BUFFALO, N.Y. -
The Marist women's swimming and diving teams leads after the first day of
competition at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship at
the Burt Flickinger Athletic Center on the campus of Erie Community
College. In a day where only six events
were contested for the women, Marist took victories in four on their way to a
40 point lead. Individually, sophomore Maddie Arciello (Missoula, Mont.) and
the 400-yd medley relay team set school records.
The 200-yd. freestyle relay team of senior Michelle Fountain
(Sayville, N.Y.), junior Kate Conard (East Setauket, N.Y.) and sophomores Emily
Miles (Long Valley, N.J.) and Arciello started the finals off with a win and a
time of 1:35.47. This time was just .08
shy of the quartet's 2011 school record mark.
In the next event, the 500-yd freestyle, Marist placed four
participants in the Championship Final; Fountain, Conard, and sophomores Bonnie
Orr (Fresno, Calif.) and Kim Kaller (New Providence, N.J.). In a dramatic
finish, Fountain earned her first career individual MAAC title as she held off
Conard with a time of 4:55.65. Conard finished in second at 4:55.89. Orr and
Kaller rounded our Marist's medalists as they finished in fifth and sixth with
times of 5:02.82 and 5:05.43, respectively.
The third event final was the 200-yd IM, in which three Red
Foxes saw A Final action; freshman Greta Leberfinger (Chatham, N.J.), Miles and
senior Emily Gardner (Fairport, N.Y.). Leberfinger and Miles cruised to a 1-2
finish in top 5 record time. Leberfinger completed the race in 2:05.58 and
Miles in 2:06.27. Their times slot in as the second and third fastest in school
history. Gardner finished in sixth place with a time of 2:09.21.
Arciello positioned herself atop the Red Foxes' record book
with her performance in the next event, the 50-yd freestyle. Racing in the A
Final, the sophomore finished in third with a time of 23.71. Loyola's Caitlin
Cronin took the title with a time of 23.62.
In diving action, Marist placed three athletes in the
Championship Final; freshman Kimberly Tobias (San Jose, Calif.), junior
Chelaine Eliazar (Honolulu, Hawaii) and sophomore Lauren Weiner (Feeding Hills,
Mass.). The trio of Red Foxes finished their 6 dive final in sequential order
at second, third and fourth place. Tobias finished with 237.00 points, Eliazar
225.65 and Weiner 212.15.
The final event of the night was the 400-yd. medley relay
where the team of Conard, Leberfinger, Miles and Fountain set the MAAC all-time
record with a final time of 3:48.42. After initially falling behind, scotching
legs by Leberfinger (1:01.23) and Miles (55.84) gave Fountain a lead to work
with as she sprinted to a 100-yd split of 51.50 to secure the title.
After the first day of the championship, Marist leads the
way with 216.5 points. Rider is second with 176.5 and Loyola is third with 132.
The 2012 MAAC Championship will continue on Friday morning
at 10 a.m., with the qualifying heats of events 17-26. The finals for the same
events will be held Friday evening, with the first race scheduled to begin at 6
p.m.
Women's Standings (Through Event 11) 1. Marist - 216.5. 2. Rider - 176.5. 3. Loyola - 132. 4. Iona - 110.
5. Fairfield - 81. 6. Siena - 78.5. 7. Canisius - 76.5. 8. Niagara - 50. 9.
Saint Peter's - 48 10. Manhattan - 32.
