GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Three Washington & Jefferson College men's swimmers were honored as the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) released its all-conference teams on Wednesday morning.
Sophomores
Colin Higinbotham (Denver, Pa./Cocalico),
Andrew Ivory (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars) and
Dean Kralic (Beaver Falls, Pa./Riverside) each collected All-PAC Second Team laurels for their performance at the 2020 PAC Swimming & Diving Championship.
Higinbotham reached the "A" finals and posted personal-best times in the 100 yard butterfly (51.86) and 50 yard freestyle (21.59) to finish fourth in both events. Higinbotham was within a second of the standing program records in both the 100 fly and 50 free.
Ivory qualified for a pair of "A" finals in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke events. He posted a pair of season-bests to take sixth in the 100 breast (1:01.38) and eighth in the 200 breast (2:15.08). In the 200 yard individual medley, Ivory was the top finisher in the "B" finals at 2:04.00.
Kralic joined Higinbotham and Ivory with two trips to the "A" finals at PACs, smashing his previous season-bests in both events. Kralic was fourth in the 100 yard backstroke (55.47) and sixth in the 100 yard butterfly (52.68). In both cases, Kralic surpassed his previous season-best time by at least two seconds. He added another appearance in the "B" final of the 500 yard freestyle, where he finished 13
th (5:06.83).
All three swimmers helped W&J to a pair of fourth-place relay efforts in addition to their individual accomplishments.
"Higinbotham, Ivory, and Kralic all had a fantastic 19'-20' season and 2020 PAC Championship meet," said second-year head coach
Matt Rochna. "The three sophomores ended up scoring 39, 33, and 32 points respectively throughout the course of PAC's; helping the men's team earn fourth place overall. Our coaching staff had the privilege of watching them mature this season and reach new heights in and out of the pool. We are beyond excited to watch them continue to grow and succeed as student-athletes here at W&J College."
The President women at PACs were led by freshmen
Sarah Marshall (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) and
Isabella Manzari (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township).
Marshall posted the Presidents' top individual finish on the women's side with a fourth-place showing in the 100 yard breaststroke at 1:09.12. She also reached the "B" finals in the 50 and 100 yard freestyles, taking 12
th in the 50 (25.89) and 15
th in the 100 (1:02.74). She had a hand in a trio of fifth-place relay finishes for the Presidents.
Manzari made three appearances in the "B" finals with a pair of lifetime best swims. Manzari won the "B" final in the 200 yard freestyle by over two seconds with a personal-record of 2:03.50. She added another lifetime best the next day in the 100 yard freestyle prelims (56.90) before placing 12
th in the finals (57.67). She added a 14
th-place finish in the 50 free at 26.21.
"Team captains, Marshall and Manzari, both topped off their impressive freshman campaigns by scoring 22 and 17 points respectively at the 2020 PAC Championship competition," said Rochna. "Both managed to earn personal-best times in their respective events and secured six individual top 16 finishes at PAC's. They displayed excellent leadership this year and we can't wait to see them continue to achieve their goals throughout their W&J College swimming careers."
The Presidents secured a fourth-place team finish for the men and the women were fifth.
"Our coaching staff was excited to watch the team's hard work payoff at conference this season," said Rochna. "The team tallied 26 lifetime best swims, 48 season best swims, and sixteen top 8 individual and relay finishes. More importantly, the team bonded together as a family before our eyes during the course of the season and we consider that our biggest accomplishment. We can't wait to watch the team continue to build upon the 19'-20' season success with the addition of our 2020 incoming freshman student-athletes."
Freshman
Jacob Black (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) and sophomore
Hannah Tallerico (Skaneateles, N.Y./Quincy) were the Presidents' representatives on the PAC Sportsmanship teams for the men and women respectively.
