EAST MEADOW, NY - The Manhattan men's and women's swimming and diving teams put on an exceptional display in the ECAC Winter Championships at the Nassau County Aquatic Center. The Jaspers competed in four sessions over three days and broke numerous school records throughout the course of the event.
Both the men's and women's sides earned their best ever finishes at an ECAC or MAAC meet, placing third and fourth, respectively. The men concluded with 908.50 points, 284.50 better than their total from last year's ECAC meet. The women tallied 704 points, 199 more than they finished with a season ago.
On the diving board, both junior Dylan Cooney (Port Jervis, NY / Minisink Valley) and sophomore Dan Dixon (Brookfield, CT / Brookfield) placed, with Cooney taking second and third place, and Dixon earning third and fourth place finishes, in the 1- and 3-meter diving events.
The duo combined to provide Manhattan with 109 team points. Cooney's score of 356.80 in the 1-meter (11 dives) broke a school record.
Senior Lance Neuendorf (Blauvelt, NY / Tappan Zee) turned in the most outstanding individual effort of the meet for the Jaspers, accruing 120.5 points, the most of any Manhattan men's swimmer. Neuendorf turned in impressive times in the 100- and 200-backstroke races as well as in the 400 individual medley, while also swimming in five relay events.
Sophomore Brandon Shields (Stony Point, NY / George Mason) also enjoyed success at the meet, particularly in the 400- and 800-freestyle relays. Shields' time of 1:44.86 in the 800-, helped the squad earn a second place finish.
Junior captain Rich Llewellyn (East Islip, NY / East Islip) clocked a 1:48.57 in his leg of the 800-freestyle relay race, helping the team achieve second place.
Senior Thomas Dougherty (Fresh Meadow, NY / Archbishop Molloy) provided substantial contributions in the 200- and 400-freestyle relays.
Sophomore Neil Perry (Elkridge, MD / Loyola Blakefield) earned a third place finish in the 50-freestyle and touched in with some very quick times while anchoring two relay events.
On the women's side, sophomore Alexandra Hutzler (Miller Place, NY / Miller Place) recorded stellar finishes throughout the weekend, collecting a whopping 143.5 points. Hutzler took part in the 200- and 400-medley relay races by swimming the breaststroke and butterfly legs in impressive fashion. Hutzler also nabbed a third place finish in both the 200-individual medley and 100 butterfly. Like Neuendorf for the men, she too, took part in all five relay events.
After freshman Abie DeLisio (Woodstock, NY / Kingston) broke two school records on Friday night, fellow freshman Megan Pagano (LaGrangeville, NY / Arlington) followed by placing sixth in both individual backstroke events to earn more points for the Jaspers. In total, Pagano tallied 83 points for the squad.
Junior Sara Buckley (East Setauket, NY / Ward Melville) and freshman Morgan Fountain (Cheshire, CT / Cheshire) also put together multiple noteworthy performances in the 200- and 400-medley relay events, among other races.
"I was extremely happy with the way both teams competed at the meet," head coach Walter Olsewski said. "This was one of the best showings our program has ever had, and it's something we will look to build on moving forward."
The women's team returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 16, when the squad travels to Sacred Heart for a 12 p.m. dual meet. Both the men's and women's teams will battle Baruch on Monday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m.