Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Patriot League Championships
Swimming and Diving Finish Second at Patriot League Championships
February 19, 2023 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Army West Point swim and dive team completed the 2022-23 Patriot League Championships on Saturday evening at Kinney Natatorium, with the men's and women's team both placing second.
On the men's side the Black Knights scored 846.50 points, falling behind Navy by 856.50 points, the first time since 2001 that Army scored 800 points. Bucknell finished third with 538.50 points. On the women's side, Army scored 615.50 points. The Navy Midshipmen won the Patriot League Championship with 799 points, and the Bucknell Bison earned bronze, earning 540.50 points.
Along with their success in the pool, Army was highlighted in Patriot League major awards. Plebe Brice Barrieault was named Patriot League Men's Rookie of the Meet, the first since Peter Mikheyev who was Rookie of the Meet in 2017. Also, Head Coach Brandt Nigro was named Men's Swim Coach of the Year. Nigro is the third Army Coach to be named Coach of the Year and the first since 2017 (Mickey Wender).
The Men's Meet
Army came out strong with the Black Knights taking the top three spots in the 1650 Free. Freshman Brice Barrieault took gold with a time of 15:09.45. Ian Tansill finished second with a time of 15:12.83, and sophomore Wes Tate earned bronze with a final time of 15:15.59.
In the 200 Back, Army took second and third with Sam Wesley winning the silver with a time of 1:44.73 and Joey Kling finished third with a time of 1:45.10. Zac Leith finished fourth with a time of 1:45.78 and Alex Edwards came in fifth with a final time of 1:45.78, adding on team points for the Black Knights.
Owen Harlow finished fourth in the 100 Free with a time of 44.01. Tanner Falls came in sixth with a time of 44.36. Freshman Kohen Rankin finished first in the 200 Breast with a final time of 1:54.80. With his time, Rankin also set a new Academy record (Evan Yoo, 1:55.11, 2022). Junior Bruce Bannister came in third with a total time of 1:57.42. In the 200 Fly Army's Jackson Pogue came in sixth with a time of 1:48.25.
It came down to the 400 Free Relay in determining the 2022-23 Patriot League Champion. In a back-and-forth between the Navy Midshipmen, the Army Black Knights, and the Loyola Greyhounds, the Midshipmen earned gold with a time of 2:54.09. The Black Knights finished second with a final time of 2:54.33 and Loyola came in third with a time of 2:56.32. Army's Tanner Falls, Ben Vorthmann, William Rankin, and Owen Harlow broke an Academy record (Falls, W. Rankin, Harlow, Powell, 2:54.68, 2022)
The Women's Meet
The Army West Point women's swimming and diving team turned in a strong showing, highlighted by a record-setting performance from the 400 free relay team, on the final day to retain its hold onto second place at the Patriot League Championships hosted by Bucknell.
Defending champion Navy claimed the title among the 10-team field as the Mids won the meet with 799 points followed by Army's 615.5 showing. Bucknell was a distant third (540.5) with Boston University (381) and Lehigh (377.5) rounding out the top five teams.
The 400 Free Relay capped off the final event with the foursome of Clara Williams, Meghan Cole, Aurelie Migault, and Molly Webber combining their talents to set a school record 3:20.49. They lowered their seeded time of 3:23.11 in picking up 40 points for the Black Knights.
Overall, Army had 10 swimmers place among the top 10, two divers with top six finishes along with the winning relay in closing out the final day of the meet.
Williams and Migault also turned in second-place finishes in the 100 Free and 200 Breast, respectively. Williams recorded a 50.09 clocking in the 100 Free and Migault touched the wall in 2:12.30 in the Breast, lowering her prelim time (2:13.50).
Minh Donnell finished second on the high board with 306.75 points followed by a pair of third place showings by Meghan Cole, 100 Free (50.43) and Catriona Gilmore, 200 Breast (2:14.23), respectively.
Abigail Gibbs was sixth on the 3M board (274.65), Layne Peterson in the 200 Back (1:58.31) and Melinda Zhang, 200 Fly (2:00.35) were fourth, respectively, in their events. Kira MacMullan, 200 Back (2:00.78), and Maggie Kroening, 200 fly (2:01.53) were Eighth with Molly Webber winning the consolations in the 200 Fly (1:59.81) and Bridget O'Shaughnessy taking 10th in the 1650 Free (17:39.37).
For complete results click HERE:
2023 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Major Awards
Women's Swimmer of the Meet: Mimi Watts, American
Men's Swimmer of the Meet: Jonah Harm, Navy
Women's Rookie of the Meet: Lauren Walsh, Navy
Men's Rookie of the Meet: Brice Barrieault, Army
Women's Diver of the Meet: Sumi Cameron, Boston U
Men's Diver of the Meet: Blake Shaw, Navy
Women's Swim Coach of the Year: John Morrison, Navy
Men's Swim Coach of the Year: Brandt Nigro, Army
Women's Diving Coach of the Year: Brad Snodgrass, Boston U
Joe Suriano Men's Diving Coach of the Year: Rich MacDonald, Navy
Men - Team Rankings
1. Navy (856.5)
2. Army (846.5)
3. Bucknell (538.5)
4. Loyola Maryland (455)
5. Boston University (247)
6. Lehigh (180.5)
7. American (148.5)
8. Lafayette (132)
9. Holy Cross (110)
10. Colgate (107.5)
Women - Team Rankings
1. Navy (799)
2. Army (615.5)
3. Bucknell (540.5)
4. Boston University (381)
5. Lehigh (377.5)
6. Loyola Maryland (246)
7. American (221)
8. Colgate (202.5)
9. Holy Cross (148)
10. Lafayette (81)
What's Next
The Black Knights will return to the pool to continue their postseason campaign with ECAC's on Friday February 24-26.
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point swimming & diving, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_SwimDive and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.
Players Mentioned
