Swimming & Diving

Niagara Takes Control of Both Leaderboards After Dominating Day 2 of the 2025 MAAC Swimming & Diving Championships

GENEVA, OH (Feb. 13, 2025) – The 2025 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships continued Thursday at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, with Niagara University taking control of both the men’s and women’s standings. The men’s squad leapfrogged from seventh place to first place, while the women’s unit broke a tie with Fairfield University to take sole possession of the top spot.
 
The Niagara women’s team commanded the meet, sweeping all four races during the session. To begin the dominating night, Natalie Killion took gold in the women's 500 Freestyle, with a MAAC Championship record pace of 4:48.18. The time broke the prior record that was held by Saint Peter’s Matea Samardzic since 2015. In the women's 200 IM, it was a déjà vu ending, with the Purple Eagles’ Alaina Pitton (2:02.03) earning gold and Chloe Vlaeminck (2:02.62) winning silver for the second year in row. Paige South rounded out the individual gold medals for Niagara with a victory in the women’s 50 Freestyle, touching the wall in 23.22. To cap off the night, Niagara’s women's 200 Freestyle Relay team broke the MAAC Championship record for the second straight year and third time since 2022. Featuring the exact same group from last year’s record-breaking relay team, the quartet of South, Megan Jackson, Claire Gorton, and Pitton set the MAAC record in a time of 1:32.90, smashing the one-year-old previous record of 1:33.94.
 
On the men’s side, Niagara secured a pair of gold medals, winning them in the men’s 50 Freestyle and 200 Freestyle Relay. The men’s 50 Freestyle was won by Nathan Dragon, leading the packed with a time of 19.78. For the second championship in a row, the Purple Eagles men’s 200 Freestyle Relay team that included Levi Morgan, Reid Tichy, Jake Wade, and Dragon, won gold, this time doing so in a championship record time of 1:19.64, beating the previous mark of 1:19.79 that was set in 2023 by Niagara and feature both Morgan and Dragon. Michael Faughnan of Iona University defended his title in the men's 500 Freestyle, winning the race for the third straight year with a time of 4:19.62. Faughnan’s time was a MAAC Championship record and broke his previous mark in the race of 4:20.35, which he set in 2023.
 
Also breaking a MAAC Championship record was Marist University’s James Conable, who was a gold medalist in the men’s 200 IM. Conable finished the race in 1:46.42, breaking the previous MAAC Championship record of 1:46.58 that was set in 2019 by former MAAC member Bryant’s Micah Ornelas. 
 
In the lone diving event of the night, the women's 3-Meter Dive, Sacred Heart University went 1-2-3, sweeping the podium. Sinclair Yadao was the individual champion, scoring a 255.80, while Lola Barrett and Phifey Boyers won silver and bronze, respectively.
 
Additionally, the men’s 800 Freestyle Relay awards were handed out, with Iona’s quartet of Kieran Egan, Nate Wales, Harry Platt, and Faughnan taking the top spot with a winning time of 6:29.30. 
 
Team Standings
Men Women
1 Niagara 232.5 1 Niagara  289
2 Marist 219.5 T2 Fairfield 184
3 Iona 207.5 T2 Marist 184
4 Fairfield 204.5 4 Sacred Heart 165
5 Rider 157.5 5 Mount St. Mary’s  153
6 Mount St. Mary’s 121.5 6 Canisius 111
7 Canisius 96 7 Rider 98
8 Manhattan 62 8 Iona 96
9 Saint Peter’s 60 9 Siena 93
  10 Merrimack 42
  11 Manhattan 39
  12 Saint Peter’s 36
 
Day 2 Event Results
Event Name Institution Time/Score
Men’s 800 Free Relay Kieran Egan, Nate Wales, Harry Platt, Michael Faughnan Iona 6:29.30
Women's 500 Free Natalie Killion Niagara 4:48.18*
Men's 500 Free Michael Faughnan Iona 4:19.62*
Women's 200 IM Alaina Pitton Niagara 2:02.24
Men’s 200 IM James Conable Marist 1:46.42*
Women's 50 Free Paige South Niagara 23.22
Men's 50 Free Nathan Dragon Niagara 19.78
Women's 3-Meter Dive Sinclair Yadao Sacred Heart 255.80
Women's 200 Free Relay Paige South, Megan Jackson, Claire Gorton, Alaina Pitton Niagara 1:32.90*
Men's 200 Free Relay Levi Morgan, Reid Tichy, Jake Wade, Nathan Dragon Niagara 1:19.64*
 
MAAC Championship Record*
 
The 2025 MAAC Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Championships resume tomorrow, Friday, February 14 at 10 a.m. All action throughout the entire championship will be streamed live via ESPN+.

For all information regarding the 2025 MAAC Men's & Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, please visit maacsports.com/swim.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 44th year of competition during the 2024-25 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
 
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