Senior Kevin O'Donnell and three of four Canisius relays
broke school records as the Golden Griffins completed day one of the MAAC
Championship competition at Loyola College in Baltimore, Md.
O'Donnell broke the school record in the final heat of the
200 IM with a time of 1:59.76, a record previously since
2007. Junior Kevin Ernst dropped over ten seconds in his 500 freestyle,
finishing just four seconds outside of a new record, held since 1997.
Freshman Julia Terrien was part of both record-breaking
relays as the women set new records in the 200 freestyle relay as well as the
400 medley relay. Terrien combined efforts with Laura Quackenbush, Courtney
Marcolini, and Sarah Schaefer to break the previous 200 freestyle relay record
by just under two seconds, completing the race in 1:43.51.
Terrien swam the breaststroke lengths of the 400 medley
relay, along with Erica Vitale in backstroke, Megan Smith in the butterfly, and
Kara Powalski in the freestyle to break their own record by over four seconds,
finishing the race in 4:05.15.
Diver Amina Benman took eighth place in the one meter event,
along with fellow diver Sarah Kowalski, who finished 14th in the
event.
“We had a number of best times, as well as the records that
we set today to start off our weekend at the MAAC Championships,” said head
coach Scott Vanderzell. “We tapered well, we are prepared, and everyone is pumped
up. We had a great day today, and hope to continue our success for the rest of
the weekend.”
The Griffs will compete Saturday and Sunday to wrap up the
weekend. Daily results will be available after finals every night, and live
coverage is available on www.maacsports.com.
