NEC Championships Day 1: Bryant Men And Women Take Early Lead

2022 Northeast Conference Championships

• February 22 to 26, 2022
• Geneva, Ohio (SPIRE Institute)
• Defending Champions- Men- Bryant (1x) Women- Bryant (4x)
• Championship Central (Women’s)
• Championship Central (Men’s)
• Live Results
• Live Video: NEC Front Row
• Fan Guide

While most conference championships this week start tomorrow, the 2022 Northeast Conference Championships kicked off today with the 800 free relay. Bryant, the defending conference champion on both sides, took the mens’ and womens’ relay titles to begin their defenses.

Women’s Recap

Erin Doruska (1:50.34), Alyvia Beaudion (1:53.13), Reagan Lord (1:51.10), and Paige Edwards (1:52.32) won the title for Bryant on the women’s side, taking the win in a time of 7:26.89. Doruska’s leadoff split overtakes Long Island swimmer Ella Johnson’s 1:52.32 as the fastest time of the season, and is just a few tenths off her personal best of 1:50.18. 

The fastest split of the field came from Central Connecticut’s Shannon Welcome, who swam the second leg of the relay in a 1:50.19 to contribute to her team’s second-place finish that came in a total time of 7:28.66. St. Francis (Pennsylvania) took third in a time of 7:34.67.

Women’s Scores After Day One

1. Bryant- 40
2. Central Connecticut- 34
3. Saint Francis (Pennsylvania)- 32
4. Sacred Heart- 30
5. Wagner- 28
6. Long Island- 26
7. St. Francis (New York)- 24
8. Howard- 22
9. Mount Saint Mary’s- 18
10. Merrimack- 14

Men’s Recap

Alex Rowson (1:40.53), FuKang Wong (1:40.20), Conner Lofstrom (1:38.36), and Chase Konstantakos (1:40.41) gave the Bryant men a win and a meet record of 6:39.50, taking down Long Island’s old meet record of 6:47.74 from last year. Bryant was actually behind Howard and St. Francis (New York) at the 400-yard mark, but a massive field-leading 1:38.36 split from Lofstrom put Bryant in the lead. 

Bryant was about four-tenths behind Howard at the halfway point but outsplit them by nearly three seconds in the second half of the race.

Howard came in second with a 6:42.35, and St. Francis (New York) was third in a 6:49.98. Long Island, the defending champion and former meet record holder in the event, did not score in this event due to a DQ. 

As this year is only the second year that the NEC Championships have been held for men, many meet records are expected to fall this year, especially with the addition of new teams like Howard who have many swimmers that can place on the podium. 

Men’s Scores After Day One

1. Bryant- 40
2. Howard- 34
3. St. Francis (New York)- 32
4. Mount Saint Mary’s- 30
5. Wagner- 28