Coming off of four hard-fought months of competition, the Raiders swimming and diving team showed that they were ready to take on their Patriot League competitors at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania from Wednesday, February 15 through Saturday, February 18.

Going into the big meet, head coach Andy Waegner expressed his excitement and expectations for the weekend.

“We have a very special group, and the goal every year at this meet is to have the men and women perform better than they ever have before in their life,” said Waegner, who would see his swimmers and divers pull out consistent results over the four days of competition.

Opening day of the championship meet consisted of five scored events that left the men’s swimming and diving team in sixth for the day, and the women’s team in eighth. In the men’s 200-yard medley, the team of first-year Andrew Karsh, senior Mark Hilton, sophomore Max Michael and first-year Colton Hall placed sixth with a time of 1:33.98. For the women, junior Bernadette Tankle, first-year Sam Adams, senior Flora Hanson and junior Megan Gallagher of the women’s 800 freestyle team placed sixth with a time of 7:39.30. The women’s 200-yard medley team, composed of first-year Carolyn Silverman, first-year Lauren DeTorres, sophomore Erica Silverman and junior Madison Fitzgerald, placed eighth with a time of 1:47.03.

On day two, the men’s 400 medley relay team of Karsh, sophomore Ryan Mathes, Hall, and Michael ranked eighth fastest in school history with a time of 3:27.77. Hilton was Colgate’s top finisher, clocking 1:59.48 in the 200-yard IM prelims, while junior Thomas Fretz finished ninth in the one-meter dive final with a mark of 220.05. For the women’s team, Gallagher placed fifteenth in the 500 freestyle finals in 4:59.15, and notched the tenth fastest preliminary time in program history with a time of 4:58.36. Sophomore Liv Castro finished at the top for Colgate, touching the wall in 24.38 seconds for the

50-yard freestyle prelims. 

On Friday, first-year Colton Hall broke a 32-year-old school record, finishing twelfth in the 100 butterfly and touching the wall in 49.35 seconds. The men’s 200 freestyle relay team of Michael, Karsh, first-year Hank Alderoty and senior Spencer Lambert placed eighth with a time of 1:26.86. 

The women’s team had an exciting day three, with first-year Kierstan Daly earning the team 12 points in the 400-yard IM finals and finishing seventh with a time of 4:28.47. Junior Maggie Carney swam the 100 butterfly in 55.99, placing ninth and earning her team nine points. Gallagher clocked in the tenth fastest time in school history in her preliminary heat, coming in at 1:51.59. Lastly, Gallagher, Fitzgerald, Tankle and Castro scored sixth place in the 200 freestyle, with a time of 1:36.90. At the close of day three, the Raiders stood in eighth place. 

The fourth and final day of the Patriot League Championship saw five women and three men advancing to Saturday finals. The men finished seventh overall, with 154 points out of ten teams. The women finished seventh overall as well, with 172 points. 

After a successful four days for the Raiders, the men finished the season with an overall 4-6 record and the women with a 6-4 record for the 2016-2017 campaign. The Raiders hope to reload this offseason and carry over momentum towards next season.