Johnny Crush Rips 44.5/1:40.2 Backstrokes As Army Sweeps Navy For First Time Since 1988

Army vs Navy Star Meet

• Thursday, December 5, 2024
• West Point, N.Y.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Army West Point rewrote its school record books on Thursday, setting 12 program marks to sweep the U.S. Naval Academy for the first time in 36 years.

The Army women took down Navy for the first time since 1988, emerging with a 169-131 final, while the Black Knights men’s team topped the Midshipmen for the second time in three years—also just the second time since 1991—to win with a dominant 192.5-107.5 final.

 

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In 44 all-time meetings between the women’s teams, Navy owns a stunning 39-5 record, while the Navy men own a winning record of 56-31 record.

The last sweep for Army came in 1988, when the women won 168-130 and the men emerged in a 59-54 final.

WOMEN’S RECAP

The Army women set five school records throughout the session, with four different swimmers nabbing individual marks after the meet opened with a record-setting swim in the 200 medley relay.

The Army quartet of Angie McKane (25.05), Catriona Gilmore (28.20), Sydney Braeger (24.27) and Meghan Cole (21.91) combined for a time of 1:39.43, edging out Navy (1:39.46) by just three one-hundredths to break the previous school record of 1:39.71 set in 2023.

McKane, Braeger and Cole went on to set new school records individually, as did senior Clara Williams, while Gilmore earned an individual win as well.

McKane, a freshman, put up a time of 52.51 in the 100 fly to shatter the decade-old Army record of 53.40 set by Ariana Bullard in 2014.

McKane also won the 100 back in a lifetime best of 54.05, lowering the Crandall Pool Record of 54.10 set by Kelly Hamilton in 2016. McKane came into the meet with best times of 53.41 in the 100 fly and 54.56 in the 100 back.

Also a freshman, Braeger posted a time of 1:58.64 in the 200 fly to take down the school record of 1:58.96 set by Melinda Zhang in 2023. Braeger came into the meet with a best time of 1:59.09 set last December at Winter Juniors – East.

Cole, a senior, reset her own Army Record in the women’s 50 free, clocking 22.52 to bring down the 22.54 mark she set in 2022.

Williams won the 200 free in a time of 1:46.73, breaking the school record of 1:46.88 set by Molly Webber and lowering her previous PB of 1:47.52, both set in 2023.

Williams also won the 100 free in 50.10, one one-hundredth shy of the school record she set at the 2023 Patriot League Championships (50.09).

Webber was also in action, doubling up with wins in the 500 free (4:51.87) and 1000 free (10:01.46) while finishing as the runner-up to Williams in the 200 free in 1:47.93.

The top performer for Navy was junior Lauren Walsh, who won the 100 breast in a lifetime best of 1:00.39 and added a win in the 200 breast (2:12.63).

Army’s Gilmore won the 200 IM in a time of 2:00.94, and was also the runner-up to Walsh in both breaststroke events.

Along with Walsh, the other double-winner for the Midshipwomen was junior McKenzie Kim, who swept the 1-meter (270.95) and 3-meter (280.15) diving events.

Army junior Layne Peterson added a win in the 200 back, setting a season-best of 1:58.39, and the Black Knights closed the meet out with Williams, Webber, Jenna Hart and Cole winning the 400 free relay in a time of 3:21.11.

Final Score

• Army 169, Navy 131

MEN’S RECAP

The Army men won every swimming event to rout Navy by 85 points, with freshman Johnny Crush leading the way.

Crush powered his way to wins in the 100 and 200 back, shattering the school records in both, and he added a third individual program record in the 100 free leading off the 400 free relay.

In the 100 back, Crush clocked 44.53 to break his two-week-old school record of 45.08 set at the Wolfpack Elite Invite, moving him into 2nd in the NCAA rankings this season, only trailing Texas’ Will Modglin.

Crush entered the season with a best time of 45.56 from December 2023, and has broken the Army school record five times in his first four months with the program, first taking it down in September (47.07).

In the 200 back, Crush dropped more than two and a half seconds off his best time, and knocked more than three and a half seconds off the school record, blasting his way to a time of 1:40.28. Crush’s previous PB stood at 1:42.94 from this past March, while the old Army record sat at 1:43.94 from Sam Wesley in 2022.

Prior to those swims, Crush set a 50 backstroke best time of 20.64, leading off the Army 200 medley relay that also featured Kohen Rankin (23.22), Daniel Verdolaga (20.78) and Owen Harlow (19.21), as they combined for a time of 1:23.85, smashing the school record of 1:25.46 set in 2023.

At the end of the meet in the 400 free relay, Crush led off in 42.55, cracking Harlow’s 100 free school record of 43.19 and lowering his previous best of 42.70 set this past February.

Crush was followed by Ben Vorthmann (42.36), Rankin (43.60) and Thomas Hadji (43.03), as Army finished in 2:51.54 to win by four seconds and lower the school record of 2:53.57 set in 2023. That previous record-setting team included Vorthmann, Hadji and Harlow.

Along with Crush, other individual records for the Army men fell at the hands of Wes Tate, Riley Groves and Verdolaga.

Tate fired off a time of 1:34.37 in the 200 free, breaking his own school record of 1:35.14 set in 2023. He also won the 500 free in 4:17.80, just one one-hundredth off his program record of 4:17.79 set last season.

Groves clocked 1:44.25 in the 200 fly, erasing the six-year-old program record of 1:44.42 set by Johnny Ellery in 2018. Groves’ previous best of 1:45.25 was set at the 2024 Patriot League Championships.

In the 100 fly, Verdolaga set a school record of 46.27, with Groves placing 2nd in a personal best of 47.34.

Verdolaga’s swim broke the previous Army record of 46.70, set by James Pinter at last season’s Patriot League Championships, and improved on his previous PB of 46.90 set in May prior to his collegiate career.

We also saw Crandall Pool Records broken by Rankin in the 100 breast (51.80), narrowly missing his school record of 51.62, and Kalvin Hahn (1:54.30) in the 200 breast. Hahn went 1-2 with Rankin (1:54.52) in the 200, as both neared Rankin’s Army record of 1:54.22.

Army also saw two wins come from Vorthmann, as he won the 50 free (19.61) and 100 free (43.24) with a pair of personal best times. His 100 free swim also narrowly missed the school record (43.19) before Crush broke it later in the meet.

Other winners for Army included Brice Barrieault in the 1000 free (9:01.61), Joey Kling in the 200 IM (1:46.27) and David Manelis in the 1-meter diving event (320.25).

The lone victory for Navy came in the 3-meter dive, where Blake Shaw came out on top with a score of 310.40.

Final Score

• Army 192.5, Navy 107.5