Keane Wins 500 Freestyle On Second Day Of NEC Championships

The Central Connecticut State swimming and diving team completed the second day of Northeast Conference Championship action on Wednesday. The Blue Devils have accumulated 413.5 points and are in second place, 15.5 points behind leader Howard and 68.5 points in front of third-place Wagner.

Abbey Keane took the lead on the fourth 50 of the 500 freestyle and held of a late charge to capture gold for the Blue Devils. Her final time was 4:54.57, a second in front of the runner-up, and gave CCSU a second consecutive win in the event at the NEC Championship.

Shannon Welcome moved up a spot from prelims to place fourth in the 500 free, clocking a 4:59.65. Taylor Demarest finished in eighth place, at 5:06.68.

Maggie Rutledge won the consolation final, leading the heat from start to finish, and touching ninth at 5:00.68. Gabby Spaciano swam 5:08.18 to place 13^th and Hannah Kretkowski moved up two spots with a swim of 5:12.14, to finish 21^st.

Gabi Wroblewski and Morgan O'Hara were both faster in the finals of the 200 IM, and placed 11^th and 12^th respectively with swims of 2:08.38 and 2:08.55.

Rookie Katrine O'Leary took bronze in the 50 freestyle, with a 23.54 effort Wednesday night. Kelly Stotler earned a tie for ninth in winning the consolation final in a time of 24.02. Lauryn Cowing was the last qualifier into the C-final and swam 0.2 seconds faster to move up to 19^th place in the finals, touching at 24.45.

CCSU had all five divers score points on the low board, led by a bronze medal from Jewelle Maziarz, with 253.25 points. Kaitlyn Carroll placed fifth on the board, with a 239.15 effort, 0.2 points out of fourth place. Zoe Baker tallied 232.45 points to garner sixth place.

Rachel Giroux finished 13^th, with a score of 177.20 in the consolation final. Alison Albanese placed 15^th with a 175.65 total, surpassing her prelim score.

The 200 medley relay of O'Leary, Cassidy Stotler, Megan Dunnigan and Kelly Stotler took third, swimming 1:44.36 and missing out on silver by .12 seconds.

The Championship resumes Thursday morning at 10:00 am with preliminary heats in the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, and 200 freestyle. Finals will get underway in those events Thursday night at 6:00 pm, including the 200 free relay.

PRELIM NOTES

500 Freestyle

• CCSU put three into the A-Final, paced by top-seed Keane who went 4:54.92, the fastest time in the NEC Championship in the past three years
• Welcome qualified at 5:01.47, fifth, and Demarest went 5:02.72 to earn the eight-seed
• Rutledge (5:03.23) is ninth and Spaciano (5:08.95), 13^th, will represent the Blue Devils in the consolation final.
• Kretkowski earned the 23^rd spot in the C-Final, which is scored beginning this championship, swimming a time of 5:17.28
• Nathalie Pena, 5:19.28, and Sophia Pincince, 5:21.77, swam next to each other in prelims and placed 28^th and 32^nd respectively
• Marley Milne set the pace with the first individual swim of the meet, putting out a 5:22.38 effort that was good for 33^rd

200 IM

• Wroblewski led the Blue Devils IM effort in prelims, qualifying 10^th with a time of 2:09.43
• O'Hara qualified 14^th for the Blue Devils, swimming a time of 2:09.89
• Grace Young finished 28^th after touching at 2:15.85

50 Freestyle

• O'Leary went 23.69 to earn the third spot in the A-Final
• Kelly Stotler placed ninth in her morning swim at 23.95 and Cowing secured the final scoring spot with a 24.65 effort

1-Meter Diving

• Baker and Maziarz qualified third and fourth for finals, scoring 236.15- and 236.05-points during Wednesday afternoon prelims
• Carroll secured a spot in the finals as well, scoring 233.75 points to qualify in fifth
• Giroux scored 179.40 points in prelims to qualify 12^th, while Albanese scored 174.60 points to qualify 14th