WEBSTER, NY – The Alfred University men's swimming & diving team wrapped up the first day of competition at the four-day Empire 8 Championships on Wednesday evening at the Webster Aquatic Center.
AU sits third overall, recording 132 points total.
Andre Ayala (Mexico City, Mexico/Preparatoria No°5) opened the finals for the Saxons with a huge spark as he topped the 500-yard freestyle with a final time of 4:36.19. This time is the second fastest in program history behind his personal best of 4:34.00, and places him as First Team All-Conference for the Empire 8.
Uros Stojic (Niš, Serbia/ Prva niška gimnazija Stevan Sremac) followed Ayala's 20 points with a sixth-place finish, clocking in at 4:55.28 for 13 points and a personal best.
Sean Killian (Kenmore, NY/St. Joseph's) was the top swimmer in the consolation finals of the event, clocking 4:58.06 for nine points while
Tucker Jones (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) tallied four points with a time of 5:21.07 for Alfred University.
In the 200-yard individual medley,
Carlose Gonzalez (Baja California, Mexico/Unifront) registered third place clocking a new school record and personal best 1:51.70 for 16 points.
Youssef amr Abdallatif (Cairo, Egypt/Raya Language School) followed right behind, posting a time of 1:52.85 for the program's second best all-time.
Calem Striker (Hornell, NY/Hornell) notched a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle consolation with a time of 21.64.
Emmanuel Drappatz (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel Area) was the other swimmer in the event for the Saxons, finishing with a 22.09.
Placing second behind Geneseo, the 400-yard medley relay A-team of Abdallatif, Gonzalez, Ayala and Striker combined for a time of 3:25.65, nearly breaking the previous record of 3:23.30 to earn All-Empire 8 Second Team honors. Killean,
Mahmoud Elkady (Cairo, Egypt/Smart City),
Keagan Winkky (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) and Drappatz finished with a combined 3:39.07 as the B-team.
AU will next compete in the time trials for prelims on Thursday, February 19 morning at 10:am with finals slated to start later in the evening at 5:30pm.
--Swords Forward Saxons--
