EAST MEADOW, NY – The St. Francis Brooklyn men's and women's swimming and diving teams competed at the ECAC Winter Championships and put forth strong efforts throughout the three-day event.
The women's team placed fourth out of 17 teams, and
Ana Paula Montes de Oca claimed the Women's Swimmer of the Meet honor. The men's team earned a sixth-place finish out of 11 teams. The women's team racked up 813.50 points, while the men's team notched 607.50 points.
The Terriers set 14 new school records (nine individual records, five relay records) and members of both teams set personal best times en route to a tremendous showing at the Championship event.
WOMEN'S HIGHLIGHTS:
- Montes de Oca broke six records throughout the championship as she was named the Women's Swimmer of the Meet. On Friday, she broke a pair of records in the 1,650-yard free. She posted a time of 16:52.97 to take home gold, in doing so she shattered the school record for the 1,000-yard free (10:10.77) and set the record for the 1,650-yard free. On Saturday, Montes de Oca earned a first-place finish in the 200-yard free with a mark of 1:52.42 to break the school record. On the final day of the Championship, the sophomore recorded a second-place finish in the 200-yard fly and posted a record-breaking time of 2:05.37. She was also a part of the Terriers' 800-yard free relay team that broke the school record with a time of 7:44.12 in a third-place finish. Montes de Oca also registered a second-place finish in the 500-yard free with a time of 4:59.55.
- The Terriers' 800-yard free relay team of Montes de Oca, Beatriz Gomes Angelo, Lara Milak, and Melanie Lumkong broke the school record with a time of 7:44.12 as they placed third in the race.
- The Terriers finished off the meet with a team record in the 400-yard free relay. The team of Gomes Angelo, Montes de Oca, Hanne Romstad, and Angelica Stark posted a time of 3:35.85.
- Gomes Angelo earned gold in the 500-yard free and broke her school record with a time of 4:58.01. She later set the school record in the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:34.43. In the 800-yard free relay, Gomes Angelo broke the program record for the 200-yard free with a time of 1:53.00 before de Oca ended up breaking that record on Sunday. She set the tone for the Terriers as the team picked up gold in the 800 free relays.
- Freshman diver Kayla McKenzie placed fifth in both the 1- and 3-meter dives. McKenzie registered scores of 185.40 on the 1-meter boards and 176.65 on the 3-meter boards.
- Raphaelle Gregoire and Fanny Stromstedt finished in first and second respectively in the 100-yard breaststroke. Gregoire had a time of 1:03.45, while Stromstedt had a mark of 1:04.68.
- On Sunday morning, the Terriers had three finish in the top eight of the 200-yard breaststroke. Gregoire earned a third-place finish (2:22.54), Stromstedt came in fourth (2:22.72), and Lara Milak rounded out the Terriers in the top eight in seventh-place (2:25.78).
- Stark had a personal-best in the 1,650-yard free with a time of 17:54.02 and came in eighth-place overall.
- Tina Childress was Terriers' top finisher in the 50-yard free placing 11th with a time of 24.52.
MEN'S HIGHLIGHTS:
- On the men's side, there was an ample amount of success, and it started with a program record set by the 200-yard medley relay team of Alfred Christensson, Kavin Duraku, Andrew Gubarev, and Micah Wesselhoff. The Terriers posted a time of 1:34.67.
- Binald Mahmuti earned a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard IM with a time of 1:56.71. Mahmuti went on to win the men's 400-yard IM with a time of 4:08.25 to break the team record by four seconds.
- Christensson won the 100-yard fly with a team record of 49.91, while Gubarev placed third with a time of 50.83. Christensson posted another record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.99. That time garnered him with a second-place finish in the event.
- Christensson and Wesselhoff both registered top 10 finishes in the 50-yard free. Christensson came in fifth as he clocked a time of 21.41, while Wesselhoff placed ninth with a time of 21.75.
- On Saturday night, the 400-yard medley relay team of Christensson, Meriton Veliu, Gubarev, and Marko Danev set a team record with a time of 3:32.25 in a fifth-place finish. The team of Christensson, Wesselhoff, Gubarev, and Danev later capped off the meet with another record and a fourth-place finish in the 400-yard free relay with a time of 3:09.58.
UP NEXT:
The Terriers are back in action on Sunday, January 20, for Senior Day. The men will take on the Merchant Marine Academy, while the women face Queens College.
