The men’s swimming and diving team took second place at the Landmark Conference Championships in Baltimore, while the women’s team placed third for the second year in a row.
After a close battle in the pool, Drew’s men’s team finished with a program record 803
points just behind defending champs Catholic University’s 830.5 points. The two teams vied for control throughout the four days of competition, only for the title to go to the Cardinals for the eighth consecutive year.
The loss came as a disappointment to the Rangers, who had been favored to place first in the Landmark Conference pre-championship poll.
The Rangers were not easily defeated, winning 11 out of 16 swimming events. Drew proved especially dominant in the relay events, securing gold in all five relays.
Nicholas Heinio-Widell (‘27) led the crusade for the men’s team, taking first in all three of his individual events as well as racing on four of the Rangers’ relays. He broke two individual meet records and was part of two record-breaking relay teams, lowering the meet record as well as his own team record in the 200-freestyle with a time of 1:39.67. Heinio-Widell followed it up by taking down a six-year meet record with his victory in the 100-freestyle, finishing in a time of 45.55.
The relay team of Heinio-Widell, Brendan Burkett (‘26), Finn Armitt (‘24) and Hayden Koh (‘24) lowered two more records in the pool. The four Rangers set a new meet record in the 200-freestyle relay with a time of 1:23.24, just one day after the same group broke Drew’s team record in the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:22.39.
Burkett and Heinio-Widell proved a powerful duo over the course of the weekend, as the pair turned in first and second place finishes for the Rangers in two separate races. In the 50-freestyle, Heino-Widell took first in a time of 20.71 while Burkett followed in 21.35. Burkett was also the runner-up behind Heinio-Widell in the 100-freestyle, touching in a time of 46.44.
Koh also threw down a series of top races to help keep Drew high in the standings. He won both the 100-butterfly and the 100-backstroke with a time of 49.16 and 50.11 respectively, turning in an impressive double-performance on the third day of racing.
The Rangers’ last individual victory was secured by Kyle Talerico (‘27), who won the 200-butterfly in a time of 1:54.07, finishing over three seconds ahead of the runner-up from Catholic.
Several other top performances kept the Rangers in the running for the championship title until the very end of the competition, including several medals and appearances on the podium.
In addition to his individual and relay victories, Koh placed second in the 200-individual medley. Armitt took third in both the 100- and 200-butterfly, while Yan Zheng Lew (‘25) touched third in the 400-individual medley.
On the women’s team, the Rangers racked up 547 points over the course of the meet, landing themselves solidly in third behind Catholic (693) and University of Scranton (848). The results matched the predictions made in the pre-championship poll.
After winning only one dual meet the entire season, Drew bounced back at the Landmark Conference Championships to place several athletes on the podium and bring home a handful of medals.
Amira Hadri (‘24) turned in some of the top performances for the women’s team, taking first in the 50-freestyle in a time of 24.51 to give Drew its second gold medal of the meet. She was also a part of the winning 200-medley relay team, alongside Sam Trodick (‘25), Ece Onatca (‘26) and Kaitlyn Zayle (‘26).
Hadri went on to take second in the 100-backstroke in a time of 58.34 and secured bronze in the 100-freestyle in a time of 54.00.
The Rangers captured one more gold in the final session of the meet; Katerina Poulathas (‘25) posted a victory in 1650-freestyle, cruising into first a full 14 seconds ahead of second place.
In addition to her performances on four of Drew’s relays, Trodick posted second-place finishes in all three of her individual races. She lowered her own Drew University team records in both the 100-breaststroke (1:07.23) and 200-breaststroke (2:24.50), just months after breaking both of them at the 2023 Ranger Invitational. Trodick also brought home a silver medal in the 200-individual medley.
Snagging another silver for the Rangers was diver Emma Boggs (‘24). Recovering from a torn ACL that took her out of the 2022 and 2023 conference champs, Boggs finished her first appearance in the championships with a second place finish in the 3-meter diving competition.
The 200-backstroke final resulted in another medal for the Rangers, as Onatca took third in a time of 2:09.91.
Drew brought home more bronze hardware in the relays, landing a spot on the podium in three of the remaining relay events. The team of Trodick, Poulathas, Emilie Tobin (‘25) and Charlotte Wells (‘24) kicked it off on the first night in the 800-freestyle relay by touching in a time of 7:58.27 behind Catholic and Scranton.
In the 200-freestyle relay, the team of Hadri, Wells, Megan Slater (‘24) and Zayle turned in a time of 1:39.27, while Hadri, Trodick, Wells and Zayle rounded out the relay performances by taking third in the 400-freestyle relay with a time of 3:37.30 on the final night of competition.
Having concluded their 2023-2024 competition season, the Rangers look forward to a strong return to the pool next year.
Charlotte Wells is a senior majoring in French and English with a writing and communications concentration and minoring in humanities.
