Towson Captures First CAA Men's Swimming And Diving Championship
Rob Washburn
RESULTS CHAMPS CENTRAL HIGHLIGHTS
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (April 3, 2021) – Towson won its first-ever Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Swimming and Diving championship on Saturday night at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
The Tigers, who finished with 842.50 points, claimed four individual titles and four team relay titles en route to the championship, including three of the six events on Saturday night. UNCW placed second with 619 points, followed by Drexel (531), William & Mary (495.50) and Delaware (491).
The Tigers’ head coach,
Jake Shrum, was named the CAA Men’s Coach of the Year and Towson freshman
Brian Benzing was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the championship. Benzing set a new CAA record in the 100-yard breaststroke on Friday.
1650-Yard Freestyle
The final night of the finals started with
Will Soleo of Drexel winning the longest race of the event. Soleo, who posted a time of 15:46.82, is the first Dragon to claim gold in the 1650-yard freestyle at the CAA Championship.
Bryce Ciecko (15:52.37) and
Jacob Bishop (15:57.12), both of Delaware, finished second and third, respectively.
200-Yard Backstroke
Will Goldey of UNCW picked up the win in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:46.70. He is the first Seahawk to capture the event since 2013.
Zach Rowe of Delaware was second at 1:47.95 and
Brent Hoshall of UNCW was third at 1:48.11.
100-Yard Freestyle
Michael Fazio of Towson earned his first individual title of the championship, winning the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 43.74.
Graham Hertweck of William & Mary was second at 43.84 and
Ryan Baldino of Towson was third at 44.05. Fazio, who earned three titles as a member of Towson relay teams, is the Tigers’ first champion in the event since 2009.
200-Yard Breaststroke
Kacper Karnik from Drexel gave the Dragons their second victory of the night when he won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:57.61. Second place went to Benzing of Towson (1:58.38) and placing third was
Gianmichel D’Alessandro of UNCW (1:58.73).
200-Yard Butterfly
In the closest race of the night,
Nick McClure of Towson won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:46.78. He defeated
Paris Raptis of Drexel by .03 of a second.
Noah Fields of William & Mary finished third at 1:47.28.
400-Yard Freestyle Relay
Towson completed the championship in impressive fashion as the team of Benzing, Fazio,
Cody Stewart and Baldino posted a time of 2:54.55, nearly 3.5 seconds better than runner-up William & Mary and almost five seconds ahead of third place Drexel. The time was the second-fastest in CAA Championship history.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1) Towson ( 842.50)
2) UNCW (619)
3) Drexel (531)
4) William & Mary (495.50)
5) Delaware (491)