CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sophomore diver Brett Palo won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events and fellow sophomore Alexis Agee took first in the 500 and 200 free events to help lead Caniusius swimming and diving to a sweep of the University of Rochester Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Griffins posted a 179-112 victory over the Yellowjackets in the men’s competition, and the visiting team scored a 176-126 win in the women’s event.
The women’s team claimed top-spots in eight of the 14 women’s races on Saturday. In diving, Canisius senior Vivian Mroz placed first in the 1-meter competition and third in the 3-meter event. Mroz’s score of 254.84 took top-honors in the 1-meter, while teammate Vinnie Costanzo placed second with her score of 248.16. In the 3-meter, Costanzo posted 265.57 points en route to a first-place honor, while Gianna Cornelia (262.35 – 2nd) and Mroz (258.38 – 3rd) rounded out the top-three diving scores.
On the women’s side, freshman Cara Smith earned top-honors in the 1,000-yard free race and a second-place finish in the 500-yard free race. Senior Cassie Brousseau added to the Griffs lead with two first-place finishes in the 100-yard (1:00.94) and 200-yard (2:12.11) backstroke events. Brousseau was joined by sophomores Kelsey Childress and Madison Chapin and junior Ashlynn Gilfillan in the 400-yard medley relay where the group earned a second-place finish. Childress also earned top-honors in the 400-yard IM event (4:38.88).
Gilfillan earned a total of two first-place finishes including the 50-yard (24.88) and 100-yard (54.68) free races. Agee earned two victories on the day, as she paced the field in the 200-yard free with a time of 1:59.09 and took the 500-yard free with a pace of 5:19.
In the men’s competition, the relay team of juniors Kenyon Winkky and Kyle Griffin, sophomore Lucas Kennedy and freshman Kyle Kimerer started the day off by winning the 200-yard medley. Kennedy had a successful day with top finishes in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke events. The sophomore’s time of 56.30 in the 100-yard breaststroke broke a 24-year-old pool record, surpassing the 58:18 mark set in 1994. Griffin went on to earn two first-place finishes in the 50-yard free (20.99) and 100-yard free (47.77) races.
Freshman Liam O’Connell picked up his second collegiate victory in the 200-yard free race and later added a top-finish in the 500-yard free event.
In the men’s diving portion, Palo earned his first collegiate sweep, earning top-finishes on both the 1-meter (301.50) and 3-meter (285.82) boards.
Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will return to action Oct. 27, when the Griffs host Geneseo in their home-opener. Meet time at the Burt Flickenger Center in Buffalo, N.Y., is set for 1 p.m.
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