ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick men's swimming and diving 2021-2022 season began with a bang, as they tied for second at the season-opening Hartwick Relays with Le Moyne at 96 points. Brandeis was the meet winner at 136 points. Oneonta came in fourth with 72 points, and in fifth was the College of St. Rose with 50 points.
The Hawks came in second in seven of eleven events. They started off strong with the 400 medley, led by Devin Masongsong (Pleasant Hill, CA/College Park), Sebastian Knowles (Plano, TX/Plano West Senior), Michael Schultz (Binghamton, NY Chenango Valley), and Diallo Marshall (Saint George, Antigua & Barbuda/St. Anthony's) and coming in three seconds after Brandeis. They continued wracking up fast times in the 3x100 backstroke with Masongsong, Dawson Tupponce (Phoenix, AZ/Desert Vista), and Schultz. The 3x100 fly continued their excellent showing with Schultz, Justin Diamond (Morrisville, VT/Peoples Academy), and Tupponce coming in hot for a third silver. In the 850 crescendo relay, Reid Sinkinson (Telford, PA/Souderton Area), Evan Nezat (Jacksonville, NC/Jacksonville), Tupponce, and Nic Canney (Chandler, AZ/Corona Del Sol) earned yet another second place with an excellent performance, from sprinting to distance swimming.
The second half of the meet was filled with even more impressive performances. In the mixed 200 medley relay, the men and women's team came together to get second, with Avyanna Chavez-Rodriguez (Rio Rancho, NM/Pecos Connections Academy). Knowles, Marshall, and Paige Eaton (East Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) teaming up. They followed this up with the 3x200 IM, where Nicholas Budzynski (Fairfax, VA/Bishop Ireton), Colin Leonard (Slingerlands, NY/Bethlehem), and Masongsong came in second behind Brandeis yet again. They finished the meet with a silver in the 800 medley relay, as Brady Haraden (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa), Leonard, Schultz, and Tupponce added to Hartwick's excellent showing.
The Hawks are back at it next week when they host the Cazenovia, College of St. Rose, SUNY Delhi, and Utica for a quint meet. Diving begins at 9 a.m., with swimming at 1 p.m..
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