ALFRED, NY — The Alfred University men's swimming and diving team concluded its three-straight home meets with a win over the Hartwick Hawks 175.5-120.5.
12 wins propelled the team forward. Led by graduating senior William LaMastus (Maumee, OH/Anthony Wayne) and first-year swimmer Carlos Gonzalez (Baja California, Mexico/Unifront), they combined for six wins.
"Getting the win on senior day was pretty special. They all stepped up; great results all around," head coach Brian Striker '00 said. "I sound like a broken record but I have been really impressed with the grit we have shown, given the recent training load. Things we have been working on are falling into place, now we can set our sights on the E8 Championship!"
Gonzalez took home another pool record, this time in the 200-yard IM. His time of 1:57.45 beat out the previous record of 1:57.72, ironically set by Hartwick's Aron Zhang in 2017. He also won in the 100-breast (59.09) and the 200-breast (2:09.26). He was also one of the four members of the winning 200-medley relay squad alongside Will LaMastus, Emiliano Terrazas (La Paz, Bolivia/Saint Andrew's), and Emmanuel Drappatz (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel Area).
LaMastus' two individual wins came in the 100 and 200 backstroke with times of 53.83 and 2:00.92. His brother Wade LaMastus (Maumee, OH/Anthony Wayne) took home two podium finishes himself in their final regular season meets.
Other seniors also found success in their last meet. Noam Sokolovsky (East Lyme, CT/East Lyme) won two heat races in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle with times of 23.07 and 53.57. Paul Tuttle (Irondequoit, NY/Irondequoit) took home three runner-up finishes in the 100-back (55.41), 200-back (2:05.70), and 200-freestyle relay (1:29.67). His relays teammates included Keagen Winkky (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads), Wade LaMastus, and Alexander Villegas (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads).
Terrazas took home an individual win in his final home meet in the 200-yard butterfly with a 2:07.11. In the diving well, Jaxson McQuaid (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) won both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, with scores of 233.00 and 211.15 respectively. There was also a special moment for Noah Koltenuk (Danville, PA/Danville Area) in the 200-yard butterfly, where he just edged out the Hartwick swimmer to get third in his final home meet, with his teammates cheering wildly in support.
Tons of success was found at the McLane Center, and there's surely more to be had as the team prepares for the Empire 8 Championships next month. It all gets started on February 19.
— Swords Forward Saxons —