Men's Swimming and Diving Repeats As ECAC Winter Champions
For the second year in a row and the fourth time overall, the NJIT men's swimming and diving team has earned the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Winter Championship title.
The Highlanders wrapped up their latest championship performance Sunday afternoon at the Nassau County Aquatic Center, defeating second-place Fairfield by 236.5 points, 2038.5 to 1802.
Freshman Jake Nelms was named Men's Swimmer of the Meet while NJIT head coach Ron Farina was named Men's Coach of the Meet.
Nelms made the most of his first ECAC Winter meet, picking up four medals (1 G, 2 S, 1 B) in his five events and helping NJIT's 800 Free Relay place in the top five in his fifth.
In his second year with the Highlanders, Farina has led NJIT to back-to-back ECAC Winter crowns and won Coach of the Meet honors both times.
"I was really impressed with how the men responded all weekend. Coming in looking to defend last year's championship, we showed a lot of grit. Each year every team is getting better and better and it was nice to see the team rise to the challenge again and repeat at ECAC Champions," Farina exclaimed after the meet.
SUNDAY'S PERFORMANCES
- Joshua Franco shared a gold medal in the 100 Free, tying Monmouth's Blake Reynolds with a winning time of 46.58.
- Nelms took third in the 200 Back, logging a time of 1:52.89
- Nicholas Lyons won silver in the 200 Breast with a mark of 2:03.93.
- Edward Madrigal finished third in the 200 Fly, taking the bronze in 1:53.64.
- Franco, Edward Parks, Lyons, and Tyler Pollock collected another bronze, finishing the 400 Free Relay in 3:08.89.