Keene, N.H. -Senior Alison Bartlett and junior Ryan Boraski paved the way for the Keene State Swimming & Diving teams on senior day, Saturday at Keene State.
The women's team lead the way throughout the swimming portion of the meet, winning 12 out of 16 events. Bartlett was a member of the winning 200 medley relay team in 1:51.94 seconds. She then went on to win the 200 (2:00.10), 50 (24.66) and 100 (54.79) freestyles.
Bartlett joined three classmates Corrina Nickerson, Amber Long and Brianna Laliberte for the relay victory. Nickerson also played a huge role in the meet by winning the 100 (1:10.96) and 200 (2:30.78) breaststroke over Northeast-10 200 breast Champion Emily Niemic. The sophomore from Bentley got the edge over the Owls in the 100 IM with a time of 1:03.90.
Long was victorious in the 200 butterfly, posting an in-season best 2:12.85. She also scored big points by finishing second in the 200 freestyle (2:01.95) and 100 butterfly (1:00.29).
Sophomores Margaret Dean and Hope Walsh also contributed to the win. Dean swam a lifetime best time in the 100 fly, finishing in 59.96 seconds and in first place. This time places her third in the NEISDA conference, tied with KSC Senior Katherine Brady. Walsh dominated the 1,000 freestyle to open the meet for the Owls (11:07.89).
Dean then teamed up with seniors Laliberte, Olivia Gallugi and Madison Sestak to win the 200 free relay in 1:44.64. Laliberte, Gallugi and Sestak all had crucial second and third place finishes throughout the meet.
On the men's side, the Owls were lead by junior Ryan Boraski. Boraski did not swim his signature event, the 100 freestyle, but still came away with wins in the 200 freestyle (1:45.73), 200 backstroke (1:59.94) and 100 IM (55.41).
Sophomore Antony Hubbard and senior Cole Hogg provided second-place back up for Boraski in the 200 back and 100 IM, respectively. Hogg provided two big wins of his own on his senior day in the 100 (53.63) and 200 (1:59.79) butterfly.
Junior Nathan Shepard rounded out the top three in the 100 IM finishing in 57.30 seconds. However, he won two individual events of his own as well. Shepard took both of the breaststroke titles against Bentley swimming a 1:02.05 in the 100 and a 2:17.28 in the 200.
Senior Greg Youngstrom took care of the sprint events for the Owls, winning both the 50 (21.37) and 100 (47.78) freestyles. Senior Logan Duffley claimed the second-place spot in the 50 behind Youngstrom.
Youngstrom was also a key player in the opening 200 medley relay, where he teammed up with senior Mark Strothenke, Shepard and Hogg for the victory.
One of the major highlights of the day, however, came from senior Cody Fitzgerald on the 1-meter diving board. His score of 284.45 was enough to get him win, just 5.5 points ahead of Bentley's Colton Bridge. Fitzgerald also placed second on the 3-meter board. Freshman Jake Driscoll placed third and fourth, respectivley in the diving events. These efforts helped secure the team victory for the Owls.
Keene State will travel to Bridgewater State on Sunday, Jan. 23. This will be the final competition for the men before the NEISDA Championship, while the women will try to win their tenth-straight Little East Conference Championship on Saturday, Jan. 29.
