The American University swimming and diving team broke six school records and brought home two silver medals, concluding the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships hosted by the United States Naval Academy. The competition lasted from Feb. 18-21, with multiple Eagles having successful races throughout the entirety of the meet.
Day one saw two school records broken. The women’s 800 freestyle relay, featuring senior Isabel McGovern, junior Fiona McMahon, freshman Lucy Penna and junior Kate Williams, surpassed their previous school record in November with a 7:32.14 finish. McGovern broke another school record in the 200 freestyle during the leadoff portion, a record previously set by her earlier in the season with a 1:49.41 time. Out of the 10 teams in the race, McGovern had the fastest leadoff leg.
Other standout moments during day one were the women’s 200 medley relay and the men’s 800 freestyle relay. The women’s team, led by sophomore Piper Crosby, went on to become second all-time at American, finishing with a 1:40.94 time, just off the podium. The men’s team was led by sophomore Ryan Pursley, who finished with a time of 1:31.72, ranking eighth all-time at the University. In addition, freshman diver Alex Way had a stellar finish, placing seventh in the men’s 3-meter board.
Day two saw another school record broken in the women’s 400 medley relay, swam by Crosby, sophomore Marin Priddy, McGovern and sophomore Grace Gilbert. The team placed fifth and finished with a time of 3:42.02, breaking the previous school record set last November by nearly 2 seconds. The duo of Crosby and Priddy went on to advance to the championship final the following day in the women’s 50 freestyle, becoming the first pair to do so in several decades.
After results were cataloged, Crosby walked away with her first silver medal of the meet in the 100 backstroke.
“In the 100 backstroke, I felt more pressure because it’s my main event,” Crosby said. “I knew I needed to be in a good headspace to swim well, so I tried to take the pressure off and just have fun with it.”
Despite a stellar finish, Crosby explained that she just wanted to focus on the task at hand: “I wanted to focus on racing and being in the moment and touching the wall and seeing the time felt amazing,” Crosby said.
The final day of the meet only saw more records broken and medals won. Again, it was Crosby who had an amazing performance — this time in the 200 back with a 1:56.83 finish. After the results across the individual events were tallied, Crosby placed seventh out of the 160 women competing and smashed Eagles swimming legend Paris Wood’s top personal record. In addition, Crosby earned her second silver medal and became the only Eagle to have top 5 finishes in the past two years in the same events.
Head coach Garland Bartlett attributes Crosby’s successes to her mindset.
“One thing I appreciate about Piper is that she takes accountability,” Bartlett said. “This year, she recognized she needed more aerobic work and adjusted her training accordingly. That kind of ownership makes a big difference.”
The men’s team had several strong showings as well to finish the day, as sophomore Luke Martens recorded a PR of 16:02.48 in the men’s 1,650 freestyle.
“The mile honestly wasn’t really on my radar when I first got to American,” Martens said. “On my club team, guys were swimming 15:20 or 15:30 miles, so I focused more on the 200 fly, 400 IM and 500 free.”
Despite this, he became the only person on the men’s team to swim the mile because of lingering injuries, placing 18th in the event while recording the 11th best all-time 1,650 at AU. This outcome, however, is a reminder to Martens of living in the moment and being a part of a team.
“The results feel good for a little while, but what makes it worth it is being part of something bigger than yourself,” Martens said.
Other Eagles, such as junior Ryan Tiffany and sophomore Cole Coffman, had strong showings. In the 200 butterfly, Tiffany placed 18th in the C-final (sixth all-time at American), while Coffman finished strong in prelims, moving him to tenth place all-time at American.
Overall, despite both the men’s and women’s teams ranking in the bottom five, the future is bright, according to coach Bartlett.
“Every year, the goal is to get better,” Bartlett said. “We want to continue improving and competing at a high level in the Patriot League.”
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Jack Stashower and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Mattie Lupo and Ryan Sieve.
