UTICA, NY - The Utica University swim and dive program will travel to Webster, NY for the Empire 8 Championships that run from February 15-18. Utica is hosting the event at the Webster Aquatic Center at Webster Thomas High School. The main homepage for the Championships is available via
https://bit.ly/3lqcEM1.
Follow Along: The Empire 8 has provided links for live video for each day of the event. Wednesday and Thursday's live video will be available through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/empire8/. Friday morning will be available via
https://bit.ly/3xgd3n9 and the evening will be via
https://bit.ly/3E5I9Bw. You can tune in for Saturday morning through
https://bit.ly/3K3bpg0 and the evening will be available via
https://bit.ly/3YNvc7k.
Spectator Information: The $30 all session pass (available Wednesday during prelims)
$5 single session pass and is cash only. The spectator gallery will open at 9:00 am and 4:00 pm respectively for each prelims and finals session. The spectator gallery will be closed between the end of the morning session of diving and 4:30pm Heat sheets and results will be posted on Meet Mobile (available in Apple store and Google Play) Detailed diving results can be found using the DiveLive app on your mobile device (Apple | Google Play)
Please be sure to create an account/login to access Diving scores and results.
Layout of the Championships:
Wednesday, February 15: Diving prelims begin at 1 p.m. with the finals beginning at 5 p.m. The events will be in the following order 1. 200 Medley Relay (W) 2. 200 Medley Relay (M) 3. Three-Meter diving (W) 4. 800 Freestyle Relay (W) 5. 800 Freestyle Relay (M)
Thursday, February 16: Prelims will begin at 10 a.m. with diving prelims following at 11:30 a.m. and concluding with the finals at 5 p.m. The events will be in the following order 6. 500 Freestyle (W) 7. 500 Freestyle (M) 8. 200 Individual Medley (W) 9. 200 Individual Medley (M) 10. 50 Freestyle (W) 11. 50 Freestyle (M) 12. One-meter diving (M) 13. 200 Free Relay (W) 14. 200 Free Relay (M)
Friday, February 17: Prelims will begin at 10 a.m. with diving prelims following at 11:30 a.m. and concluding with the finals at 5 p.m. The events will be in the following order 15. 400 Individual Medley (W) 16. 400 Individual Medley (M) 17. 100 Butterfly (W) 18. 100 Butterfly (M) 19. 200 Freestyle (W) 20. 200 Freestyle (M) 21. 100 Breaststroke(W) 22. 100 Breaststroke (M) 23. 100 Backstroke (W) 24. 100 Backstroke (M) 25. One-meter Diving (W) 26. 400 Medley Relay (W) 27. 400 Medley Relay (M)
Saturday, February 18: Prelims will begin at 10 a.m. with diving prelims following at 11:30 a.m. and concluding with the finals at 5 p.m. 28. 1650 Freestyle (W) 29. 1650 Freestyle (M) 30. 200 Backstroke (W) 31. 200 Backstroke (M) 32. 100 Freestyle (W) 33. 100 Freestyle (M)
34. 200 Breaststroke (W) 35. 200 Backstroke (M) 36. 200 Butterfly (W) 37. 200 Butterfly (M) 38. Three-meter diving (M) 39. 400 Freestyle Relay (W) 40. 400 Freestyle Relay (M)
Last Time Out: The teams fell to St. Lawrence on January 28. The women fell 194-60 and the men were defeated 95-71. Annabelle Workman continued her strong season and placed first in both of her 1 meter diving events. The sophomore recorded a score of 133.20 in her first attempt and then 163.65 in her final attempt. Bailey Simmons placed second in the women's 50 yard freestyle clocking in at 27.17. Paige Levine came in second in the women's 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:46.57. The men's team captured first in the men's 200 yard medley relay clocking in at 1:52.64. The team was composed of
Phillip Ross (Newark, NJ/Newark),
Nick Massa (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford),
Jackson Sorbello (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), and
Ronald Batario (Glassboro, NJ/Gloucester County Institute of Technology).
Jackson Sorbello (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) continued his dominance in freestyle events this season and recorded a hat trick of individual victories this afternoon. The graduate student placed first in the men's 50 yard freestyle with a time of 23.15. Sorbello then captured first in the men's 100 yard freestyle clocking in at 51.92 which was over two seconds faster than second place. He finished his day with a victory in the men's 100 yard butterfly clocking in at 56.91 to reel in his third individual victory of the day.
The Field: The five teams that will compete are Utica, Alfred, Hartwick, Medaille, and Nazareth. Utica had the best record in the Empire 8 going 6-5 this season and will look to build off its successful season.
Diving In: Annabelle Workman has been terrific in 1m diving events collecting two wins in four straight meets. The sophomore has seen her scores improve over the last two meets and has recorded a top score of 163.65 in her last meet which topped her previous personal best by over ten points.
Dynamic Duo: Paige Levine and Bailey Simmons have been terrific this season as both have consistently turned in top-three performances in multiple events. Levine's top events are the 50m and 100m where she turned in an incredible time of 1:00.50 earlier this season. The freshman has won more than 10 events this season including notching two three-win meets. Bailey Simmons has won at least one event at a meet five times this season and has recorded three wins in a meet twice. She has excelled in the women's 50m including an impressive time of 26.81 which she recorded earlier this season.
Sorbello Show: Jackson Sorbello (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) has had a historic season in the 50m and 100m freestyle events as he has placed top-three in nearly every meet this season in these events including two three-win meets, and a pair of two-win meets. The Rome, NY native's top time in the 50m is an incredible 23.15 and has swam the 100m in as fast as 51.92 earlier this season.
Consistency is Key: Nick Massa (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) has been very consistent across multiple events this season and has repeatedly placed top-three in his individual events. The senior has turned in great performances in the men's 100 yard backstroke and the men's 200 yard freestyle this season. One of Massa's top performances came against Alfred when he captured first place in the men's 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:13.15 and came in second in the men's 200 yard freestyle and clocking in at 2:13.91
Farewell Tour: Nick Massa (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford),
Phillip Ross (Newark, NJ/Newark), and Sara Kuiken will all be hitting the pool for their final time as a Pioneer during the Empire 8 Championships. All of these athletes turned in fantastic seasons and look to cap off their Pioneer careers with personal records and hardware.
