The Catholic University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished first and second respectively at the Landmark Conference Championship over the weekend. After the event, team members celebrated and honored their #FlyHigh motto as well as teammate Chris Crafa, who died of a sudden cardiac event on Jan. 1, in the following video.
Courtesy: Landmark Conference
GERMANTOWN, Md. – The Susquehanna University women and the Catholic University men claimed the 2019 Landmark Swimming & Diving Championship titles.
Susquehanna topped the women’s team standings for the league-leading ninth time in the conference’s 12-years history as competition wrapped up on Sunday night. The River Hawks finished the meet with 779 points.
Catholic finished second in the team standings with 662 points, followed by Scranton with 661. Drew earned 505 points and Marywood (291) placed sixth. Elizabethtown came in sixth (203), Juniata in seventh (181) and Goucher in eighth (159).
Scranton sophomore Lauren Byrne was named the Landmark Women’s Swimmer of the Year after winning three individual event titles and swimming on one winning relay. Byrne swam a leg on the winning 200 yard freestyle relay, which clocked in at 1:36.67, breaking the Landmark and meet record, before logging a NCAA B cut and the Landmark record in the 200 yard individual medley (2:06.41). She collected her second NCAA B cut and conference record of the championships in the 100 yard breaststroke and swimming 1:04.51. In the 200 yard backstroke, Byrne earned another trip to the podium after touching the wall in 2:06.70.
Susquehanna senior Krista White earned the 2019 Landmark Women’s Diver of the Year award after winning the 3-meter board (313.40) and placing second in the 1-meter (284.70).
Angie Castano of Catholic earned the 2019 Landmark Women’s Rookie of the Years honors after placing in the top-10 in three events. On Friday, Castano took second in the 50 yard freestyle, touching the wall in 24.25. The next day, the first-year placed fourth in the 100 yard butterfly (59.48) before closing out her first Landmark championship experience with a fourth place finish in the 100 yard freestyle (54.23).
The Catholic University men won their third straight league title as competition wrapped up. The Cardinals captured the title with 867 points. Susquehanna finished second overall with 624 points, followed by Scranton (612.5), Drew (427), Elizabethtown (289), Marywood (184), Goucher (166.5), and Juniata (159).
Catholic University men – Landmark champions – courtesy Catholic Athletics, David Sinclair
Catholic sophomore Greg McCarthy was named the Landmark Men’s Swimmer of the Year for the second year in a row after winning three individual titles and swimming on two winning relays. He earned his first gold medal in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 1:51.93 and won the 400 IM in 4:01.65, 13 seconds faster than second place. His third individual medal came in the 200 yard breaststroke. The sophomore touched the wall in 2:06.83 to collect the 20 points. He was the leadoff leg in the 400 yard medley relay that won in 3:27.37 and helped the 800 yard freestyle relay team capture the gold in 6:59.92.
Scranton junior Michale Diana claimed the Landmark Men’s Diver of the Year award for the second straight year. Diana won both the 1-meter (344.85) and 3-meter (334.15) boards.
Susquehanna freshman Eric Towse earned the 2019 Landmark Men’s Rookie of the Year honors after winning two individual events and swimming a leg on one of the River Hawk’s winning relay teams. Towse and his teammates claimed the 200 yard medley relay title in 1:47.24, just out touching Scranton (1:47.52). In his individual events, he won the 100 backstroke (51.58) and the 200 yard backstroke (1:52.33).