No. 10 men’s swimming and diving dominates MSU in record fashion

MONTCLAIR, NJ – The TCNJ’s No. 10-ranked men’s swimming and diving team ensured its undefeated conference record remains intact as the team beat Montclair State 186-104 on the road Saturday afternoon.

The Lions set six different pool records at the Panzer pool, including four in the water and two on the boards as a sophomore Ethan Weiss. The star diver’s two marks also represented new TCNJ school records. In total, the Lions have won 11 events to overtake the Red Hawks.

The first record fell in the first event of the day when the 200 QN relay team of Ryan VanDe Veen, Patrick Sullivan, Richard Park and James McChesney clocked a record time of 1:34.49.

Ryan Higgins continued his superb sophomore season by breaking the first individual record of the day in the 200 backstroke after clocking a record time of 1:53.71.
The last two pool records were both broken in the final event of the day in the 400 freestyle relay. The McChesney Quartet, Dixon Kahlerpark and Matt Watts crushed the field with his time of 3:08.75, winning by nearly 11 seconds as he set a new record. As the first man, McChesney’s 100 free of 45.54 qualified for the pool’s individual 100 free record and represented the fourth and most recent pool record.

On the board, second year Ethan Weiss broke the school record and the pool record at the same time for the dives of 1 meter 6 (374.95) and 1 meter 11 (575.55). The second broke his own record of 11 dives set earlier in the season against Ramapo, and broke the record of 6 dives set by TJ Burns in 2012.

Back to the pool, second year Lucas Blach won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.13. He was followed by Milo Whitley who placed second with a 1:50.63.

First-year student Andrew Kidchob won the 100m backstroke by touching the wall first in 51.98 seconds. He beat fellow freshman Park who swam a 55.30 for second place.

The Lions swept the 50 free with McChesney leading the pack with a time of 21.65. He was followed in second by Kahler in 22.22 and Watts senior completed the trio with a time of 22.48.

The 100 Free Saw Lions take the top two spots. First-year student Brian Bull won the events with a 50.04, which narrowly beat junior Jack Marble’s second place of 50.15.

McChesney’s second victory in an individual event came in the 100m butterfly, in which the junior won with a time of 51.42.

Junior Ethan Liable won the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:55.79 and rookie Gavin Formon won the 200 IM with a time of 1:59.91.

The Lions wrap up the regular season next Saturday when the Lions host No. 23 Rowan at 1 p.m. The encounter will represent the senior day but will also decide the 2022-23 NJAC Championship.