LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The men's team title at the Patriot League Championship was not decided until the last few yards of the final event of the four-day meet Saturday night in Lewisburg, Pa.  Navy's Garrett McGovern (Jr., Nashville, Tenn.), who trailed Army's Owen Hawlow by one-tenth of a second midway through the final leg of the race, poured it on over the last few yards to beat Harlow to the wall and give the Mids the event win and the team title.  Navy, which trailed by 47 points with three events left, totaled 856.5 points to beat second-place Army's total of 846.5.

No final night theatrics were needed in the women's championship as the Mids amassed 799 points to better Army's second-place tally of 615.5.

The Navy men's team has now won the Patriot League team title in all 19 years it has competed in the meet.  That is the longest run of consecutive team titles in any Patriot League sport.  The Navy women's team has now won 11-straight league titles and 21 crowns in its 31 seasons in the league.  The 21 championships are the most won by any team in the league in any sport.

Navy's men's team entered the day holding a 627.5-594.5 lead on Army.  The lead was down to two points (658.5-656.5) after the 1650 freestyle.  Army took a 38-point lead (718.5-680.5) after the 200 backstroke and increased it to 47 points (763.5-716.5) following the 100 freestyle.  The Mids nearly cut that deficit in half -- 27 points (799.5-772.5) -- after the 200 breaststroke, and regained a four-point lead (816.5-812.5) after the 200 butterfly.

Had Army won the 400 free relay, the Black Knights would have won the team title by two points. 

"It is very hard to put words to this experience," said Navy men's swimming head coach Bill Roberts, who was not named the league's men's coach of the year.  "This was the most exciting meet to have been a part of.  Regardless of the outcome tonight, the grit and determination in our program demonstrated throughout the meet was inspiring.

"I am so proud of everyone in our program, including everyone back home who provided a ton of support and put us in a position to make something like this happen.  This was a total team effort and extremely reflective of what Navy swimming and diving and the Naval Academy are all about." 

"It was an awesome championship run for our team," said Navy women's swimming coach John Morrison, who was named the women's coach of the year. "We are incredibly proud of the entire team.  They worked incredibly hard and supported each other throughout the entire season.  To see it all come together this weekend is a tribute to the entire team and coaching staff."

1650 Freestyle
The 1650 free featured timed finals throughout Saturday afternoon with the top-eight swimmers this season swimming in one heat during the finals this evening.

Navy's Cameron Horner (Jr., Hebron, Md.) posted a time of 16:53.45 to finish second in the event while Sarah Eldridge (Fr., Brielle, N.J.) placed fourth (17:00.76).

Army swimmers won gold, silver and bronze in the men's race.  Navy's Zach Stump (Fr., Westerville, Ohio) recorded a 15:15.89 to place fourth and Jack Lambert (Fr., Sarasota, Fla.) finished in sixth place with his time of 15:27.07.

200 Backstroke
Gabi Baldwin (Jr., Lake Elmo, Minn.) posted a time of 1:56.30 to finish second.

As in the women's championship final, only one Mid advanced to the men's final.  George Brooker (Fr., Carlsbad, Calif.) recorded a time of 1:47.03 to place seventh.

100 Freestyle
A trio of Mids qualified for the A final in the 100 free. Tiffany Shields (So., Escondido, Calif.) placed fourth (50.53), Hannah Pratt (Jr., Fishers, Ind.) finished in sixth place (50.77) and Maya Novack (Jr., Cedarburg, Wis.) earned seventh place (50.92).

Navy sent two swimmers to the men's championship final.  Everet Andrew (So., Wilmette, Ill.) earned the silver medal (43.72) and Austin Lockhart (So., Fort Mills, S.C.) finished with a seventh-place showing (44.61).

100 Breaststroke
Half of the eight lanes in the women's final hailed from Annapolis.  Lauren Walsh (Fr., Shelton, Conn.), who would be named the league's rookie of the meet, won the gold medal with a time of 2:12.05.  She bettered the field by one-quarter of a second.  

"Lauren did an incredible job in her first collegiate championship," said Morrison.  "She learned from every race and was able to pull off a great win in the 200 breast."

Also scoring points for the Mids in the race were Maddie Koutavas (Fr., St. John's, Fla.) in fourth place (2:14.72), Riley Gavigan (Jr., East Setauket, N.Y.) in sixth (2:16.64) and team captain Reagan Johnson (Sr., Charlotte, N.C.) in eighth (2:18.66).  

The men's final also featured four Mids.  Jackson Schultz (Sr., Millersville, Md.) placed second for Navy with his time of 1:55.15.  James Lee (Sr., La Canada, Calif.) recorded a time of 1:57.83 to place fourth and just miss a spot on the podium.  Michael Phillips (Fr., Chanhassen, Minn.) finished in a time of 1:59.31 to place sixth and Nate Sukeena (So., Catonsville, Md.) placed eighth with his effort of 2:00.49.

200 Butterfly
Navy's Caroline Irwin (So., Buford, Ga.) Lehigh's Sarah Hardy each recorded a time of 1:59.23 to share the silver medal in the women's final.  Adding to Navy's point total was Abbie Sullivan (Jr., Haverhill, Mass.) as her clocking of 2:00.71 placed her fifth.

The last individual event race of the meet saw Navy's Patrick Colwell (Jr., New Canaan, Conn.) post a time of 1:45.08 to win the final by five-hundredths of a second. He was joined in the final by teammate Ben Selnick (Sr., Ellicott City, Md.) in fourth place (1:48.09), while Jake Douberly (So., Saint John's, Fla.) recorded a time of 1:49.29 to win the consolation final.

Women's Three-Meter Diving
Mackenzie Kim (Fr., Diamond Bar, Calif.) recorded a score of 303.95 to finish in third place in the championship final, while Darby Ratcliffe (Jr., Heath, Texas) scored 275.20 points to win the consolation final.  That point total would have placed her sixth in the championship final.

The men's divers did not compete this evening, but Navy's Blakeman Shaw (So., Coral Gables, Fla.) was named the men's diver of the year and Rich MacDonald was named the men's diving coach of the year.

400 Freestyle Relay
The women's race also featured an Army-Navy battle, with this one going to the Black Knights.  The Navy team of Pratt, Novack, Walsh and Shields accrued a time of 3:21.03 to finish 54-hundredths of a second behind Army.

"The environment was electric going into the men's relay," said Roberts.  "Everyone knew what was at stake."

The race began as a three-team contest between Navy, Army and Loyola.  The Greyhounds led Navy's Jonah Harm (Jr., Placerville, Calif.), who would be named the swimmer of the meet, and Army's Tanner Falls after 100 yards -- 43.60 for Loyola, 43.75 for Navy, 43.95 for Army.  

"We felt good about putting Jonah first," said Roberts.  "But to the credit of the other swimmers, he couldn't get the type of lead we were hoping for."

The Mids took over first place at the midpoint of the race as Lockhart touched the wall in a total time of 1:27.65.  Army stood second with a 1:27.80 and Loyola was in third at 1:27.99.

"Austin and the Army swimmer were pretty much stroke-for-stroke with one another," said Roberts.

Andrew entered the water for the Mids to start the third leg.  When he left, he had completed a time of 2:11.10, which gave the Mids a one-half second-advantage over the Black Knights (2:11.60), and a 65-hundredths of a second lead over Loyola (2:11.77).

"Everet was second in the 100 free," said Roberts, "so we again felt good about his position going in.  We were hoping for a little more of a lead."

McGovern entered the water for the Navy's anchor leg while Harlow started the last leg for Army.  Harlow had bettered McGovern by 35-hundredths of a second in the 100 free earlier this evening (Harlow was in the championship final and McGovern was in the consolation final).  After 50 yards, Harlow had given Army a one-tenth of a second lead.  McGovern caught Harlow approaching the turn marking 75 yards and the two were paired up for the majority of the remaining 25 yards.  McGovern found another gear late and surged to the wall in front of Harlow by less than four-tenths of a second.  

"Harlow is their big gun and Garrett was a little spent from the meet," said Roberts.  "Harlow flipped the placings after 50 yards and had a lead until just before the wall at 75 yards.  Garrett became even with him near the wall and had a little better push off it at.  I think he saw he had a slight lead midway through the last 25 yards and basically said, 'I am getting there first.'"

The Navy foursome finished the race in a time of 2:54.09 and Army comprised a time of 2:54.43.  Both efforts shattered the league and meet record of 2:54.68, which also was the Navy school record.

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

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)

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)