Horizon League – Men and Women
- Wednesday, February 19 – Saturday, February 22
- Oakland Aquatics Center, Rochester, MI (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: Oakland men (6x) & Oakland women (6x) (results)
- Live results
- Live Video
- Championship Central
- Day 1 Finals Results
- Day 2 Finals Results
TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 2
WOMEN
- Oakland – 343.5
- Cleveland State – 204
- UIC – 194
- IUPUI – 175
- Milwaukee – 115.5
- Youngstown State – 113
- Green Bay – 93
MEN
- Oakland – 310
- Cleveland State – 241
- UIC – 197
- IUPUI – 172
- Green Bay – 154
- Milwaukee – 116
- Youngstown State – 72
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies continued to tear through the Horizon League Championships on the 2nd day, expanding both the men’s and women’s leads in the the team standings. Oakland has won every women’s swimming event of the meet so far.
Golden Grizzly freshman Sovhi Nenonen took the women’s 500 free with a 4:52.39, setting a new personal best and using a great back half to take the title. Her teammate, Emily Aycock, another freshman, was 2nd into the wall, touching in 4:54.20. Aycock ran down IUPUI’s Meagan Ronci on the final 50, splitting 28.37 to Ronci’s 29.60, leaving Ronci in 3rd with a 4:54.28. Oakland had another freshman A finalist, Sonya Zubenko, who came in 7th with a 5:02.06.
In the next women’s event, the 200 IM, Oakland posted a 1-2-3-4 finish, led by sophomore Susan LaGrand in 1:58.22. LaGrand blew away the field with her first 100, splitting 25.89 on fly and 29.01 on backstroke to lead the field by 2.69 seconds at the halfway mark. LaGrand’s time also established a new Horizon League Record, the 5th of the meet, and the 4th to fall at the hands of the Golden Grizzlies. Behind LaGrand were Oakland teammates Kiera Brough (freshman – 2:00.85), Sydney McDowell (junior – 2:01.11), and Erin Donagan (sophomore – 2:02.57). Oakland also had sophomore Taylor Bailey finish 6th in 2:05.29, and freshman Julia Cook finish 8th in 2:05.86. Rounding out the A final was UIC freshman Lilly Culp finishing 5th with a 2:04.27, and Cleveland State junior Alana Cartwright taking 7th with a 2:05.41.
Oakland senior Katie Colwell repeated as the champion in the women’s 50 free, clocking a 22.76. Maggie Hatfield of IUPUI came in 2nd with a 23.46. Colwell then led the Golden Grizzlies to victory in the women’s 200 free relay, swimming a 22.80 on the first leg of the relay. Karlee Marsh, who finished 5th in the 50 free with a 23.66, clocked a 23.04 on the 2nd leg of the relay, putting Oakland nearly a full second ahead of the field at the 100 mark. Senior Grace Shinske dove in for the 3rd leg, splitting a 22.49, and freshman Sovhi Nenonen anchored in 22.71, getting her hand on the wall for a 1:31.04 finish. That time established a new Horizon League Record, and Oakland school record, and they led the field by over 2 seconds. The swim was also an Oakland pool record.
The Golden Grizzlies started out just as explosively in the men’s events tonight, with freshman Marko Khotynetskyi swimming a best time 4:24.77 to win the men’s 500. Khotynetskyi managed to hold off sophomore teammate Ben Davis, who was charging at the end, touching in 4:25.07. Oakland junior Rudy Aguilar came in 3rd with a 4:27.11, edging out UIC’s Hunter Crook (4:27.17).
The Oakland win streak was snapped after the 500, with Cleveland State taking over from there. CSU junior Timmy Kubacki took the men’s 200 IM in a tight race with Oakland’s Colton Phelps, touching in 1:47.05 and 1:47.11 respectively. Phelps actually led the race right up until the end, getting out to a quick start with a 22..53 on fly, 26.91 on back, and 31.55 on breast, compared to 23.21, 26.62, and 31.26 for Kubacki. Kubacki then edged Phelps on the final 50, splitting 25.96 to Phelps’ 26.12. Although their win streak was snapped, Oakland still scored the most points on the event, tallying up 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 12th, and 13th finishes.
Cleveland State senior Dominic Poletta then won the men’s 50 free, hitting the wall in 19.71 to touch ahead of Oakland freshman Christian Bart (19.91) and IUPUI junior Mason Jung (19.95). Poletta went on to lead Cleveland State to victory in the men’s 200 free relay, splitting 20.07 on the lead-off leg. Jack Macdonald followed Poletta in 19.67, with D.J. Arslanian going next in 19.84, and Ryan Sedlak anchored in 19.74, getting CSU to the finish in 1:19.32. Oakland was the only other team to break 1:20, touching in 1:19.60.
UIC picked up another diving win when Felix Lafortune posted a final score of 334.95.
