Golden Again! Czuelwicz Captures 200 Free Title At NEC Championships

The Central Connecticut swimming and diving team maintained its overall lead at the 2023 Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championship Thursday night. The Blue Devils finish the third day of competition with 372 points, 39 in front of second-place Wagner.

Katie Czulewicz came within .05 of the school record on her way to a thrilling win in the 200 freestyle. Trailing by more than a second at the midway point, and 0.4 with two lengths to go she split 27.94 on the final 50 to take gold at 1:48.41. Shannon Welcome swam a 1:50.90, eighth on the Blue Devils all-time list, and finished fourth. Gabby Spaciano finished seventh, touching at 1:52.89, nearly a second under her career-best swim from prelims.

Megan Dunnigan picked up the Blue Devils first medal of the night, bronze, with a 56.24 swim in the 100 fly. Cassidy Stotler was right behind her, touching fourth at 56.54. Jillian Plowucha moved up a pair of spots in consolation, touching 13^th with a swim of 57.95.

The Blue Devils earned 31 points in the 400 IM with a sixth-place finish from Gabi Wroblewski pacing the way. Morgan O'Hara lowered her time by more than a second on her way to an eighth place finish, at 4:34.95. Kaylin McMahon touched at 4:38.46 for 13^th place and Abby Bacon rounded out the effort in 15^th with a swim of 4:38.94.

The 200 free relay of Czulewicz, Cassidy Stotler, Spaciano and Kelly Stotler placed fourth, touching a 1:34.57

The NEC Championship continues Friday morning, with preliminary heats beginning at 10:00 am.

PRELIM NOTES

400 IM

• Wroblewski (4:33.16) and O'Hara (4:36.17) both earned spots in the championship final
• McMahon (4:38.24) and Bacon (4:40.26) secured spots in the consolation final
• Marley Milne (4:44.51) and Kyla Behrle (4:45.47) posted the 19^th and 21^st best preliminary swims respectively

100 Butterfly

• Cassidy Stotler, 56.58, and Megan Dunnigan, 56.77, earned the second and third-seed in the championship final, in a field that has four swimmers within .47 seconds of each other
• Jillena Plowucha earned a spot in the consolation final, tying for 15^th place with her 58.54 effort and Ella Discala touched at 59.37 and earned a spot in the evening C final

200 Freestyle

• The Blue Devils placed five into the top-16, led by Czulewicz at 1:50.92, and the second-seed
• Welcome (1:51.46) and Spaciano (1:53.62) qualified for the championship final in the sixth and seventh spots respectively
• Keane qualified ninth, swimming 1:54.76 and Demarest went 1:55.60 to slot in 14th