Men’s Swimming and Diving Capture 10th Consecutive Landmark Conference Title

Image courtesy of Elliot Schott and Catholic Athletics.

By Griffin Cappiello

Catholic University’s Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams competed in the Landmark Conference Championships this past weekend. 

On the first day of competition, the Cardinals swept the podium in the men’s 1-meter diving competition. Freshman Gabriel Hermann earned first with a score of 413.35, while senior Charles Connolly III came in second with a 318.20, and senior Jack Walsh finished third with a 311.20. 

Junior Teddy Tsakumis, freshman Alexander Tsakumis, and sophomores Jack Thompson and Vincent Wills earned second place in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:32.22. Juniors John Holler and Shawn Mashburn, freshman Hank McGuire, and senior Daniel Green finished second in the 800 Free Relay with a season-best time of 6:54.66, improving on their previous best time by nearly 10 seconds. 

The women’s team also found success in the relays. Junior Tara Wiarda, freshman Anna Dymek, and seniors Bella Mugno and Emily Blaskovich took first place in the 200 Medley Relay and set a new Landmark Conference record with a time of 1:45.71. Sophomore Molly Foltz, freshman Katie Nalepka, and senior Maura Sadowski, along with Mugno, claimed first place in the 800 Free Relay. 

After day one of the competition, both the men and the women finished in first place, with the men recording 121 points and the women scoring 80.

Image courtesy of Sarah Lodge and Catholic Athletics.

On the second day of competition, the Cardinals swept the podium in the men’s 500 Freestyle. Mashburn claimed gold with a time of 4:40.64, with Holler following close behind with a time of 4:40.66, and McGuire coming in third with a time of 4:42.67. 

Catholic picked up another podium sweep in the 3-meter diving competition. Hermann earned first, recording a score of 407.10, while Connolly came in second with a 296.05, and Walsh finished third with a 269.60. 

Junior Sean Kelty came in first in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 1:52.87, and sophomore Ben Lutcher finished third with a 1:55.49. T. Tsakumis earned a third-place finish in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 21.03, with his brother, A. Tsakumis, finishing fourth with a 21.26. T. Tskumis, Kelty, Wills, and Holler picked up a second-place finish in the 400 Medley Relay with a time of 3:23.28.

The Cardinals swept the podium in the women’s 200 Individual Medley. Dymek came in first with a time of 2:08.53, Wiarda finished second with a 2:11.14, and junior Delainey Brandt finished third with a 2:13.15. Junior Grace Kelly earned a second-place finish in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 24.51, with Blaskovich finishing just behind her with a 24.57. Wiarda, Mugno, Dymek, and Blaskovich picked up another relay win in the 400 Medley Relay. 

At the end of the second day of competition, the men extended their lead with a total of 374.5 points, while the women sat in second place with 283.5 points.

Image courtesy of Sarah Lodge and Catholic Athletics.

On the third day of competition, Kelty placed first in the men’s 400 Individual Medley with a time of 4:00.03, with Lutcher finishing second with a 4:06.83. A. Tsakumis finished second in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 50.05. McGuire earned a second-place finish in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:42.72, and Holler finished in third with a 1:42.87. T. Tsakumis earned first in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 48.83. The Tsakumis brothers, along with freshman Colin Raue and junior James Caldwell, finished second in the 200 Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:23.89. 

Mugno picked up a first-place finish in the women’s 400 Individual Medley with a time of 4:37.35, with Foltz following close behind with a 4:41.27 to earn second place. The Cardinals swept the podium in the 100 Breaststroke, with Mugno, Brandt, and Kelly taking the top three with times of 1:04.98, 1:06.05, and 1:06.61, respectively. Dymek finished first in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 57.08, while Sadowski earned third in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:57.61. 

Wiarda set a new meet record in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 57.50 and earned first place. Senior Emily Albans finished close behind with a 58.27 to place second. Kelly, Blaskovih, Albans, and freshman Keriann Collison picked up a first-place finish in the 200 Free Relay. 

At the end of day three, the men sat in first place with 628.5 points, while the women sat in second with 598.5 points.

Image courtesy of Sarah Lodge and Catholic Athletics.

To open the fourth and final day of competition, Mashburn finished second in the men’s 1650 Freestyle with a time of 16:24.56, while Kelty finished third with a 16:30.75. T. Tsakumis earned a first-place finish in the 200 Backstroke with a time of 1:50.27, and Holler finished second in the 200 Breaststroke with a time of 2:07.03. Wills and Lutcher finished second and third in the 200 Butterfly with times of 1:53.37 and 1:53.88, respectively. In the 400 Freestyle Relay, Holler, Thompson, and the Tsakumis brothers earned a second-place finish with a time of 3.06.18. 

Sadowski finished second in the women’s 1650 Freestyle with a time of 18:05.84, Wiarda won the 200 Backstroke with a time of 2:05.36, and Albans earned second in the 100 Freestyle with a time of 53.68. 

The Cardinals swept the podium in the 200 Backstroke, with Mugno, Dymek, and Brandt claiming the top three spots with times of 2:21.35, 2:24.37, and 2:26.03, respectively. In the 400 Freestyle Relay, Albans, Collison, Blaskovich, and Kelly combined to take gold with a time of 3:37.09. 

The men’s team earned a total of 877.5 points and claimed their tenth straight Landmark Conference title, breaking the record for most total championships. Freshman Gabriel Hermann was named Landmark Diver of the Year after earning first place in the 1-meter and the 3-meter diving competitions. He joins senior teammate Carles Connolly III, who received the honor for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025. 

The women’s team earned a total of 873 points and finished second behind Scranton’s 887 points. Senior Bella Mugno was named Landmark Swimmer of the Year for the third consecutive year after earning six first-place finishes, three in relay events and three in individual events. Freshman Anna Dymek was named Landmark Rookie of the Year after earning four first-place finishes and one second-place finish on the weekend. She joins senior teammate Tara Wiarda on the list of six Cardinals to receive this honor.