Ithaca Women, RIT Men Repeat As Liberty League Swimming & Diving Champions

2023 Liberty League Swimming & Diving Championships

• February 15-18, 2023
• Ithaca, N.Y.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Courtesy: Liberty League Athletics

ITHACA, N.Y. – The 2023 Liberty League Swimming and Diving Championships wrapped up on Saturday at the Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium on the campus of Ithaca College with 11 events – five for the women and six for the men in the final day of the four-day championship.

The Ithaca College women’s swimming and diving team captured its fourth straight Liberty League title with 1,619 points. The Bombers easily won the title, surpassing runner-up Vassar College by more than 300 points (342). It was a closer finish on the men’s side as Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) earned its second consecutive Liberty League title, compiling 1,782.5 points and defeating second-place Ithaca (1,538.5) by 244 points.

FINAL TEAM SCORES:

WOMEN: 1. Ithaca 1,619; 2. Vassar 1,277; 3. RPI 1,253.5; 4. RIT 1,215; 5. St. Lawrence 683; 6. Skidmore 667.5; 7. Union 483; 8. Clarkson 466; 9. William Smith 251; 10. Bard 149.

MEN: 1. RIT 1,782.5; 2. Ithaca 1,538.5; 3. RPI 1,369; 4. Skidmore 805; 5. Union 732; 6. Clarkson 725; 7. Vassar 658; 8. St. Lawrence 213; 9. Bard 138; 10. Hobart 68.

MEET AWARDS:

WOMEN

• Swimmer of the Meet: Sonia Mlakar, First Year, Ithaca College – Mlakar won three individual events and took part in four of Ithaca’s five relay squads over the four-day championship. Individually, she posted NCAA B-Cut times in all three of her victories and broke a pair of meet records in the 100-yard butterfly (55.89 seconds) and the 200-yard backstroke (1:59.80). She was also first in the 100-yard backstroke (55.96 seconds). Three of the four relays Mlaker was a part of took home gold—the 200 medley relay (1:44.62), the 200 freestyle relay (1:44.88) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:28.64, meet record).
• Diver of the Meet: Kari Pawcio, Senior, Ithaca College – Pawcio captured the 3-meter board (489.55) and finished a close third on the one-meter board behind teammates Leah Levin and Abby Marraccino, finishing as the high-point diver (985.10) at the championship.

MEN

• Swimmer of the Meet: Mike Atanasoff, Junior, Rochester Institute of Technology – Atanasoff won two individual events, shattering meet and association records in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly. In the 50 freestyle, he touched the wall in 20.13 seconds matching his time set in the prelims, breaking the meet record of 20.48 set in 2020 and the association record from 2015 of 20.22. In the 100 butterfly, Atanasoff posted an NCAA B-Cut time of 48.28 seconds. He broke the record set last year by teammate Drew Scheib (49.30). He also had a hand in RIT’s winning 400-yard medley relay squad along with teammates Scheib, Brendan Kapp and Jake Sapp with a time of 3:18.16, breaking the record time of 3:20.45 these four set last year.
• Diver of the Meet: Gellert Kish, Sophomore, Rochester Institute of Technology – Kish was a repeat champion on both boards, winning the 1-meter event Thursday (530.45) before capturing the 3-meter board Saturday (530.00).

Highlights from Saturday championship action:

WOMEN

• Vassar College first-year swimmer Addie Wiener completed a sweep of the distance events, winning the 1,650-yard freestyle (mile) in 17:45.18. She pulled away over the final 50 yards to defeat Ithaca senior Erin Kiley (17:47.29) by just over two seconds. Weiner also won the 500-yard freestyle (5:05.53) on Wednesday in the first individual event of the championship.
• In a fast 100-yard freestyle final, Ithaca senior Jane Pfeufer set a championship record in winning the event in 51.65 seconds. Pfeufer, who also won the 50-yard freestyle in a meet-record time on Wednesday (23.42), topped the 100-freestyle championship record of 52.12 set in 2018 by Jessica Sauve of RPI. RPI sophomore Shannon Brown (51.83) and St. Lawrence junior Maggie Wenger (51.84) also broke the previous mark.
• Ithaca first-year swimmer Sonia Mlakar picked up her third victory of the championship, winning the 200-yard backstroke in a meet record and NCAA B-cut time of 1:59.80. Mlakar, who also won the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly, broke the 200-backstroke record of 2:00.68 set in 2020 by Vassar’s Jesse Ecklund. Mlakar’s winning margin was 3.48 seconds over runner-up Alyssa Cahill of RPI (2:03.28).
• RIT sophomore Anna Peshenko earned her second straight victory in the 200-yard breaststroke, winning in an NCAA B-cut time of 2:19.91. It was Peshenko’s third victory of the championship. She previously won the 400-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke.
• The Ithaca 400-yard freestyle relay team consisting of senior Jane Pfeufer, senior Katie Champagnie, first-year Sonia Mlakar and senior Emily Vandersleen set a championship record with an NCAA B-cut time of 3:28.64. It was Ithaca’s win in five relay events. The Bombers shattered the meet record of 3:30.16 set by RIT in 2019.

MEN

• Skidmore sophomore Nicolas Sodi was a repeat champion in the 1,650-yard freestyle (mile), winning the event in a championship record and NCAA B-cut time of 16:07.76. Sodi, who won by more than eight seconds over Ithaca sophomore Matthew Stevens (16:16.62), broke the meet record of 16:10.81 set in 2020 by Vassar’s Robbie Perot.
• Ithaca junior James Collishaw was also a repeat champion, winning the 100-yard freestyle in a championship and association record and NCAA B-cut time of 44.60 seconds. Collishaw, who won by nine tenths of a second over sophomore teammate Ben Young (45.70), broke the record of 44.71 set last year by former teammate Stanley Zaneski. Zaneski’s record came on the leadoff leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay.
• RIT junior Alex Pecze, seeded fifth in the 200-yard backstroke final, won the event in an NCAA B-cut time of 1:49.41. Pecze, who swam 1:54.66 in the prelims, won by 1.69 seconds over runner-up Matt Johnston of Ithaca.
• RIT senior Brendan Kapp, the championship and association record-holder in the 200-yard breaststroke, won the event for the second straight year in 2:02.36. Kapp improved his record time (2:01.42 last year) with an NCAA B-cut time of 2:01.24 in the morning prelims. He also won the 200-yard individual medley Wednesday.
• RIT sophomore Gellert Kish completed the sweep of the diving events by winning the 3-meter board with a score of 530.00. Kish won the 1-meter event Thursday with a finals score of 530.45.
• The Ithaca 400-yard freestyle relay team consisting of sophomore Ben Young, sophomore Matthew Mitros, sophomore Matt Johnston and junior James Collishaw recorded an NCAA B-cut time of 2:59.87, narrowly missing the championship and association records of 2:59.38 set last year by the Bombers.