Day 2 Results (Prelims)Day 2 Results (Finals)CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's swimming team finished day two of the MIT Winter Invitational eighth out of nine teams with 181 points on Saturday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center Pool.
Both freshman
Jaimie Kaefer (North Bellmore, N.Y./W.C. Mepham) and senior
Cassidy Griger (Cooperstown, N.Y./Cooperstown Central) qualified for an "A" final on Saturday, with Kaefer placing sixth in the 400 individual medley (4:38.60) and Griger taking seventh in the 200 freestyle (1:56.12). Kaefer clocked a 4:36.29 in the preliminary heats, which met the NCAA "B" cut time.
Action at the meet concludes tomorrow, with the preliminary heats beginning at 10:30 a.m. and finals commencing at 6 p.m.
New Paltz kicked off the Saturday evening session with a 10th-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay, as the "A" relay foursome of sophomore
Molly McCulloch (Rome, N.Y./Holland Patent), freshmen
Katie Donlevy (Bayside, N.Y./The Mary Louis Academy) and
Nicole Lee (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) and Griger combined to chart a time of 1:38.80.
In the 200 butterfly, seniors
Maggie Heaton (New Milford, Conn./New Milford) and
Kim Kallansrude (Muttontown, N.Y./Jericho) each made the "B" final and finished 15th (2:12.15) and 17th (2:13.16), respectively. Junior
Lauren Marsiello (Farmingdale, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) and freshman
Natalie Grodecki (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) also scored points for the Hawks in the event, taking 23rd (2:22.86) and 27th (2:28.55), respectively.
Beyond Griger in the 200 freestyle, Donlevy finished 12th (1:56.13), while juniors
Aimee Del Favero (Auburn, N.Y./Home School) and
Kyrstin Gallagher (Walden, N.Y./Valley Central) placed 27th (2:02.51) and 28th (2:02.63), respectively.
Four Hawks competed in the "C" final of the 100 breaststroke, with sophomore
Megan Joseph (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) leading the way with a 24th-place 1:09.85. Seniors
Casey O'Connor (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) and
Krista VerMeersch (Newark, N.Y./Newark) also scored points with times of 1:10.77 (26th) and 1:12.34 (29th), respectively.
Freshman
Kaleigh O'Halloran (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) was the lone Hawk who swam the 100 backstroke at night, finishing with a 20th-place time of 1:01.46.
Four New Paltz swimmers scored points in addition to Kaefer in the 400 individual medley. Senior
Ella Graffin (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) coasted to a 19th-place time of 4:51.84 in the event, while freshman
Samantha Conforti (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland), junior
Ann Fici (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) and sophomore
Kaitlyn Kallansrude (Muttontown, N.Y./Jericho) took 23rd (4:51.25), 25th (5:01.16) and 28th (5:10.66), respectively.
McCulloch led the way for New Paltz in the 50 freestyle, sprinting to a 13th-place result in the event (24.48). O'Halloran and Lee also swam at night in the event, finishing 28th (25.62) and 30th (25.71), respectively.
Finally, in the last event of the evening, the "A" 400 medley relay squad of O'Halloran, Donlevy, McCulloch and Griger clocked a 14th-place time of 4:03.47.
After two days at the meet, New York University holds a slight 727.5-724.5 lead over its fellow Manhattan-based neighbor, Columbia University, for first in the team standings, while host MIT ranks third with 640 points.
