Meet Results

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Three program records fell and five NCAA “B” standards were achieved, as the State University of New York at New Paltz women's swimming team finished out the first day of the 2011 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Swimming & Diving Championships second of nine teams Thursday evening at the Flickinger Aquatic Center in Buffalo, N.Y. New Paltz has 183.5 points.

SUNY Geneseo leads the team standings with 243.5 points, while New Paltz (183.5), SUNY Cortland (181), SUNY Fredonia (169), SUNY Oswego (104), SUNY Oneonta (72), Buffalo State (61), SUNY Potsdam (55) and The College at Brockport (40) round out the field.

Seniors Allison Wells (Shelton, Conn.), Becky Baker (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) and Marissa Morris (Toms River, N.J.) and junior Christine Rieth (Penfield, N.Y.) led off the evening with a swift 1:37.18 in the 200 freestyle relay, placing second overall and falling just short of the program record and the NCAA consideration time in the event.

After a surprisingly fast morning swim, freshman Chelsea Allocco (Chatham, N.J.) held her own in finals, placing second in the 500 freestyle with an NCAA provisional-qualifying 5:03.96. Her preliminary performance of 5:03.80 eclipsed the former program mark of 5:05.47 set by Morris in 2009. Allocco barely touched out her teammate, senior Jessica Lester (Long Beach, N.Y.), who covered the event in an NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 5:04.01. Freshman Niki Ghostlaw (New Windsor, N.Y.) had a solid swim in the consolation finals, shaving nearly three seconds off her morning performance with an 11th-place 5:22.72.

Morris claimed the 200 individual medley title with ease, leading after each 50 of the race and finishing in 2:10.06. Her preliminary time of 2:09.49 bettered the program mark in the event, which Claudine Gruver established in 1999. Sophomore Carly Marshall (Cornwall, N.Y.) ended up in a tie for 10th, charting a 2:17.83.

In the 50 freestyle, four Hawks scored points. Rieth led the way with an NCAA “B” time of 24.05, which proved fast enough to garner the conference crown in the event. Wells took fourth (24.67), Baker placed 12th (25.33) and sophomore Katina Lown (Bohemia, N.Y.) finished 13th (25.41) to round out New Paltz's scoring swimmers in the event.

Third-year head coach Scott Whitbeck mentored his first SUNYAC-championship-winning relay in the history of his tenure at the helm on Thursday evening, as the quartet of sophomore Yuka Suzuka (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), Baker, Marshall and Rieth combined for a first-place time of 3:54.67. That standard, which cleared the NCAA “B” cut, wiped out the program mark of 3:58.44, which Suzuka, Baker, Wells and Morris set in 2010. Suzuka led off the relay with a 58.18 100 backstroke, which is an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark.

New Paltz resumes action tomorrow at the SUNYAC Championships. The preliminary heats are set to go off at 10 a.m., while finals are slated for a 6 p.m. start.