Seven Medals, Including 500 Free Sweep Highlight Day 2 For Swimming and Diving

The Central Connecticut swimming and diving team finished the first full day of competition at the Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championship atop the team standings, with 223.5 points. The Blue Devils earned seven individual medals Wednesday night, including a sweep of the 500-freestyle.

Katie Czulewicz led the Blue Devils sweep of the opening individual race, taking the lead on the ninth lap and never looking back on her way to a winning time of 4:55.45. Abbey Keane split consistently throughout the race, moved into second place at the 350 mark and touched second at 4:56.92. Czulewicz's swim is the seventh-best in program history, while Keane's is ninth-fastest.

Shannon Welcome earned bronze in the 500 free, in thrilling fashion, splitting 58.4 on the final 100 to move into the third spot. Taylor Demarest placed eighth at 5:06.46 to round out a 68 point event for CCSU.

The Blue Devils had three divers place in the top-9 of the 3-meter event on Wednesday. Zoe Baker scored 241.25 to capture the silver, and Jewelle Maziarz scored 240.20 for bronze. Elyse Boothroyd improved her prelim score by four points to secure ninth place, putting up 212.30 points.

Cassidy Stotler earned silver in the 200 IM, clocking a 2:41.41, while Kelly Stotler earned bronze in the 50 freestyle, going 23.56, the eighth-best time in CCSU history in the event.

Gabi Wroblewski placed seventh at 2:07.73 in the 200 IM, and Morgan O'Hara tied for 13th with a swim of 2:09.27. Gabby Spaciano placed 12^th in the 50 free, swimming a time of 24.19.

The Blue Devils closed the night with a fourth-place showing in the 200 medley relay. Megan Dunnigan, Ella Discala, Cassidy Stotler and Kelly Stotler touched at 1:44.37.

The Blue Devils have a 45.5-point lead over second place Howard, who has earned 178 points. Wagner is in third place with 166 points, followed by LIU (148) and Sacred Heart (139.5) to round out the top-five.

PRELIM NOTES

500 Freestyle

• The Blue Devils placed four swimmers into the top-8, with Czulewicz, Welcome and Keane take the top-three spots in qualifying
• Demarest, seeded 32^nd entering the event, earned the sixth-spot, slicing 25 seconds off of her entry time and touching at 5:04.98
• Marley Milne (5:21.23) and Wynter Berube (5:23.33) both had personal-best swims in the preliminary heats

200 Individual Medley

• All three Blue Devils earned a post in the evening sessions, led by top qualifier Cassidy Stotler 2:04.02… 1st
• Wroblewski closed a 0.7 second deficit in the final 50 to qualify eighth for the championship final Gabi Wroblewski, 2:08.29 …8th
• O'Hara swam a 2:10.38 and qualified 14^th

50 Freestyle

• Kelly Stotler swam a 23.60 to qualify fifth, while Spaciano, seeded 25^th, moved up to an 11^th place tie in the preliminary heat, with a swim of 24.18

3-Meter DIVING

• Baker (241.95) and Maziarz (241.80) were the top two scorers in the preliminary round, while Boothroyd qualified in the 9^th spot.