By Christine Houghton
Sports Editor
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled to Montclair State University on Saturday, Nov. 16, for a New Jersey Athletic Conference dual meet. The men won their meet 190-97, while the women topped their opponent 176.5-123.5.
For the men, the meet started strong with a relay win, as the 100-meter medley team of juniors Andrew Thompson and Patrick Bakey, senior Derek Kneisel and freshman Patrick Sullivan finished with a time of 1:40.17.
In the 1,000-meter freestyle race, the Lions placed first and second, as junior James Kean finished at 10:17.76 and sophomore Brett Clauhs touched the wall at 10:37.31. The 200-meter freestyle had Thompson and junior Kai Michaud finishing first at 1:47.22 and second at 1:48.77, respectively.
Kneisel won the 100-meter backstroke, coming in at a time of 53.76, while Sullivan placed first in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:01.88. Junior Griffin Morgan won the 50-meter freestyle at 21.70.
The 400-meter relay team of Thompson, Sullivan, Kneisel and junior Nolan Kuscan rounded out the swimming races with a win, coming in at 3:20.44. Junior divers Jay Soukup and Ethan Staiman swept the 1-meter dive with scores of 257.3 and 171.4, respectively.
The women did equally well, as senior Annie Menninger started the day off with a win in the 1,000-meter freestyle with a time of 11:12.43. Sophomore Zoe Chan continued the winning by taking the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:01.12.
Menninger added another win, as she touched the wall at 1:10.01 in the 100-meter breaststroke. Sophomore Kori Jelinek and junior Niki Meskin went 1-2 in the 200-meter butterfly with the times of 2:19.07 and 2:20.09, respectively.
Chan outswam her competition with a win in the 200-meter individual medley at 2:13.62, as well as the 100-meter butterfly, in which she swam a 57.54, breaking the Montclair State pool record time.
Freshman Gabi Valladares performed well in the 1-meter dive with a score of 210.55. The 400-meter freestyle relay team of senior Kazia Moore, junior Elise Fraser and freshmen Shannon Hesse and Rachel Hannah closed out the meet with a win at 3:48.77.
The teams return to the pool on Friday, Nov. 22, as they host Southern Connecticut State University for a dual meet.
