ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy swimming and diving team increased its lead on the second day of competition at the 2020 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md. The Navy women's team has scored 341 points and leads second-place Bucknell by 150 points, while the Navy men's team has totaled 375.50 points and leads second-place Army by 95 points.
 
The Mids won seven of the nine finals contested Thursday night. Navy claimed the top spot in the men's and women's 500 freestyle, men's and women's 200 individual medley, men's and women's 400 medley relays, and the men's 1-meter diving.
 
"Very pleased with today," said Navy women's swimming head coach John Morrison. "We had a good first morning of individual events. Everyone swam to a scoring position. Tonight was one of our best Thursday night performances in team history. Kozlina and Milbert starting off the evening with two lifetime bests was a great way to start. Martina had a big win in the finals. Her last split was a display of incredible heart. Our IMers were very good. Our consolation finalist again provided confidence for our finalists. Once again, our finalist stepped up to great performances led by Sydney's great finishing leg. The 50 freestylers finished very well. It was great to see many improvements from the morning. Closing the night with a pool record in the 400 medley was a great way to finish. All swam well and Thomas' 48.3 anchor leg was the fastest in school history. I am very proud of the team effort today. Looking forward to a great day tomorrow."
 
"Very happy with the way our program performed and competed today," said Navy men's swimming head coach Bill Roberts. "We had some mixed results this morning in preliminaries. Our guys did a terrific job learning from their morning swims to put together a terrific session beginning from beginning to end tonight. A lot of credit goes out to each one of them for their perseverance and willingness to strive to get better."
 
"Coach MacDonald and our divers were instrumental today in our overall goals for this meet," Roberts continued. "We are so proud of the way they train and compete together. It was special to see all six make it to the finals tonight."
 
"Our goal today was to get all six divers back to finals and I knew it was going to be a tough goal to achieve," said Navy diving coach Rich MacDonald. "But it was awesome that we made it happen. And then to go from first, second, and fourth in prelims and sweep the metal stands was such a bonus. I can't put into words how proud I am of these guys"
 
Navy continues competition in the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship on Friday and Saturday. Swimming trials being at 10:00 a.m., while diving preliminaries start at 1:00 p.m. Finals of both swimming and diving starts at 6:00 p.m. Free live video and live results will be available throughout the meet.
 
500 Freestyle – Women
1st – Martina Thomas / 4:46.27 (NCAA B cut); 4th – Erin Scudder / 4:50.76
Navy started the night off in impressive fashion as Martina Thomas (Fayetteville, Ark.) posted an NCAA B cut time of 4:46.27 to win the 500 freestyle in the opening event of the evening session. It was the second consecutive victory in the Patriot League 500 free for the sophomore. In addition, Erin Scudder (Western Springs, Ill.) claimed fourth in the event.
 
500 Freestyle – Men
1st – Ryan Waters / 4:17.01 (NCAA B cut); 2nd – Luke Johnson / 4:18.15 (NCAA B cut); 4th – Billy Cadigan / 4:24.59
Fresh off a pair of NCAA B cut times during the preliminaries, Ryan Waters (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and Luke Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) repeated their efforts in the session finals, finishing first and second, respectively, with a pair of NCAA B cut times. Waters repeated as Patriot League champion in the 500 with a time of 4:17.01, while Johnson was second with a time of 4:18.15.
 
200 Individual Medley – Women
1st – Sydney Harrington / 2:00.00; 3rd – Ashley Boddiford / 2:00.29; 4th – Kelly Huffer / 2:01.32; 8th – Jamie Miller / 2:03.50
In the 200 individual medley, Navy placed four swimmers in the finals. In the championship heat, Sydney Harrington (Fairfax, Va.) posted a time of 2:00.00 to win the event. Harrington was in third place heading into the freestyle, but was able to make up ground and claim the championship. She was joined on the podium by teammate Ashley Boddiford (Oviedo, Fla.) who came in third with a time of 2:00.29. Kelly Huffer (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jamie Miller (Rochester Hills, Mich.) rounded out the championship finals with times of 2:01.32 and 2:03.50 to finish fourth and eighth, respectively.
 
200 Individual Medley – Men
1st – Micah Oh / 1:45.38 (NCAA B cut); 4th – Ethan Tack / 1:47.37
Navy placed a pair of competitors – Micah Oh (Kent, Ohio) and Ethan Tack (Dix Hills, N.Y.) – in the championship finals of the 200 individual medley. Oh posted an NCAA B cut time of 1:45.38 to win the event for the first time in his Navy career. Tack finished 0.60 seconds outside of a B cut time of his own with a fourth-place time of 1:47.37.
 
50 Freestyle – Women
3rd – Sarah Sorensen / 22.98; 7th – Katie Corbi / 23.34; 8th – Brooke West / 23.50
Only 7-hundredths of a second separated the top three finishers in the 50 freestyle final, however, Navy's Sarah Sorensen (Gainesville, Fla.) was barely out touched to take third with a time of 22.98. She was joined in the championship finals by Katie Corbi (Waxhaw, N.C.) who posted a time of 23.34 and Brooke West (River Forest, Ill.) who clocked a time of 23.50.
 
50 Freestyle – Men
3rd – Dean Nguyen / 20.21; 4th – Chris Mayer / 20.32; 7th – Daniel Cook / 20.56
Similar to the women's 50 freestyle, the men's championship final came down to just hundredths of a second. Loyola's Jimmy Hayburn took first place with a time of 19.99, while Navy's Dean Nguyen (Seattle, Wash.) was third with a time of 20.21 – 22-hundredths of a second shy of championship distinction. Chris Mayer (Lakeway, Texas) claimed fourth place with a time of 20.32, while Daniel Cook (Virginia Beach, Va.) rounded out the Midshipmen's championship competitors with a seventh-place finish with a time of 20.56.
 
1-M Diving – Men
1st – Bradley Buchter / 384.25 (Zone A); 2nd – Patrick Carter / 345.05 (Zone A); 3rd – Jake Hedrick / 329.45 (Zone A); 6th – Hunter Seibert / 268.40; 7th – Lance Christopher / 265.40; 8th – Nate Barr / 229.25
The 1-meter diving competition was heavily in favor of the Midshipmen as Navy placed six divers into the eight-person finals. Bradley Buchter (Hickory, N.C.), Patrick Carter (West Islip, N.Y.), and Jake Hedrick (Hummelstown, Pa.) each advanced to the finals by posting Zone A qualifying marks.
 
Buchter, Carter, and Hedrick finished 1-2-3 in the finals, once again registering NCAA Zone A qualifying marks. Butcher claimed the board with a score of 384.25, while Carter was second with a 345.05. Hedrick rounded out the top three with a score of 329.45. Hunter Seibert (Lake Smyrna, Ga.) finished sixth with a score of 268.40, while Lance Christopher (Lambertville, N.J.) and Nate Barr (Fishers, Ind.) claimed seventh and eighth, respectively.
 
400 Medley Relay – Women
1st – Navy / 3:38.43 (pool record)
Navy's 400 medley relay team set the Lejeune Hall pool record with a collective time of 3:38.43. Jamie Miller (Rochester Hills, Mich.) started the team off with a solid performance in the backstroke. Emily Brockman (Bend, Ore.) continued the solid performance with a strong leg of the breaststroke. Sydney Harrington (Fairfax, Va.) continued the charge in the butterfly, setting up Martina Thomas (Fayetteville, Ark.) in the freestyle for the record-breaking finish.
 
400 Medley Relay – Men
1st – Navy / 3:10.04 (meet record)
The Navy men's 400 medley relay team posted a dominant performance in the final race of the second day of competition at the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship. The relay team of Caleb Mauldin (Chesapeake, Va.), Dean Nguyen (Seattle, Wash.), James Wilson (Lancaster, Pa.), and Dominick Wallace (La Jolla, Calif.) combined for a meet record time of 3:10.04 to break the previous record by 31-hundredths of a second and win the race by nearly four and a half seconds.
 
DAY 2 SCORES
Women's Team Scores
1. Navy – 341
2. Bucknell – 191
3. Boston U. – 172
3. Army West Point – 170
5. Lehigh – 167
6. Loyola – 125
7. Colgate – 77
8. American – 73
9. Holy Cross – 62
10. Lafayette – 46
 
Men's Team Scores
1. Navy – 375.50
2. Army West Point – 280.50
3. Loyola – 152
4. Bucknell – 150
5. Lehigh – 116
6. Boston U. – 109
7. Lafayette – 74
8. American – 59
9. Holy Cross – 58
10. Colgate – 50