ST. MARY’S COLLEGE, Md. – First-year Luke Schwenk (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) wrapped up his first Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Men’s Swimming Championships experience by picking up the Atlantic East Male Rookie of the Year award. The St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s swim team placed third at the AEC Championships for the second consecutive season.
Schwenk posted two championship meet records (50 freestyle, 100 backstrokes), two conference records (50 freestyle, 100 butterfly), and two school records (50 freestyle, 100 butterfly) while being part of a championship meet record in the 400 freestyle relay. He collected gold medals in the 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke, and the 100 butterfly and added three silver medals as a member of the 200 freestyle, the 200 medley, and the 400 medley relays.
St. Mary’s College tallied 450 points through 36 events for third place as Marymount University edged the Seahawks by four for second place. It was a four-peat for Cabrini University, which totaled 691 points for the title. Rounding out the rest of the six-team field was Marywood University in fourth (385), Gallaudet University in fifth (378), and Immaculata University in sixth with 342.
How It Happened
- It was a dramatic end to the men’s swimming championships as Schwenk out-touched Cabrini’s senior Mac Granto in the final leg of the final event – the 400-freestyle relay – by nine-tenths of a second to give the Seahawks the win. Joining Schwenk on the relay were juniors Anri Cifuentes Robinson (Easton, Md./Easton), Jack Kennedy (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area), and Sebastian Ludwig (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman).
- The 400-freestyle relay foursome clocked a championship meet record of 3:13.94 to edge the Cavaliers (3:13.97) by three-hundredths of a second and grab the gold. SMCM’s time broke the previous mark of 3:14.27 set by Marymount University on April 24, 2021.
- Ludwig notched a silver medal in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 16:59.40 while sophomore Sam Shenot (Upper Marlboro, Md./Leonardtown) collected a second-place finish in the 200 butterfly in 2:02.09.
- In the 100 freestyle, Kennedy touched the wall in 49.27 for a bronze medal. The junior captain just missed a silver by four-hundredths of a second, being edged by Immaculata’s Gabriel Bocaj.
- First-year Sam Meisel (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) reached the podium in the 200 breaststroke with a sixth-place finish in 2:43.11.
Up Next for the Seahawks
- Season Complete