LEWISBURG, Pa. –– Victories in a combined eight of 12 events helped the Navy swimming and diving teams to firmly take command of the Patriot League Championship Friday at Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pa.  The Navy women's team has totaled 606 points and holds a 273-point advantage and the Navy men are in first place by 218 points with their total of 756 points.
 
The meet will conclude Saturday.
 
Navy totaled wins in seven of the 10 individual swimming events contested Friday night.  Mids also placed second in three races and third in seven.  Additionally, Navy placed second in both 200 freestyle relay finals and first and second in the men's one-meter diving final.
 
"We had a really good session Thursday morning," said Navy men's swimming head coach Bill Roberts.  "But then at night, while it was still a good evening, we left thinking we could have done a little better.  This morning, the guys came out and put together one of if not the best morning session we have had here (19 championship finalists in five events; Army had 19 swimmers in all qualify for one of the two finals).  That put us in a position to have a good evening, and we did.  It was nice to see them execute the plan they had put together.  The team is really competing well as a unit."
 
"One of our best third mornings led us into a really good session at night," said Navy women's swimming head coach John Morrison.  "We are really proud of the team's fight.  We are very excited for what Saturday brings.  This is what we work for all year.  Tonight certainly set the table for a great finishing day."
 
"We started the final with a bad miss," said Navy diving coach Rich MacDonald.  "But the guys battled back through the middle and end of the event, so it was good to see them finish the way they did.  It is really hard to hold your spot from prelims to finals.  Overall, I couldn't be happier with the diving and contributions this meet."
 
100 Butterfly – Women
1^st - Delaney Walz / 53.48; 2^nd - Sydney Harrington / 54.01; 8^th - Kelly Harrington / 55.65
Delaney Walz posted the fastest time of the morning heat (53.98), with Sydney Harrington in second just two-hundredths of a second behind her.
 
The Walz-Sydney Harrington duo would repeat their respective placings in Friday night's final.  Walz recorded a time of 53.48 –– bettering the Navy record of 53.58 and just eight-hundredths of a second slower than the meet and league record ­­­­––to win the race, with Harrington second with a time of 54.01.  Kelly Harrington would place eighth (55.65).
 
Walz has now totaled four titles and one second-place finish in five career butterfly events at the league meet.  She will compete in the 200 fly Saturday.
 
100 Butterfly – Men
2^nd - Zach Piedt / 47.65; 3^rd – Caleb Mauldin / 47.91; 4^th - Vince Everman / 47.99; 5^th - James Wilson / 48.41; 7th - Luke Shereston / 48.83
Navy had each of the top-three and five of the top-six finishers in the morning session.  Vince Everman led the way at 47.51, Zach Piedt was second at 48.08 and James Wilson finished third with a 48.10
 
Army's Kevin Doo would break up the Navy contingent by swimming a time of 47.30 to win the final.  Mids took the next four placings, with Piedt placing second (47.65), Caleb Mauldin third (47.91), Everman fourth (47.99) and Wilson fifth (48.31).  Luke Shereston also finished in seventh place for Navy (48.83).
 
400 Individual Medley – Women
3^rd - Kelly Huffer / 4:20.63; 4^th - Stephaine Downing / 4:22.98
Navy entered only two into this event, and both Kelly Huffer (second, 4:22.34) and Stephanie Downing (seventh, 4:25.07) advanced to the championship final.
 
Boston's Carlyn Soares won the final in a time of 4:16.16.  Huffer finished in third place (4:20.63) and Downing claimed fourth (4:22.98).
 
400 Individual Medley – Men
1^st - Billy Cadigan / 3:47.52; 2^nd – Brayden Lauffer / 3:49.14; 3^rd - Micah Oh / 3:52.12; 5^th - Luke Johnson / 3:53.13; 6^th - Ethan Tack / 3:54.74
Just as in the 100 fly, Navy sent five into the championship final of the 400 IM.  Billy Cadigan was the morning's top swimmer (3:51.38), Micah Oh was second (3:53.26), Luke Johnson was third (3:54.76) and Brayden Lauffer was fourth (3:54.84).
 
Cadigan, who placed third in event a year ago, had a great swim this evening to claim the title.  He posted a time of 3:47.52 to touch the wall 1.6 seconds in front of teammate Laffuer, who placed second.  Lauffer's time of 3:49.14 was three-seconds faster than Oh's third-place effort of 3:52.12.  Johnson (3:53.13) and Tack (3:54.74) would finish in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
 
200 Freestyle – Women
1^st - Martina Thomas / 1:45.21; 3^rd - Erin Scudder / 1:48.35; 6^th - Casey Lawson / 1:50.05; 8^th - Sarah Sorensen / 1:50.81
Mids took up half of the eight-swimmer championship final, with Martina Thomas leading all with a morning time of 1:46.78, which was 1.5 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.  Additionally, Navy swimmers accounted for three of the four swimmers from third through sixth place.
 
Thomas broke her own school and league record in the 200 freestyle leading off Navy's winning 800 free relay Thursday night with a time of 1:45.06.  She didn't break her record in winning the event tonight, but she did cruise to the victory with a time of 1:45.21.  That gave her the victory by an impressive 2.67 seconds.  Erin Scudder finished in third place with a time of 1:45.38, Casey Lawson posted a time of 1:50.05 to place sixth and Sarah Sorensen finished in eighth place (1:50.81).
 
200 Freestyle – Men
1^st - Ryan Waters / 1:35.41; 2^nd - Dominick Wallace / 1:35.83; 3^rd - Daniel Cook / 1:37.30
One day after winning the 500 freestyle final, Ryan Waters posted the fastest time in the trial heats of the 200 freestyle.  He touched the wall in a time of 1:36.82, just ahead of the 1:36.89 recorded by Army's Tom Ottman.  Dominick Wallace (third, 1:37.09) and Daniel Cook (fifth, 1:37.23) also advanced to the championship final.
 
The final would see Mids place first, second and third.  Waters posted a time of 1:35.41 to win the race, Wallace placed second in a clocking of 1:35.83 and Cook touched the wall third in an effort of 1:37.30.
 
100 Breaststroke – Women
1^st - Lauren Barber / 59.93; 6^th - Lauren O'Malley / 1:04.69
Lauren Barber continued to improve upon her own accomplishments.  She posted a time of 1:00.37 in the morning to lower her own meet record time of 1:00.77 and enter the championship final as the fastest swimmer by 1.18 seconds.
 
The only league swimmer to go under one minute (59.71), Barber was sub-one minute again in winning the event Friday night in a time of 59.93.  That gave her the victory by 1.4 seconds.  Teammate Lauren O'Malley placed sixth with a clocking of 1:04.69.
 
Barber has now tied the league record for the most individual event gold medals won in a career with 11.  She still has the 200 breast coming Saturday.  Additionally, Barber already holds the league record with 15 relay event gold medals.  She is expected to swim the 400 free relay Saturday.
 
100 Breaststroke – Men
5^th - Michael Velazquez / 54.57; 6^th - Chris Bondarowicz / 54.63; 7^th – Dean Nguyen / 54.69
The championship final had an Army-Navy feel to it as both programs qualified three swimmers for the event.  The Black Knights had the Nos. 1, 4 and 8 swimmers in the morning, with Mids finishing Nos. 3 (Dean Nguyen), 5 (Michael Velazquez) and 7 and (Chris Bondarowicz).
 
Navy would take fifth, sixth and seventh in the final.  Velazquez was the top Mid in the race (54.57), Bondarowicz was next (54.63) and Nguyen was the third of the three finishers (54.69).
 
100 Backstroke – Women
1^st - Jamie Miller / 54.07; 7^th - Ashley Boddiford / 55.35; 8^th - Madison Milbert / 55.39
Army and Navy also had three swimmers each in the championship final of the 100 backstroke.  Navy's Jamie Miller led everyone in the morning trials with a time of 54.61, Ashley Boddiford was sixth (55.37) and Madison Milbert was seventh (55.53).  Army's Mia Rankin was second in the trial heats with a clocking of 54.79, and Black Knights also were the Nos. 3 and 8 swimmers in the morning.
 
Miller started slow, comparatively, to the two Army swimmers in the final.  Miller was in third place four-tenths of a second behind the leader after 50 yards, but had a great finishing kick to win the race in a time of 54.07.  She touched the wall first by six-hundredths of a second.  Boddiford and Milbert placed seventh (55.35) and eighth (55.39), respectively.
 
Miller had placed second in the 100 back last year.  Her time tonight broke her own Navy record of 54.28.
 
100 Backstroke – Men
1^st - Caleb Mauldin / 47.57; 3^rd - James Wilson / 48.19; 4^th - Dominick Wallace / 48.40
The times in the morning session set the stage for a great championship final at night as Navy's Caleb Mauldin posted the fastest time (47.68), just three-hundredths of a second ahead of Army's Brian McKenrick.  Navy swimmers also placed third (James Wilson) and fourth (Dominick Wallace) in the morning.
 
Mauldin would make his trial heat placing stand as he posted a time of 47.57 to win the final by one-quarter of a second over McKenrick.  Wilson followed in third place with a 48.19 and Wallace took fourth with an effort of 48.40.
 
Mauldin and Wallace not only competed in a pair of championship finals Friday night, they bettered the career-best times this evening they had each originally set this morning.
 
Men's 1-M Diving
1^st - Bradley Buchter / 365.85; 2^nd - Jake Hedrick / 329.60; 5^th - Patrick Carter, 303.25
Bradley Buchter, Patrick Carter and Jake Hedrick placed first, second and third, respectively, in the three-meter final Wednesday night.  Buchter, Hedrick and Carter were, in order, the top three divers in the afternoon trial heats.  There was a 30-point gap between Carter's score and that of the fourth-place diver in the afternoon.
 
Bucher would total 365.85 points to win Friday night's final.  That gave him six wins in six career events at the meet.  Placing second was Hedrick with 329.60 points, and Carter placed fifth with 303.25 points.
 
200 Freestyle Relay – Women
2^nd / 1:32.11
Lehigh built a slim lead at the halfway point of the race and made it stand up as the Mountain Hawks won the timed final with a 1:32.00 to edge the Mids by 11-hundredths of a second.
 
200 Freestyle Relay – Men
2^nd / 1:20.26
Army entered the final as a slight favorite based upon top times this season, and the Black Knights would post a time of 1:19.59 to better Navy's second-place effort of 1:20.26.
 
Women's Team Scores
606 – Navy
333 – Army
316 – Bucknell
302 – Boston U.
284 – Lehigh
184 – Loyola
119 – Colgate
116 – Holy Cross
100 - American
68 - Lafayette
 
Men's Team Scores
756 – Navy
538 – Army
290 – Bucknell
246 - Lehigh
238 – Boston U.
198 – Loyola
117 – American
96 – Lafayette
79 – Holy Cross
64 - Colgate