Category: Swimming & Diving

By Scott Padula

Staff Writer

The men’s swimming team captured a program-record five ECAC crowns last weekend on its way to earning second place in the ECAC Championships in Annapolis, Md., breaking the previous program mark set in 1992. Mike Nicholson ’14, Eric Sokolosky ’12 and Matt Segar ’12 all came away with individual golds for the Bison, becoming the fourth, fifth and sixth swimmers in program history to win multiple ECAC titles. The quartet of Taylor Harris ’12, Segar, Thomas Brown ’12 and Sokolosky also claimed the 400-yard freestyle relay title.

On the first day of competition, six different Bison as well as two relay teams finished in the top 10 of their respective events. The best event of the day for the Orange and the Blue was the 200 individual medley where Nicholson and Christian Treat ’13 both finished in the top five. Nicholson earned second place, losing to Rider’s Johnny Charles-Funk by 0.06 seconds while Treat posted his fifth career top-five finish at ECACs with a fourth-place finish. 

Sokolosky also placed second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.75 seconds, 0.09 seconds behind winner Phillip Gaissert of Columbia.

By the end of Saturday, the second day of competition, the Orange and Blue had jumped from fifth in the standings to second, only behind the host Midshipmen. Then Nicholson and Segar gave standout performances, capturing the first two ECAC crowns of the weekend for the Orange and Blue. The wins also marked the first time since 1992 that two different Bison won an event at the ECACs.

Nicholson dropped more than six seconds from the preliminaries to the finals, winning the 400 individual medley by 0.74 seconds. Segar climbed seven spots from the preliminaries to the finals to win the 200 freestyle, cutting more than three seconds from his time.

Great swims by Treat, Billy Krause ’13 and Harris, all of whom finished in the top five in their respective events, also helped the Bison climb up the team standings.

“I think we went into the meet knowing we were capable of finishing higher up than we ever had before,” Harris said. “I think our success is founded in a team culture where we support each other as much as possible. I am so proud of the team; a lot of guys really stepped up this past weekend to make it such a success.”

On the third and final day of competition, the Bison held their second place position thanks to wins in three more events.

Sokolosky started off the series of wins with his second career ECAC crown in the 100 freestyle. Nicholson followed Sokolosky, capturing his second ECAC title. Nicholson posted an impressive performance in the 200 breaststroke, winning by a margin of 1.43 seconds. His time of 2:01.71 was 0.03 seconds shy of the program record. In the final event of the meet, the Orange and Blue won the 400 freestyle relay, outpacing the Midshipmen by 0.22 seconds. The win, with a time of 3:01.69, was the second-ever ECAC victory for a Bison relay.

“To conclude the final chapter of my collegiate swimming career by winning the 100 freestyle and the 400 freestyle relay with fellow seniors Taylor Harris, Matt Segar and Tom Brown could not have been a better feeling,” Sokolosky said. “Anchoring that relay to gold is something I’ll remember forever. To have been a part of the most talented class of Bison swimmers in school history has been a privilege and honor. Swimming for the Orange and Blue has been incredible thanks to the team that has surrounded me, and our coaches who are committed to excellence. These past four years have been a wild ride, one I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Senior Writer

The men’s swimming and diving team earned runners-up honors to Navy last weekend at the Patriot League Championships in Annapolis, Md. With their second-place finish, the Bison have now finished in the top three at the Patriot League Championships seven straight years, falling a close second to Navy in four of the previous five years. The Mids have now won nine straight league championships.

Christian Treat ’12 led the Bison with a pair of silver medals in the 200 breast and 100 breast, posting the second-fastest time in program history in the 200. Ben Seketa ’15, Nate Frye ’12 and Matt Stevens ’13 joined Treat as the three other Orange and Blue swimmers to score in the event.

“Going into the meet, we had some high expectations as a team. Our goals, to beat Army and close the point gap on Navy, were not something that was going to come easy. But these goals were not decided the day of the meet,” Treat said. “At the conclusion of last year’s championship, the guys all had a desire to reclaim our spot in the conference. This is what carried us through the off-season, through summer training and right up to the last relay of the meet. We created a winning atmosphere right off the bat and this grew into something that we all wanted more than any individual accomplishment.”

Like Treat, Mike Nicholson ’14 collected a pair of silvers in the 200 and 400 IM events. After claiming the Patriot League title in the 400 IM last season, Nicholson fell four seconds short of Navy’s Justin Vagts to earn second.

Swimming in their final Patriot League Championship, Eric Sokolosky ’12 and Thomas Brown ’12 each earned top finishes for the Bison in the 100 free and 200 back, respectively. Both swimmers earned fourth-place finishes, with Sokolosky going 45.28 and Brown going 1:48.39 in their respective events.

“Our dedication to training both in and out of the water, as well as our intense mental focus, allowed us to achieve many of these goals at Patriots. Taking home the runner-up trophy was a very satisfying moment for us, and a product of our hard work,” Sokolosky said. “With perhaps the most dedicated and talented group of individuals in Bucknell’s history, the expectations of this particular men’s team were very high. We swam solidly all weekend, qualifying well in the preliminary sessions and scoring crucial points in the finals at night. Although there were several standout performers, I know a few of us would’ve liked to have been a bit faster.”

Despite falling to Navy, the Bison were able to climb past Army after losing to the Black Knights last season. A portion of the Bison squad will continue their season this weekend at the ECAC Championships in Annapolis, Md.

By Scott Padula

Writer

The men’s swimming and diving team closed its regular season with two individual first-place finishes at the Navy Invitational last Saturday in Annapolis, Md. The unscored meet featured a host of Patriot League rivals including the host Midshipmen, American and Lafayette, as well as Shippensburg.

In a competition in which the Mids won 14 of 17 total events, Orange and Blue swimmers Eric Sokolosky ’12 and Trevor Reitz ’14 still managed to take the top spot in their events.

Sokolosky claimed first in the 200 freestyle in 1:42.12 for the Orange and Blue and led the Bison swimmers in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:59.64, finishing fourth overall. As a whole, the 200 freestyle event was the best event of the day for the Orange and Blue as Christian Treat ’13, Thomas Brown ’12, Daniel Wallace ’14, Ben Seketa ’15 and Reitz combined to capture six of the first nine places in the event. Reitz claimed the only other victory for the Bison in the 200 butterfly, recording a season-best time of 1:57.42.

Notable performances also came from Orange and Blue swimmers Taylor Harris ’12 and Evan Palumbo ’12 who earned second places in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, respectively. Harris led a group of three Bison who finished in the top five in the 100 breaststroke with a career-best time of 58.88 seconds, while Palumbo narrowly beat two other Orange and Blue swimmers to take second in the 200 breaststroke. Palumbo’s second-place finish was a satisfying result for the senior who was competing in his final collegiate meet. 

The Orange and Blue will now have two weeks to train before they head back to Annapolis to compete in the Patriot League Championships.

“It’s a good experience to be at the pool we will be competing at in Patriots,” Mike Nicholson ’14 said. “It was our last chance to race before championships and I think we swam pretty well.”

Last season, the Orange and Blue took third place, falling to both Navy and Army, but the Bison come into this year’s meet a much-improved squad. With just one loss to Patriot League opponents during the regular season, the team expects nothing short of second this year. The three-day meet begins Feb. 16.