By Nicole Hauck, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna women’s swimming and diving team won their ninth-consecutive conference title while the men’s team placed second and multiple records were shat- tered at the Landmark Conference Championship in Germantown, Md. on Feb. 15-17.
Senior Katie Willis and junior Caitlin Kelly both set re- cords for their events.
Willis broke her own previous mark in the 50-freestyle, set last year at the championship meet by three-hundredths of a second, touching the wall first with a time of 23.72 seconds.
This record was not just for Susquehanna, but the NCAA B Cut, the Landmark Champion- ship meet record and a Land- mark Conference record.
In addition to breaking re- cords, Willis helped anchor the winning 400-medley relay alongside junior Megan Shaffer, sophomore Olivia Fravel and Senior Maggie Palaski. The foursome finished with a 3:55.19 time.
Kelly earned a school record in the 500-freestyle, finishing with a time of 5:05.36 and in second place. Kelly’s time beat out previous Susquehanna re- cord holder Lexi Cole, who set a time of 5:05.44 in 2015.
The River Hawks finished day one with a commanding 20-point lead over Catholic University of America (204), with the University of Scranton (191) in third place.
Outside of the top three were Drew University (168), Marywood University (105), Elizabethtown College (70), Goucher College (60) and Ju- niata College (54).
Day two started and the River Hawks still did not let up. Willis again broke her own past record in the 200-free- style and reset the university’s record for a time of 1:52.52.
She also earned her second relay gold medal in the 200-medley relay with senior Devon Niness, Fravel and Palaski with a winning time of 1:47.24.
Senior Krista White also received a gold medal by earning top honors in the three- meter diving, scoring 313.40.
Susquehanna also secured three top-four finishes in the 200-freestyle as Willis took rst, Kelly placed third and sophomore Tori Weems worked her way into fourth.
On day three, White grabbed the 2019 Landmark Conference Female Diver of the Year award, which was a first for the program.
The River Hawks dominated over the other teams with 779 points over the three days.
The meet ended with Catholic University of America coming in second with 662 points and the University of Scranton edging out Drew University with 661 points.
The men also had a successful weekend. Day one started the foursome of junior Da- vid Grove, sophomores Brett Walker and Anthony Principe and senior James Orzolek who finished in second place in the 400-freestyle relay with a time of 1:25.01.
The time also matched the school record from 2016.
Susquehanna finished day one in third place with a slim margin separating them and the University of Scranton for sole possession of second place.
On day two, Walker and freshman Eric Towse both set school records in their respec- tive events.
Walker earned second place in the 200-freestyle with a time of 1:42.87 and broke the previous school record by David Miller in 2016. Towse broke the school record in the 100-backstroke performance with a time of 51.58.
Day two ended with Susquehanna in second place with 424 points.
Day three came and the River Hawks finished as Land- mark runners-up for their second straight season and for the ninth time overall in Landmark competition since 2008. Towse was recognized as Rookie of the Year during the closing ceremonies.
The River Hawks concluded the competition in second- place with 624 points.
When talking to some of the swimmers, Walker said, “We train from the rst day or two we are back on campus in the fall, until right before conferences. It’s a long process and can be very overwhelming, but it also has so many rewards. Our team motto is also R.I.S.E up.”
While this was the last meet of the season for the men’s team, the women’s squad will have one more opportunity to showcase their talent.
The women River Hawks will travel to New York City to take part in the NYU Last Chance Meet. This will be the rst time that Susquehanna has competed in this meet.
The Last Chance Meet is set to being at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23.