TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Grove City College earned the top spot in this year’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Swimming and Diving Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The league announced the results of its preseason coaches' poll, along with its annual swimmers and divers to watch list, Friday morning.
Voted on by each of the conference’s seven head coaches, the league’s yearly coaches’ poll has been in place since the 2014-15 season.
Grove City, led by 22nd-year head coach Dave Fritz, collected six of seven first-place votes and 66 total points.
Westminster College, who had one first-place vote, and Saint Vincent College tied for second in the poll with 58 points. There was also a tie for fourth place with Allegheny College and Washington & Jefferson both totaling 49 points. Rounding out the poll was Chatham University with 40 points and Bethany College with 37.
Last February, Grove City claimed its fifth-straight PAC title, which was also the program’s PAC-best 23rd team title. Grove City paced the seven-team field with 980 points. Westminster was second at PAC Championships a year ago and Saint Vincent finished third.
This year’s swimmers and divers to watch list includes 12 returning All-PAC selections, including seven All-PAC First Team honorees. Of the 20 events contested at last year’s championships, the winners of six individual events are mentioned on the list.
Grove City swept the individual swimming awards at last year's championships, with both of those swimmers returning to headline this year's swimmers to watch. Sophomore Caleb Einolf (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) earned Swimmer of the Year honors, while Wolverine sophomore Will Sterrett (Wilmington, N.C./Hoggard) captured the league's Newcomer of the Year award.
Einolf won the 100 Fly in 48.85 seconds, breaking the pool record and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships. He also helped the 200 Free Relay and 400 Medley Relay set pool records while surpassing the NCAA "B" standard. Additionally, Einolf surpassed the "B" standard in the 100 Breaststroke with a program-record time of 55.75 seconds.
Sterrett won the 200 Individual Medley, 400 Individual Medley and 200 Back at the 2023 Championship meet. He also contributed to wins in the 200 and 800 free relays, along with both medley relay events.
The swimmers and divers to watch list also includes five members of the PAC’s 2022-23 Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes who have earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition.
Grove City will once again serve as host the PAC Championships at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool, which has been the home of the PAC Championships since 1990. The four-day event is scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday, February 14-17.
The NCAA Division III Region 4 (Northeast/South) Diving Championships are slated for Friday-Saturday, March 1-2.
The Division III Championships are scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday, March 20-23 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The event will be hosted by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).
2023-24 PAC Men's Swimming and Diving Preseason Coaches' Poll
(Predicted order of Championships finish) |
|
|
|
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2022-23 Championships finish |
| 1. Grove City College (6) |
66 |
1st (of 7) at PAC Championships, 980 pts. |
| 2t. Westminster College (1) |
58 |
2nd (of 7) at PAC Championships, 748 pts. |
| 2t. Saint Vincent College |
58 |
3rd (of 7) at PAC Championships, 613 pts. |
| 4t. Allegheny College |
49 |
4th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 467 pts. |
| 4t. Washington & Jefferson College |
49 |
5th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 251 pts. |
| 6. Chatham University |
40 |
7th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 39 pts. |
| 7. Bethany College |
37 |
6th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 126pts. |
2023-24 Men's Swimmers and Divers to Watch
|
| Allegheny |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Jack Malnar |
Jr. |
Free, IM, Fly |
Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights |
| Emmett Manning |
Sr. |
Sprints |
Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel |
| Bethany |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| n/a |
|
|
|
| Chatham |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Karl Gangloff |
Sr. |
Free |
Bradford, Pa./Bradford |
| Caleb Trainum |
Fr. |
Fly, Free |
Canonsburg, Pa./Caon-McMillan |
| Grove City |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Caleb Einolf |
So. |
IM |
Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown |
| Owen Hancock |
Fr. |
Fly, Sprint |
Brunswick, Ohio/Westside Christian Academy |
| CJ Mayhew |
Fr. |
Free |
Gaithersburg, Md./Homeschooled |
| Bryce Pope |
Fr. |
Breast |
Wilmington, Del./Delaware Valley Classical School |
| Will Sterrett |
So. |
IM, Back |
Wilmington, N.C./Hoggard |
| Saint Vincent |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Jacob Dzurica |
So. |
Back, Free |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Liam Randolph |
Fr. |
IM, Breast |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| W&J |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Nate Harden |
Fr. |
Breast, IM, Fly |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Dan Jeffries |
Fr. |
Back, IM |
Irwin, Pa./Hempfield |
| Logan Marks |
Jr. |
Breast, IM |
West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin |
| MJ McRae |
Fr. |
IM, Back |
Lillington, N.C./Overhills |
| Westminster |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Sam Duda |
Jr. |
Free, IM |
Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley |
| Connor Fritz |
Jr. |
Back |
Canfield, Ohio/Canfield |
| Paul Kallaur |
Sr. |
Breast |
Bethel Park, Pa./Homeschooled |
| Sean Perrone |
Sr. |
Diving |
Avondale, Pa./Kennett |
| Dawson Yocum |
Jr. |
Free |
Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound |