Another day has come and gone at the 2026 Great Midwest Athletic Conference / Mountain East Conference Championship.
The Ashland University swimming and diving team pushed itself further into contention for a conference title, as both the men and women sit in second place with two more days to go. On Day 2, the Eagles were led by the diving yet again, as they nearly swept the competition. This time, though, it was the women's team.
In the women's 3-meter diving, the Eagles were able to snag the top four spots, with Riley Hunt finishing in first with a score of 501.35 points. She was followed by Maddi Whitticar, Macey Wade and Ella Howard.
In the women's 100-yard butterfly, Hannah Yemec was able to finish in first place in the B final with a time of 58.23 seconds for 20 team points. Juliana Pignato finished in 12th, Payton Meyer finished in 18th and Joselyn Hensley came in 20th; each was able to score. On the men's side, Colin Pham led them with a B final win, coming in at a time of 51.01 seconds. Cole Huebner, Jack Elliott, Daniel Correa Hammer and Ryan McEvilly all added points as well.
As the pool turned to the 400-yard individual medley, Brooke Patel stepped up and gave the Eagles one of the team's best finishes of the day.
She came in sixth place with a time of 4:41.06, with Mary Kate Prall just behind in seventh at 4:45.53. Rachel Stanchek and Stephanie Holubetz were all able to score for the team, too. For the men, Nick Olquin, Ryan Mohler and Lucas Leibrand all finished top 15.
In the women's 200-yard freestyle, Yasmim Tomita and Payton O'Toole finished top 15, with times of 1:55.33 and 1:56.55, respectively. Kit Kat Anderson came in just behind them in 20th. Robin Falk led the men with the best result of Day 2 for the Eagles, coming in fourth place at a time of 1:40.48, followed by Nick Girz in fifth at 1:41.01. William Collins, Grant Brown, Lincoln Shirley, Jason Basile and Cooper Young were also all able to help produce team points.
With the night concluding, the Eagles' relay teams finished the night off on a nice note. The women's 400-yard medley relay team placed third at a time of 3:54.56, while the men's team finished second in 3:24.50.
Heading into Day 3, the Eagles will look to keep finding top finishers and stay firmly in the hunt for team championships as the meet marches into the final two days.
