Girls Third, Males Fourth in Landmark Swimming Pre-Championship Polls

BALTIMORE, MD – Susquehanna’s males’s and girls’s swimming and diving groups set their sights on the Landmark Conference Championships, held for the third straight 12 months at Loyola College of Maryland’s Mangione Aquatics Center. The River Hawks girls have been slotted third within the convention’s pre-championship ballot, with the boys being ranked fourth. The Championships run from Thursday, February 12-Sunday, February 15 the place a victor will probably be topped.

The River Hawks are led by head coach John Funk, in his first-year with SU. Previously a coach at Bucknell University, Funk has garnered consideration placing the River Hawks again to their profitable methods. In Funk’s seven years with the Bison the ladies’s staff completed as excessive as second on the Patriot League Championships, whereas the boys’s staff reached as excessive as third. He was this system’s recruiting coordinator and assisted in writing power and conditioning applications, together with composing dry land exercises. In his time on the Lewisburg campus the Bison boasted over 50 All-Patriot Leaguers. Funk additionally was head coach of the Lewisburg Gators membership staff since 2019, overseeing over 100 swim staff members starting from ages 5-18 and a training employees starting from 12-15 individuals.

Junior Dan Venuti is considered one of Susquehanna’s pivotal swimmers, incomes a Landmark Conference Athlete of the Week honors earlier this season. Venuti set a brand new profession excessive earlier this season on the Misericordia Cougar Splash Invitational within the 100 yard freestyle race, posting a time of fifty.12. Venuti, alongside Akira Black, Alex Schweikert, and Doug Bell continued to point out his swimming prowess within the season opening meet in opposition to Lycoming College and Elizabethtown College. The staff helped to steer the River Hawks to their first win of the season, posting a time of 1:41.01 within the 200 yard medley relay. Continuing his excellence he gained the 100 yard butterfly and the 100 yard backstroke in the identical meet. 

Fellow teammate Doug Bell can also be poised to make a splash on the Championships. The first-year swimmer has turned heads all season as he has dominated the freestyle portion of occasions. Bell started his collegiate profession alongside Black, Schweikert, and Venuti in teh 200 yard medley relay, the place the staff took first place within the opening meet of the season. He continued to showcase within the 50 yard freestyle race of the opening meet, beating out fellow River Hawk Eskander Bierman for first place with a time of twenty-two.94. Heading into the Juniata meet, Bell took a 3rd place end within the 100 yard freestyle occasion, posting a time of 51.80. He continued to dominate the freestyle races as he claimed one more first place end within the 200 yard freestyle race in opposition to Messiah, showcasing a time of 1:53.65. 

Senior Emma Church seems to be to propel the ladies’s facet of swimming from third to first on the Championships later this month. Church, who garnered a Landmark Athlete of the Week honors, began the season by profitable each race she participated in in opposition to Juniata. Church’s first occasion was the 200 yard freestyle, the place she claimed a primary place end for the River Hawks, beating out Juniata’s Dani Cline by mere seconds, posting a time of two:06.94. Continuing on to the 100 yard freestyle, Church claimed one more first place end, exhibiting a quick time of 57.89, beating out any opponent by over two seconds. Entering the ultimate occasion of the competition, SU wanted a win to defeat the Eagles. Church paired up with Cameron Alvino, Payton Kenney, and Jillie Donner within the 400 yard freestyle relay. Church swam final, coming in first place by greater than two seconds, claiming the win for the River Hawks.

First-year Jillie Donner has put the Landmark Conference on discover, showcasing a number of podium finishes all through her first-year with the River Hawks. Donner started her collegiate profession alongside Catherine Sirignano, Erika Guche, and Payton Kenney within the 200 yard medley relay, the place the staff of 4 took a primary place end with a time of 1:59.68. She continued to showcase her dominance within the 100 yard breaststroke occasion of her collegiate opening meet, taking second place with a time of 1:14.18. She completed her opening meet alongside Cameron Alvino, Matilda Klinetob, and Hannah Nash, ending in first place within the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:50.21. Throughout the rest of the season, Donner continued to garner first-place finishes.