A respectable performance from the Ashland University swimming and diving team put them in place to compete for a conference title.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Eagles traveled to the C.T. Branin Natatorium to participate in Day 1 of the 2026 Great Midwest Athletic Conference / Mountain East Conference Championship. The Eagles were able to get a few early, critical placements to set them up to potentially snag a team trophy by the end of the week.
It seems like many shouldn't be surprised at this point, but yet again, the Eagles dominated the diving side of things.Â
Joey Lenczyk won the men's 1-meter diving with a score of 438.30, while Altin Rowland took second with 346.00 points and Grant Wallery took third with 236.95 points.
To kick things off on the swimming side, the Eagles saw Yasmim Tomita finish in seventh place in the women's 200-yard individual medley, with a time of 2:13.21, scoring 23 points. Hannah Yemec, Juliana Pignato, Mary Kate Prall, Kit Kat Anderson and Rachel Stanchek were all able to score points too, contributing to a strong team showing in the A, B and C finals.
Moving into the men's side of the 200-yard individual medley, they were headlined by Robin Falk, who finished in eighth with a time of 1:57.99, scoring 22 points. Just behind Falk were Nick Olquin in 12th and Colin Pham in 15th, while William Collins, Cooper Young and Lucas Leibrand all were able to score team points as well.
In the 50-yard freestyle events, Colleen Cox led the way with a seventh-place finish with a final time of 24.43 for 23 points. Payton O'Toole and Katelyn Claugus combined for 13 points as well on the women's side. For the men, no one placed in the top eight, but there were solid contributions from Cole Huebner, Jack Elliott, Nick Girz, Andrew Oates and Ryan McEvilly.
In distance events, Brooke Patel led the women's 1000-yard freestyle with a 13th-place finish, coming in at 11:05.85. The Eagles also got points from Jaidyn Jordan, Payton Meyer and Stephanie Holubetz, totaling 25 points. Jason Basile dominated the men's pool, recording the top-placed performance of Day 1, coming in fifth with a time of 9:50.04, while Lincoln Shirley, Ryan Mohler, Grant Brown and Nick Olquin all added points for the team.
And last, but certainly not least, the relays put Ashland in a big position to carry momentum into Day 2.
The Eagles earned four second-place finishes, with the women's 200-yard medley relay of Tomita, Cox, Yemec and O'Toole coming in with a time of 1:46.28 for 56 points. The men's team of Pham, Girz, Falk and Oates came in at a time of 1:31.76, also earning 56 points. In the 200-yard freestyle relays, the women's team of Cox, Blair Pichola, Pignato and O'Toole touched with a time of 1:37.69, while the men's team of Huebner, Oates, Elliot and Girz finished with a mark of 1:23.21.
Through one day of action out in Canton, the men are currently in second in team rankings with a total score of 431, 60 points behind first place. The women are currently in third place with a total score of 270.
Moving into Day 2, the Eagles will look to continue to keep the confidence and momentum high, as they kick things off at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11.Â
