LEWISBURG, Pa. - For the second night in a row, junior
Mimi Watts won a gold medal for American University swimming & diving at the 2023 Patriot League Championships, finishing the women's 100 fly in 52.76. It was another school record and NCAA "B" cut time for Watts, as well as a pool record at Bucknell's Kinney Natatorium.
Women's Notable
- The two gold medals for Watts put her at a total of five career medals after winning two silvers and a bronze one year ago. She's the first PL champion for the program since 2011, and the first individual women's champion since 2009.
- Watts went 53.47 in the prelims of the 100 fly to take the top spot, just 0.13 shy of her own school record. She shaved over seven-tenths off that time in the final, besting her previous school record of 52.81.
- Just missing the finals but having a great swim in the 100 fly prelims was freshman Gabby Kaczorowski who finished in a PR time of 57.23 which ranks 12th all-time in program history.
- Freshman Sophia Hemingway beat her previous personal best in the prelims of the women's 100 backstroke with a time of 56.77 that ranks seventh all-time and was good enough to advance her to the "A" final. Two others earned a spot in the consolation final with junior Sasha Uspenskaya going 57.56 and sophomore Amaya Tomma going 58.14. Uspenskaya improved on that time in her night swim, going 57.36.
- Junior Maddie Mara had a fantastic day, taking first place in the consolation final of the women's 100 breaststroke in a PR of 1:03.85 that ranks third all-time at AU. She had advanced after a strong prelims swim of 1:04.26 that was a PR until the final.
- Sophomore Marissa Kleckner posted a personal-best time of 1:53.90 in the women's 200 free prelims which ranks 15th in program history, putting her on that list for the first time.
- To end the night on the women's side, Watts swam a 22.90 lead-off leg for the 200 freestyle relay and was followed by sophomore Marissa Kleckner, Hemingway and freshman Avery Barber. They finished eighth in 1:35.25 which is second-best all-time in program history.
Men's Notable
- Junior Caleb Farris was the Eagles' top finisher in the men's 100 fly prelims with a personal-best time of 48.62, moving him from third to second on the all-time list. He was tied for the second-best time in the consolation final later and finished 12th overall.
- In the men's 100 breaststroke prelims, freshman Colin Clough came in almost two seconds ahead of his seed time in 56.50, which ranks fifth all-time among personal bests at AU in that event and earned him a spot in the consolation final.
- In the men's 400 IM prelims, freshman Jack Reilly posted a PR of 4:06.54 to jump a spot to 15th on the all-time list at AU. Right behind him was junior Griffin Young in a PR of 4:09.07 that now ranks 16th on the list.
- With a prelims time of 51.57 in the men's 100 backstroke, junior Aidan Delehanty moved onto the all-time top 16 in 13th place.
- Sophomore diver Griffin Batt made it to his second consolation final of the week with his performance on the 1-meter, and finished fifth in that final with a score of 250.20.
- The day concluded with a sixth-place finish for the men's 200 free relay. The foursome of junior Nick Buckley, Delehanty, Clough and Farris posted a time of 1:22.13 that ranks third all-time at AU.
Next Up
- Competition concludes on Saturday with contested events to include women's 3-meter diving, the 1,650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay. See HERE for the full list of events and links to each session on ESPN+.
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