Arena Capital Classic in December. While he hasn’t swum it much in 2025, his PB of 1:54.30 in the 200 back comes from the same competition. His 52.17 best in the 100 back is from that same competition in 2024.
Top SCY Times:
- 100 Butterfly: 49.21
- 200 Butterfly: 1:50.98
- 100 Backstroke: 52.17
- 200 Backstroke: 1:54.30
The Loyola Greyhound men, led by head coach Brian Loeffler, placed third out of 10 teams at the 2025 Patriot League Championships. The conference meet scores ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C’ finals, and Pong’s best time in the 100 fly would have put him 16th after prelims and into the ‘B’ final last season. In the 200 fly, his best was 0.03 seconds shy of what was required to make the top 24 and score. Times of 50.40 and 1:52.22 were required to make the ‘C’ final in the backstroke events.
On the team’s 2024-25 depth chart, senior Patrick Hayburn (47.44) led the way in the 100 fly, while freshman Luke Dwyer (1:46.21) topped the 200 fly standings. Sophomore Joe Hayburn was the fastest backstroker with marks of 46.29 and 1:42.17.
Pong joined Ben Tungate and Tim Hanway in committing to the Greyhounds’ class of 2030.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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