Niagara vs Gannon
- January 27, 2024
- Erie, Pa.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Niagara Athletics
ERIE, PA. – The Niagara University men’s and women’s swimming programs closed out the regular season with a split against Gannon University.
Women’s Recap
Niagara won a total of 12 events en route to a 168-119 win over Gannon on Saturday.
Claire Gorton and Mary Carl each won a pair of events on the afternoon. Gorton took the top spot in the 200 free and 100 free events with times of 1:55.14 and 53.15, while Carl won the 1000 free and 200 fly events, finishing with times of 10:24.77 and 2:06.33.
Carl’s time in the 1000 free and 200 fly, as well as her 500 split time of set Gannon Carneval Athletic Pavilion records. The 500 free pool record would later be broken by teammate Maggie Marody when she won the 500 free with a time of 5:08.38.
Freshman Megan Jackson won the 50 free with a time of 23.79, setting another Gannon Carneval Athletic Pavillion record in the process.
Niagara would set pool records in the 200 IM, 200 back and 200 medley relay. Alaina Pitton won the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.75, while Maddie Norton set the new pool benchmark with a time of 2:08.29. The relay team of Baileigh Racky, Alaina Pitton, Megan Smith, Paige South posted a time of 1:45.10, recording the new Gannon pool record.
South went on to win the 100 fly with a time of 56.96 and Smith took the top spot in the 200 breast with a mark of 2:24.23.
The women capped off the win with South, Gorton, Smith and Jackson earning the win in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:31.27.
Men’s Recap
The men fell to Gannon on Saturday by the final score of 177-110.
The Purple Eagles set two Gannon Carneval Athletic Pavillion pool records. The first in the 200 medley relay when Reid Tichy, Jake Lauzonis, Gio Germano, and Levi Morgan posted a time of 1:32.06.
Morgan would go on to set the pool record in the 100 free with a time of 45.58. Morgan would also tie for the top spot in the 50 free with a mark of 20.61 as he and teammate Nathan Dragon touched the wall simultaneously.
Germano won the 200 fly with a time of 1:55.82 and Sean Finley took the top spot in the 200 breast with a time of 2:02.32.
Up Next
Niagara will head to Geneva, Ohio and the SPIRE Institute for the MAAC Swimming & Diving Championships Feb. 14-17. The Niagara women will look to win its second conference title in three seasons, while the men look to continue to rise up the standings for its first title in 20 years.
Courtesy: Gannon Sports
Celebration filled Carneval Athletic Pavilion Saturday as the Golden Knight women’s swimming and diving team celebrated its 10 seniors in its home finale against Division I Niagara.
The Pruple Eagles won the meet 168-119 and improved to 5-2 on the year, while the Golden Knights concluded their dual season 3-3.
Senior Festivities:
Prior to the dual meet, the Gannon University women’s swimming and diving team honored seniors Irati Arzalluz (Lasarte-Oria, Spain/Santo Tomas Lizeoa), Maggie Bilquin (Niagara Falls. N.Y./Niagara Falls), Alexandra Briggs (Newark, N.Y./Newark), Madeline Kless (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield), Kyla Miller (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional), Lexi Mills (Livonia, N.Y./Livonia), Francesca Nemetz (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area), Alex Pannemann (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley), Nicole Spiegel (East Amherst, N.Y./Clarence), and Sterre van de Goor (Oss, Netherlands/Sint-Joriscollege) to recognize their contributions to the program.
Miller Punches Ticket to NCAA Nationals:
Honoring its seniors on the women’s team wasn’t the only thing to recognize. Senior diver Kyla Miller (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) punched her ticket to the NCAA Diving Championships with a school-record, NCAA qualifying one-meter six-dive score of 279.98.
Megan Beresford held the previous record of 274.35 since the 2010-11 season.
With that effort, Miller completed the two-step process of qualifying for the NCAA diving championships. The night before, (January 26 vs. Penn State Behrend) she compiled a 399.90 total on 11 dives to top the 11-dive qualifying standard of 390.
Miller will join teammate Kollin Schwab at the SPIRE Institute Aquatics Center in Geneva, Ohio. The NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships are set for March 12-16.
In the 3-meter diving, Maddy Kless earned a first-place mark of 189.91, while teammate Nicole Spiegel (East Amherst, N.Y./Clarence) recorded a second-place finish of 168.08.
Katelyn Reott (Butler, Pa./Moniteau) earned Gannon’s first win in the 100 backstroke touching the wall in 58.68, while Isabella Dietz (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) won 100 breaststroke in 1:07.38,
Up Next
The Gannon divers will compete at the Hrovat Diving Invitational on Friday, Feb. 2 at Clarion. The swimming teams will be back in action when they compete at the 2024 PSAC Swimming Championships on Feb. 14-17. Gannon will serve as the host for the PSAC Championships at Keystone Aquatic Center in Carlisle.
Gannon’s women’s swimming an diving winners:
100 backstroke – Katelyn Reott (Butler, Pa./Moniteau) – 58.68
100 breaststroke – Isabella Dietz (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) – 1:07.38
1-meter diving – Kyla Miller (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) – 279.98 (School-Record, NCAA Qualifying Score)
3-meter diving – Madeline Kless (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) – 189.91
ERIE, Pa. – It was an ideal way to end Senior Day for the Gannon men’s swimming and diving team.
With the dual victory already clinched on Saturday, the Golden Knights won the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, when senior Joey Decheck (Plum, Pa./Plum) made a comeback on the final leg to help a Gannon put an exclamation point on its final home meet of the season at the Carneval Athletic Pavilion pool.
Decheck touched first with a sparkling leg of 45.71 seconds as Gannon won in a time of 3:08.32. He had earlier won the 100 freestyle in 46.22 seconds. Decheck was joined by Ben Williams (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), Will Moses (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake), and Andrew Smith (Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Benedict’s) on the relay team. Moses and Smith are also seniors. Other seniors honored were Stephen McCallum (Cape Town, South Africa/Wynberg Boys’), Josh Nel (Johannesburg, South Africa/American International), and Ethan Spradlin (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay).
The 400 free relay win capped a 177-110 dual victory for the Gannon men and concluded a successful weekend with home victories on back-to-back days. GU, which finished the dual season 4-2, defeated Penn State Behrend 146-86 on Friday night.
Multiple winners:
Sophomore Will Retsch (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) turned in an impressive day for Gannon, recording three individual victories. The Knights finished the day with 12 victories in 16 events.
Retsch won the 100 backstroke (52.28), 100 butterfly (49.89), and 200 individual medley (1:54.08) to lead the Golden Knights.
Ben Williams (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), who led off the winning 400 relay, also had two individual victories. He starred in the distance events, placing first in the 200 freestyle (1:42.69) and 500 freestyle (4:43.52).
Kollin Schwab (Erie, Pa./McDowell), who qualified for the NCAAs on Friday, won both diving events.
Other individual winners were Ryan Barclay (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) in the 1000 freestyle (9:58.27), Aidar Sataev (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan/Forest Hill) in the 100 breaststroke (57.19), and Seth Butler (Maineville, Ohio/Little Miami) in the 200 backstroke (1:56.67).
What’s ahead:
Gannon’s divers are scheduled in a pair of diving competitions over the next two weekends. The Gannon swimmers will now prepare for the PSAC Championships on Feb. 14-17 at Keystone Aquatics Center in Carlisle.
Final men’s standings
1. Gannon 177, 2. Niagara 110
Gannon men’s swimming and diving winners
1000-yard freestyle: Ryan Barclay (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) 9:58.27.
200 freestyle: Ben Williams (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) 1:42.69.
100 backstroke: Will Retsch (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) 52.28.
100 breaststroke: Aidar Sataev (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan/Forest Hill) 57.19.
1-meter diving: Kollin Schwab (Erie, Pa./McDowell) 309.98.
100 freestyle: Joey Decheck (Plum, Pa./Plum) 46.22.
200 backstroke: Seth Butler (Maineville, Ohio/Little Miami) 1:56.67.
500 freestyle: Ben Williams (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) 4:43.52.
100 butterfly: Will Retsch (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) 49.89.
3-meter diving: Kollin Schwab (Erie, Pa./McDowell) 189.91.
200 IM: Will Retsch (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) 1:54.08.
400 freestyle: Gannon (Ben Williams (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), Will Moses (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake), Andrew Smith (Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Benedict’s), Joey Decheck (Plum, Pa./Plum)) 3:08.32.
