Gannon coasted to the lopsided women’s victory despite swimming exhibitions during the final three events after winning the first 10. Six different Lady Knights recorded PSAC qualifying times during the rout.
Kaitlyn Bosy (Courtice, Ontario/Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary) and Steph Graham (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) led the way with two qualifying times each.
Bosy performed the feat in the 50-yard freestyle for the second time this season with a time of 25.10 seconds. The junior then beat the clock swimming an exhibition in the 500-yard freestyle. Her time of 5:21.22 would have been enough for a first-place finish if she hadn’t swam off. It also marked her first 500-yard freestyle qualifying time of the season.
Graham posted the needed times while winning the 200-yard IM (2:16.92) and the 100-yard butterfly (1:01.40). The true freshman produced a qualifying time in the 200-yard IM for the first time this season and the third time in the 100-yard butterfly.
Other Lady Knights to record PSAC qualifying times included Sarah Anderson (Erie, Pa./McDowell) for the first time this season in the 200-yard freestyle (2:01.98), Jackie Rzymek (Erie, Pa./McDowell) for the first time this season in the 100-yard freestyle (54.19), Sarah Lawton (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) for the third time this season in the 100-yard backstroke (1:00.90, season-best) and Katie Vincent (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) for the third time this season in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.92).
Other individual winners included Charlene Lichota (Hamburg, N.Y./Frontier) in the 1,650-yard freestyle (18:36.37), Megan Beresford (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area) in the one-meter diving event (195.35) and Diana Rocco (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) in the three-meter diving event (227.45). Both women’s diving events only featured Gannon divers, so the two events were conducted as exhibitions. In addition, Gannon’s 200-yard medley relay team opened the action with a victory. The team of Lawton, Vincent, Graham and Rzymek posted a winning time of one minute and 53.65 seconds.
The men’s competition featured much more drama. After splitting the first four events, Penn State Behrend opened a lead by winning three consecutive races and six in the span of seven events.
Gannon tried to rally late, securing the top two spots in the 100-yard breaststroke with PSAC qualifying times from Mitchel Meighen (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and Jared Griffard (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho/Coeur d’Alene). Mitchel touched the wall first with a time of one minute and 1.24 seconds while Griffard was right behind with a time of one minute and 2.49 seconds.
The Golden Knights further cut into the lead by winning the final event in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Gannon’s team of Greg Nelson (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor), Alex Dovale (Cape Town, South Africa/South African Collage), Mike Kneidinger (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and Ethan Chase (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) won the event with a time of one minute and 29.82 seconds.
If Gannon’s second team could have managed to finish second, the Golden Knights would have pulled off a miraculous comeback. However, Penn State Behrend’s top team out-swam Gannon second entry by less than a second to secure the two-point victory.
Luke Curtis (Adelaide, South Australia/Blackfriars Priory) kicked off the individual events with a PSAC qualifying time in the 1,650-yard freestyle, winning the event in 17 minutes and 9.02 seconds.
Terrance Coughran (Atwater, Calif./Atwater) and Chase also had qualifying times. Coughran beat the clock for the second time this season in the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.52, season-best) while Chase did it for the third time this season in the 100-yard butterfly (53.84, season-best).
Other individual winners on the men’s side included Tytus Kwiatkowski (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) in the 50-yard freestyle (22.87) and Dovale in the 100-yard freestyle (49.64).
Both Gannon swimming and diving teams return to action December 2-4 at the Mid-Season Invitational hosted by The College of Wooster.
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