TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Grove City College will enter this season as the preseason favorite after earning the top spot in this year’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Swimming and Diving Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The league released the results of its balloting Friday, along with its annual swimmers and divers to watch list.
The conference’s seven head coaches vote in the yearly coaches’ poll, which has been in place since the 2014-15 season.
Grove City, led by 23rd-year head coach Dave Fritz, collected six of seven first-place votes to total 66 points. Fritz was named the PAC Coach of the Year following last year's championships, his seventh consecutive and 12th overall honor with the men's program.
The next three spots were only separated by six points, with Saint Vincent College placing second with 59 points, Washington & Jefferson College, who gathered the final first-place vote, taking third (56) and Westminster College coming in fourth (53). Rounding out the poll was Allegheny College in fifth (45), Chatham University in sixth (42) and Bethany College (36).
Last February, Grove City earned its sixth PAC title in a row and the program’s PAC-best 24th team title. Grove City led the seven-team field with 1090 points. Westminster scored 628 points to finish second at PAC Championships a year ago just ahead of Saint Vincent (605) in third. W&J was fourth with 423 points, followed by Chatham (197), Allegheny (118) and Bethany (10).
This year’s swimmers and divers to watch list includes 12 returning All-PAC selections, including nine All-PAC First Team honorees. Of the 20 events contested at last season's championships, 12 individual event winners are on the list.
In addition to the team title, Grove City also swept the individual swimming awards at last year's championships, with both of those swimmers returning to highlight this year's watch list. Junior Caleb Einolf was the PAC Swimmer of the Year after he won three individual events (50 Free/100 Fly/100 Free) and had a hand in four victorious relays at PAC Championships. His performance earned Einolf his second consecutive Swimmer of the Year award, becoming the first PAC competitor to earn back-to-back Swimmer of the Year awards since Saint Vincent's Jacob Davis repeated in 2018 and 2019.
Earning PAC Newcomer of the Year was Grove City sophomore Owen Hancock. In his first PAC Championship meet, he won the 200 Fly, finished second in the 100 Fly and swam on the 800 Free, 200 Free, 400 Medley and 400 Free Relays which finished first. It marked the third consecutive year a Grove City swimmer has claimed Newcomer of the Year.
Also featured on the watch list are a pair of multiple individual event winners from last year. The 2022-23 PAC Newcomer of the Year, Grove City junior Will Sterrett, claimed individual titles in both the 200 and 400 Individual Medleys, as well as the 200 Backstroke. Also returning after winning multiple PAC individual titles last season is W&J senior Logan Marks, who swept the 100 and 200 Breaststroke races.
The swimmers and divers to watch list also includes four members of the PAC’s 2023-24 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 is set to serve as host the PAC Championships once again at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool, which has been the home of the PAC Championships since 1990. The four-day event will be Wednesday-Saturday, February 19-22.
The NCAA Division III Region 4 (Northeast/South) Diving Championships are slated for Friday, February 28 and Saturday, March 1.
The Division III Championships are scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday, March 19-22 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The event will be hosted by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).
2024-25 PAC Men's Swimming and Diving Preseason Coaches' Poll
(Predicted order of Championships finish) |
|
|
|
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2023-24 Championships finish |
| 1. Grove City College (6) |
66 |
1st (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1090 pts. |
| 2. Saint Vincent College |
59 |
3rd (of 7) at PAC Championships, 605 pts. |
| 3. Washington & Jefferson College (1) |
56 |
4th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 423 pts. |
| 4. Westminster College |
53 |
2nd (of 7) at PAC Championships, 628 pts. |
| 5. Allegheny College |
45 |
6th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 118 pts. |
| 6. Chatham University |
42 |
5th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 197 pts. |
| 7. Bethany College |
36 |
7th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 10 pts. |
2024-25 Men's Swimmers and Divers to Watch
|
| Allegheny |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Jack Malnar (2) |
Sr. |
Free |
Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights |
| Emmett Fluharty (2) |
Jr. |
IM/Breast |
Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Heights |
| Bethany |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Francisco Ramirez |
Sr. |
Back/IM |
Tapachula Chiapas, Mexico/Instituto Tapachula, AC |
| Chatham |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Cal Hockman |
FY |
Back/Free |
Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport |
| Max Rollins |
FY |
Sprint Free/Back |
Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg |
| Caleb Trainum |
So. |
Fly |
Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan |
| Grove City |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Caleb Einolf (1) |
Jr. |
Fly/Breast |
Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown |
| Owen Hancock (1) |
So. |
Fly/Free |
Brunswick, Ohio/Westside Christian Academy |
| CJ Mayhew (1) |
So. |
Distance |
Gaithersburg, Md./Homeschooled |
| Bryce Pope (1) |
So. |
Breast |
Wilmington, Del./Delaware Valley Classical School |
| Will Sterrett (1) |
Jr. |
IM/Back |
Wilmington, N.C./Hoggard |
| Saint Vincent |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Jacob Dzurica (1) |
Jr. |
Back |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Liam Randolph (1) |
So. |
Free/Breast |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| W&J |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Amarui Bonamy |
Fr. |
Back/Breast |
Chattanooga, Tenn./McCallie School |
| Zach Lloyd |
Fr. |
Diving |
Dillsburg, Pa./Lloyd Academy (Homeschooled) |
| Micah Lohr |
Fr. |
Fly/Free |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Logan Marks (1) |
Sr. |
Breast/IM |
West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin |
| March Yuan |
Fr. |
Fly/IM |
Simi Valley, Calif./Oak Park |
| Westminster |
| Name |
Yr. |
Events |
Hometown/High School |
| Avery Bumbach |
Fr. |
IM/Free |
Ocala, Fla./Forest |
| Samuel Duda (1) |
Sr. |
Free/Fly/IM |
Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley |
| Jack Katigbak |
Fr. |
Back/Free |
North Canton, Ohio/Lake Center Christian |
| Michael Phillips (2) |
Sr. |
Breast/IM/Fly |
Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch |