Highlighted by a combined five wins on Friday evening, the Navy men's and swimming teams remained at the top of the standings at the 2026 Patriot League Championship held at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis. The Navy men's team nearly doubled its lead from Thursday, holding a 1,220 to 883 lead over second-place Army, while the Navy women's team owns a 919 to 814 advantage over Army.

Navy swimmers earned victories in the men's 100 butterfly (Ben Irwin), men's 200 free (Martin Perecinsky), men's 200 free relay (Lachlan Andrew, Ben Denman-Grimm, Gavin Green, Preston Kessler), men's 1-meter diving (Finn Gelbach) and women's 100 breaststroke (Lauren Walsh).

"I thought the team did an outstanding job this morning in prelims with their performances," said Navy men's swimming head coach Bill Roberts.  "They raced very well and put our team in a position to score a lot of points this evening. We are all very proud of our entire team as this type of effort is a reflection of their dedication, their work ethic and their character."

"I just really wanted to put us in a place where we could go to NCAAs," said Gavin Green, a member of the Mids' record-setting 200 free relay team. "The same thought was going for everybody on that relay, so we put ourselves in a good spot and I'm really grateful to be a part of this incredible relay and program."

100 Butterfly
Women
• Julianne McCranie was Navy's top finisher in the 100 fly, taking 14th (55.10), while Clarice Spencer placed 18th (55.44) and Addy Herl followed in 19th (55.50)

Men
• Four Mids qualified for the championship final from the morning trial heats, including Ben Irwin who took gold with an NCAA qualifying time of 46.11. Navy nearly swept the top four, as Ben Grimm-Denman placed third (46.98) and Dean Jones finished fourth (47.00). Additionally, Lachlan Andrew took sixth (47.25).

400 IM
Women
• Sarah Eldridge closed out her Navy career with her best Patriot League Championship finish in the event, taking second with the program's eighth-fastest mark (4:17.99). Meanwhile, Elsie Delacruz placed sixth (4:24.93).

Men
• Coleman Yates paced a trio of Mids in the championship final of the 400 IM, taking silver with the seventh-fastest time in program history and the fastest since 2021 with a 3:48.08. Luca Oliva finished fourth (3:49.91), while Will Jones placed fifth (3:50.74).

200 Freestyle
Women
• Navy accounted for four of the top-six finishers in the 200 free, led by Erin Miller's second-place finish (1.47.78). It was her first medal in the event after taking fourth a year ago. Allie Maloney followed (1:48.84), earning a bronze medal after placing 11th last year. Brynn Stoneburg placed fourth (1:49.35) and Samanth Clifford took sixth (1:50.16).

Men
• Like the women, the men also placed four among the top six, including freshmen Martin Perecinsky and Xavier Sohovich. Perecinsky (1:34.07) beat out his teammate by 0.16 to win gold and break the Patriot League Championship mark previously held by Navy's Everet Andrew (1:34.67). Sohovich placed second (1:34.23), Ben Stankovich took fourth (1:35.70) and Chase Maier finished sixth (1:36.90).

100 Breaststroke
Women
• Lauren Walsh, who won gold in the 200 IM on Thursday evening, was the class of the field once again, setting a Patriot League Championship mark, as well as a pool record en route to winning the 100 breaststroke (59.78). Additionally, she punched her ticket as an automatice NCAA qualifier. Lauren Barber previously held the championship record (59.93) set in 2019, while George Mason's Jacquee Clabeaux previously held the Lejeune Hall poll record (1:00.16) set in 2023. Walsh has stood upon the podium three times in her four years in the 100 breaststroke, but this was her first win (2nd in 2023, '25). Teammate Corinne Warriner took bronze (1:00.66) in her rookie campaign, while Maddie Koutavas placed seventh (1:02.71). Marley Barnard won the B-final with a 1:02.37.

Men
• Navy took three of the top-five finishes in the 100-breaststroke, as Gavin Green edged teammate Juan Mora by two-tenths of a second for the silver. Green, who placed fourth a year ago, finished second with a 52.39, while Mora finished third (52.41) for a second-consecutive year. Michael Phillips placed fifth (52.79), his best finish in the event in four appearances.

100 Backstroke
Women
• Ela Habjan, Navy's lone swimmer in the 100 backstroke, stood on the podium for a third-consecutive year after placing third (54.35). Addy Herl finished 11th (55.56), while Julanne McCranie took 12th (55.66).

Men
• Ben Irwin led a cast of Navy competitors who finished among the top eight. Irwin placed third (46.44), followed by Tyler Kaminski in fifth (47.38) and Will Jones (48.63) in eighth. It's the third time in Irwin's career he has stood on the podium, winning the event as a freshman and placing second a year ago.

Men's 1-Meter Diving
• Navy's Finn Gelbach, who won the three-meter board on Wednesday evening, posted a score of 386.10 to win the one-meter title by 47 points over teammate Luke Ogren. Gelbach won both events as a freshman in 2024 and placed second on both boards a year ago. Ogren, a freshman, took silver in his first conference championship, while Anthony Sciulli placed fourth (332.30).

200 Freestyle
Women
• Navy finished the 200 free relay in fifth place with a time of 1:32.22.  Erin Miller, Allie Maloney, Kaitlyn Landers and Elsie Delacruz comprised the team.

Men
• Navy closed the night by winning the 200 free relay (1:16.80) in what was an electrifying race.  The Mids edged archrival Army for the win by 16-hundredths of a second. Navy was in third after the first 50 yards (Lachlan Andrew), stood second after 100 yards (Ben Denman-Grimm) and trailed the Black Knights by 9-hundredths of a second after 150 yards (Gavin Green).  Preston Kessler crushed the final 50 yards with an 18.87 to lead the Mids to victory. The 1:16.80 shattered the Patriot League Championship record (1:18.17) set by Navy last February, the Lejeune Hall pool record (1:17.55 / Navy in 2025) and the school record (1:17.55 / in 2025).

Women's Scores
1. Navy - 919
2. Army - 814
3. Bucknell - 680
4. Boston - 614
5. Loyola - 556
6. Colgate - 440
7. Lehigh - 422
8. American - 363
9. Holy Cross - 209
10. Lafayette - 193

Men's Scores
1. Navy - 1220
2. Army - 883
3. Loyola - 720
4. Boston - 681
5. Bucknell - 590
6. Lehigh - 374
7. Holy Cross - 327
8. Lafayette - 293
9. Colgate - 247
10. American - 177

### Go Navy ###