Multiple Winners Give Dukes Lead After Day Two of Sun Belt Championship

Thursday, February 15

Orlando, Fla.

10 a.m. - Prelims/6 p.m. - Finals

James Madison University

Day Two

Multiple Winners Give Dukes Lead After Day Two of Sun Belt Championship

2/15/2024 8:27:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

ORLANDO, Fla. – Four of the five events in the finals on the second day of the 2023-24 Sun Belt Conference Championship were won by members of the James Madison swimming & diving team to give the Dukes the lead on Thursday night at the Rosen Aquatic and Fitness Center.

JMU comes out of the second day in the lead with 395 points, followed by Marshall (288), Georgia Southern (204) and Old Dominion (141)

Prelims

Katelyn Fitzgerald and Angela Ritchie finished with the top two times in the 500 Free at 4:55.95 and 4:56.70, respectively. They were joined by Abby Maguire (4:57.37) and Riley Nugent (5:00.00) in advancing to the A finals. Emily Wisniewski swam a time of 5:07.42 to qualify for the B Finals.
Six Dukes advanced to the 200 IM finals, led by Jess Pryne with a top time of 2:02.07. Cameron Gring (2:02.54), Grace Bousum (2:03.00) and Riley Bridgman (2:04.07) all advanced to the A finals to take up half the lanes with Dukes. Lauren Aylmer and Ann Chappell Ellington swam into the B final with respected times of 2:06.09 and 2:06.71.
For the third event of the prelims, a Duke took the top time with Jamie Cornwell swimming a time of 23.01. Sydni Diehl (23.26) and Alex Volk (23.43) finished in the top eight to join Cornwell. Emily Drakopoulos swam a time of 23.84 to advance to the B finals.
The divers dominated the prelims and took up five of the eight slots in the A finals. Kate Vitolo (299.70) and Alexa Holloway (293.95) recorded the two best scores with NCAA Zone qualifying scores. Lexi Lehman (278.90), Natalie Jones (267.55) and Maddie O'Mera (264.40) also qualified for the A finals. Advancing to the B finals, Abi White scored a 249.95.

Finals

The Dukes picked up their first individual swimming medals with Ritchie finishing second in the 500 Free with a time of 4:53.29, closely followed by Fitzgerald for third place at 4:53.35.
Pryne earned the gold medal in the 200 IM, as she swam an NCAA B cut time of 1:59.54.
JMU earned both the gold and silver in the 50 Free as Cornwell took the top time with a 22.88 and was followed by Alex Volk with a time of 23.14.
On the 3-meter board, Holloway scored a 324.35 to finish first. Vitolo claimed the bronze medal with a score of 287.30.
To end the night, the Dukes set a school record and a Sun Belt Championship record in the 200 Free Relay. The team of Alex Volk, Madison Cottrell, Sydni Diehl and Jamie Cornwell swam a time of 1:30.69.

Program Top 10 Placements

Angela Ritchie (ninth in the 500 Free; 4:53.29)
Katelyn Fitzgerald (10^th in the 500 Free; 4:53.35)
Grace Bousum (sixth in the 200 IM; 2:01.59)
Riley Bridgman (ninth in the 200 IM; 2:03.37)
Alex Volk, Madison Cottrell, Sydni Diehl and Jamie Cornwell (first in the 200 Free Relay; 1:30.69)

Up Next
JMU will take its lead into the third day of the four-day championship on Friday, Feb. 16. The events featured include the 100 Fly, 400 IM, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, 1-meter board and the 400 Medley Relay. Live results for Friday can be found on the Meet Mobile App for swimming and on divemeets.com while the diving prelims and overall finals will be streamed on ESPN+. Swimming prelims begin at 10 a.m., followed by diving prelims at 1 p.m. and finals at 6 p.m.