CUA concluded their 2018 season with the Landmark Conference Championships in which the men’s team won their second straight title while the women took home second place in the league.
Press Release courtesy of Landmark Conference
The Catholic University men and Susquehanna women were crowned Landmark Conference Champions following the three-day meet at the Germantown Indoor Swim Center.
Susquehanna continued its history of dominance in the Landmark Conference with is eighth straight title, posting 848 points, 144 points ahead of second place Catholic (704). The River Hawks Katie Willis earned Susquehanna’s first trip to the top of the podium in the 100-yard freestyle race. She touched the wall first with a time of 51.90, a new meet and conference record. In the final race of the night, the Susquehanna 400-yard freestyle team of Willis, Joann Butkus, Jessica Jozefiak, and Tori Weems set a new meet and conference record with a time of 3:33.24
Drew’s Mal Vishwanath continued her dominance on day three, winning the 1650-free with a time of 17:12.09. Her mark was 39 seconds ahead of second place Caitlin Kelly of Susquehanna. Her time set a new meet record, previously held by Susquehanna’s Devin Lessard in 2015 by 12 seconds. Vishwanath was named the 2018 Women’s Swimmer of the Year due to her four first place finishes over the course of the three-day meet. She was joined on the final awards podium by senior teammate, Jenny Stein, who took home the 2018 Women’s Co-Diver of the Meet award with Marywood’s Courtney Adams.
Sophomore Stephanie Cushman from Drew won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:06.36, while Scranton’s Claire Mason won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:25.87. In the 200-yard butterfly, Marywood’s Mia Nardone touched the wall first with a time of 2:14.09
The Cardinals on the men’s side wasted no time hitting the top of the podium in the 1650-free on championship Sunday. Freshman James Verby earned 20 points for his team in the event, putting up a time of 16:34.88. Catholic was also dominated in the 100-yard free when freshman Matthew Mahon earned gold on a time of 45.85. He was joined by teammate Gregory McCarthy in first place in the 200-yard breaststroke with his time of 2:04.79, which also is an NCAA B-cut. His time broke U.S. Merchant Marines Stone Hewitt’s time of 2:04.93 set in 2014. McCarthy was named the Swimmer and Rookie of the Meet.
Matthew Mahon was next up on the podium for the Cardinals. The freshman earned the gold medal in the 100-yard freestyle after setting a new meet record with a time of 45.85. Teammate David Lanetti won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:56.15. The 400-yard relay team of Sam Hicks, Olivier Nguyen, Kevin Jay, and Mahon sealed the deal for the Cardinals, winning the race in 3:08.10.
The Cardinals ended the weekend with 926.50 points overall, claiming their second straight Landmark Conference championship. Susquehanna was second with 624.50 points.
Catholic’s Joseph Soraghan and Scranton’s Michael Diana were named the Co-Divers of the Year.