Looking to extend its conference championship streak to 18 straight years on the men’s side and 10 straight years on the women’s side, West Chester University holds leads in both genders after day one at the PSAC Swimming Championships.
WCU accumulated 233 points on the men’s side and 145 points on the women’s side.
Bloomsburg is in second for both men and women. The BU men have 175.5 points, while the women have 141 points, just four behind West Chester.
For the men, IUP, Edinboro, and Clarion round out the top five. Gannon, IUP, and Edinboro are third, fourth, and fifth on the women’s side.
West Chester’s Tess Hayward kicked off the evening of day one with a win in the 1000 freestyle. Hayward was a member of the winning 800 free relay team last year, and is the number one seed in the 200 free and 500 free later in the championship.
Hayward’s teammate Dani Barron finished second for the second consecutive year in the event.
Last year’s PSAC Championship Most Valuable Women’s Swimmer Jade Arganbright won the 200 IM for the second straight year.
Gannon’s Emily Nottingham won the 50 free, with a time of 23.63. Nottingham finished sixth in last year’s race.
Bloomsburg’s 200 medley relay team of Alex Wheatley, Nikki Young, Rachel Brooker, and Meghan Gallagher took first for the Huskies.
The Golden Rams completed their sweep of the 1000 freestyle when Bradley Strathmeyer was victorious on the men’s side, finishing in 9:18.09.
Two-time PSAC Men’s Swimmer of the Year Victor Polyakov from West Chester broke PSAC record in the 200 IM, finishing in 1:46.48.
Bloomsburg’s Jake Harner, who previous owned the record before Polyakov broke it, finished in second.
In the 50 free, Bloomsburg would dominate, taking the top three spots. Sam Feiser set a pool record in the event, with a time of of 20.42. Eric Usbeck and A.J. Brady also finished in the top three for BU.
West Chester’s 200 medley relay team (Polyakov, Thomas McCormick, Luke Maguire, Evan Sherkness) also set a PSAC record time, finishing in 1:29.24. The previous record was from a WCU team that featured three of the four same members of this victorious squad.
Competition continues on Friday with the prelim session beginning at 10:00 a.m. and finals beginning at 6:00 p.m. The 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, and 200 freestyle, and 400 medley relay finals will be contested tomorrow.
Women's Team Standings
1. West Chester 145
2. Bloomsburg 141
3. Gannon 87
4. IUP 86
5. Edinboro 62
6. Shippensburg 52
7. Clarion 51
8. California 37
9. East Stroudsburg 34
10. Millersville 32
T11. Kutztown 14
T11. Lock Haven 14
Men's Team Standings
1. West Chester 233
2. Bloomsburg 175.5
3. IUP 58
4. Edinboro 54
5. Clarion 51
6. Gannon 49
7. Shippensburg 34.5
