Over the weekend, the Marist men’s swimming and diving team shattered numerous records en route to winning the MAAC conference title for the first time in 16 years.
Marist placed first with 664 total points, ahead of Niagara (533 points) and last year’s champions in Rider (516 points). The program’s first MAAC title since 2008 is the 13th in Marist history, the most of any MAAC school. With a 4-3 record in head-to-head matchups and a 2-0 record in MAAC play this season, Marist set 10 new school records at the MAACs. Overall, the Red Foxes collected six gold and 15 medals total while clinching a conference title.
Numerous Red Foxes contributed to the team’s championship performance. Freshman distance free Adam Zaremba broke the Marist record in the 500-yard freestyle race with a time of 4:25.46, placing second in the race and earning MAAC Rookie of the Meet. Senior breast/fly/IM Christopher Dauser won gold in the 200-yard individual medley race and became the Marist record holder with a 1:47.69 time.
Graduate student sprint/free Ethan McCormac won the 100-yard butterfly race and broke his own school record in doing so. Collectively, McCormac, Dauser and Zaremba teamed up with freshman backstroke/distance free Oscar Bjering to triumph in the 800-yard freestyle relay; they simultaneously set the Marist record with a 6:33.81 time.
Sophomore distance Kevin McNamara also made his mark, taking home a pair of gold medals in the 1,650-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly races. His 1:48.75 time in the latter race set the new Marist record. Junior distance/IM James Conable was yet another Red Fox who showed up on the big stage, as he won the 400-yard individual medley race with a 3:52.56 time that also established a new Marist record. Conable also placed just behind Dauser in the 200-yard individual medley race with a 1:47.96 time; with graduate student breaststroke/IM Jack Cimorelli placing third in that race, Marist managed to monopolize the podium.
Leading these swimmers is third-year Marist head coach Anthony Randall, who secured his first MAAC title after taking over the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs in 2021. In his first two years at the helm, the men’s team placed sixth and second at MAACs, as they finished 47.5 points behind Rider last year. As a result of his team’s rise to the top, Randall won the 2023-24 MAAC Swimming Coach of the Year award.
As for the women’s swim and dive team, Marist placed third at the MAAC Championships. Senior sprint free Nellie Thompson won the 100-yard freestyle race and set a MAAC record with a 50.35 time.
The Red Foxes’ next event is the NCAA Zone Qualifier Zone Championships, which will take place from March 11 to 13 in Princeton, NJ.
Edited by Sam Murphy
Photo Credit: Marist Athletics via Stockton Photo
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