Wednesday, February 21
Geneva, OH
10:00 am Prelims / 6:00 pm Finals
Sacred Heart
vs
Northeast Conference Championship
Photo by: Greg Vasil
Pioneers Improve to Fourth After Record-Breaking Day 2 at NECs
2/21/2024 9:37:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Barrett captures NCAA Zone Qualification with 1M record
GENEVA, Ohio – The Sacred Heart University women's swimming and diving team brought the energy on day two of the 2024 Northeast Conference (NEC) Swimming and Diving Championships. The Pioneers improved to fourth place with a big record-breaking swim from Sophia Velleco in the 500-yard freestyle and 1M diving record from Lola Barrett.
After breaking the 500-freestyle record in the morning, Velleco came out and improved upon the record by 2.79 seconds placing third in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:57.54. Velleco cruised by the previous record held by Margaret Flaherty in 2018, improving on it by 4.31 seconds. In the B final, Kate Bell improved her time form the morning, finishing 15th with a time of 5:10.45. Junior Melanie Sanchez also improved with a time of 5:15.26 finishing 22nd.
Barrett captured a record-breaking performance in the morning, just to come back and improve her score by over 11 points at night. Finishing with a score of 267.55, Barrett secured the gold medal and qualified for the NCAA D1 Zone meet later this spring. Right behind her was Olivia McNicholas with another impressive performance scoring 260.10 and took home the silver.
Rosemery Nieto led the Pioneers in the 200 IM, finishing sixth with a time of 2:08.44. First year Abby Hernandez dropped over three seconds from the morning finishing 19th with a time of 2:09.85. Emma Chambers finished 21st with a time of 2:10.44. Daniella Palamaro secured 24th with a time of 2:11.09.
First year Emma Haas posted an impressive 23.91 finish in the 50-yard freestyle placing eighth. Also, in the 50-yard freestyle, Emma McCall swam a 24.76 and placed 24th.
After the second day of action, Howard led all teams by earning 429 points by the end of the day.
The Pioneers return for day three of the NECs tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. for prelims including the 400-yard IM, 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard freestyle.
TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 2
1. Howard University 429
2. Central Connecticut State Univ 413.5
3. Wagner College 345
4. Sacred Heart University 316
5. Saint Francis University 281.5
6. LIU 110
7. Merrimack College 110
7. Stonehill College 110
8. Le Moyne College 107
After breaking the 500-freestyle record in the morning, Velleco came out and improved upon the record by 2.79 seconds placing third in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:57.54. Velleco cruised by the previous record held by Margaret Flaherty in 2018, improving on it by 4.31 seconds. In the B final, Kate Bell improved her time form the morning, finishing 15th with a time of 5:10.45. Junior Melanie Sanchez also improved with a time of 5:15.26 finishing 22nd.
Barrett captured a record-breaking performance in the morning, just to come back and improve her score by over 11 points at night. Finishing with a score of 267.55, Barrett secured the gold medal and qualified for the NCAA D1 Zone meet later this spring. Right behind her was Olivia McNicholas with another impressive performance scoring 260.10 and took home the silver.
Rosemery Nieto led the Pioneers in the 200 IM, finishing sixth with a time of 2:08.44. First year Abby Hernandez dropped over three seconds from the morning finishing 19th with a time of 2:09.85. Emma Chambers finished 21st with a time of 2:10.44. Daniella Palamaro secured 24th with a time of 2:11.09.
First year Emma Haas posted an impressive 23.91 finish in the 50-yard freestyle placing eighth. Also, in the 50-yard freestyle, Emma McCall swam a 24.76 and placed 24th.
After the second day of action, Howard led all teams by earning 429 points by the end of the day.
The Pioneers return for day three of the NECs tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. for prelims including the 400-yard IM, 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard freestyle.
TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 2
1. Howard University 429
2. Central Connecticut State Univ 413.5
3. Wagner College 345
4. Sacred Heart University 316
5. Saint Francis University 281.5
6. LIU 110
7. Merrimack College 110
7. Stonehill College 110
8. Le Moyne College 107
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
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