FINAL RESULTS
ITHACA, N.Y. – The 2026 Liberty League Swimming and Diving Championships concluded on Saturday at the Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium on the campus of Ithaca College with 11 events – five for the women and six for the men on the final day of the four-day championship. For the first time school history, Ithaca captured both the Men's and Women's Liberty League Swimming & Diving team titles, as the Bombers surged to an early lead on day one of the four-day championship and neither team relinquished that lead for the remainder of the meet.
The Ithaca men earned their first Liberty League team title since joining the conference in 2017-18 with 1,722 points powered behind six individual wins and three relays' victories. The Bombers closed out the championship with a 96.5-point advantage ahead of runner-up Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), which tallied 1,625.5 points. With the 2026 title, the Bombers also snapped RIT's four consecutive title streak (2022-2025).
On the women's side, Ithaca captured its seventh straight Liberty League Women's Swimming & Diving title. The Bombers cruised to the title, finishing the four-day meet with 1,820 points, nearly 400 points (389.5) ahead of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), who finished second with 1,430.5. Ithaca earned six individual victories and they swept all five relays.
FINAL TEAM SCORES:
MEN – 1. Ithaca 1722; 2. RIT 1625.5; 3. RPI 1085; 4. Clarkson 1028.5; 5. Union 686.5; 6. Skidmore 630.5; 7. Vassar 522; 8. St. Lawrence 325; 9. Hobart 272; 10. Bard 162
WOMEN – 1. Ithaca 1820; 2. RPI 1430.5; 3. Skidmore 1032.5; 4. RIT 972.5; 5. Vassar 888.5; 6. Union 539; 7. William Smith 428; 8. St. Lawrence 415; 9. Clarkson 385; 10. Bard 140.
MEET AWARDS:
MEN
- Co-Swimmer of the Meet: Matt Mitros, Graduate Student, Ithaca – Mitros earned three individual victories (50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard freestyle) over the four-day meet. He also helped the Bombers earn a win in the 400 medley relay and runner-up finishes in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.
- Co-Swimmer of the Meet: Jason Weller, Junior, RPI – Weller captured first in a pair of individual events—the 200-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke. He was also third in the 100-yard backstroke. He helped the Engineers earn third in the 400 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.
- Diver of the Meet: Luke Albanese, Junior, RIT – Albanese claimed top honors from the 1-meter board, scoring 566.90 in the finals. He was also the runner-up on the 3-meter with a score of 596.60. It is the second time he's placed first in the 1-meter event, and it's the third consecutive year he's earned runner-up status in the 3-meter event.
WOMEN
- Swimmer of the Meet: Kathleen Papiernik, Junior, Ithaca – Papiernik earned a pair of individual wins at her third conference championship. She won the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard butterfly. She was the runner-up in the 200-yard breaststroke and took part in two of Ithaca's five relay victories (200 medley, 400 medley).
- Diver of the Meet: Gwen Petrie, Junior RIT – Petrie swept both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards at this year's championship. She won the 1-meter diving event with a finals score of 465.0. From the 3-meter board, she totaled a finals score of 502.95.
Highlights from Saturday championship action:
MEN
- RIT sophomore Josh Berty earned the win in the 1,650-yard freestyle (mile) for the second straight year, shattering his own championship record time set a year ago. His new championship record time of 15:50.52 easily eclipsed his previous record time (15:57.71) by over a second. It was an NCAA B-cut time, and Berty also broke the association record (15:54.87) from 2009.
- Ithaca graduate student Matt Mitros earned his third individual win of the championship in the 100-yard freestyle. He touched the wall in 45.43 seconds, outpacing Clarkson's Gavin Stuhler (45.67) by two-tenths of a second.
- RPI junior Jason Weller won his second individual event of the championship, with a victory in the 200-yard backstroke. It was the third time he's earned the win in the 200 backstroke, and he recorded an NCAA B-cut time in the event for the second straight year at 1:48.30.
- RIT first-year Griffin Tomsheck won his second event of the championship and swept the breaststroke events with a victory in the 200-yard breaststroke at 2:01.57. He outpaced Union first-year Troy Luley (2:01.76), who was the top seed following Saturday's prelims session. Betry trimmed his prelim time of 2:02.01 by 0.44 seconds en route to the win in the final.
- The RIT relay team swam to victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Tiger quartet, consisting of sophomore Finn Hilliard, junior Eric Noga, junior Kamden Keyes, and first-year Griffin Messenlehner, produced a winning time of 3:02:35, narrowly edging runner-up Ithaca by three-tenths of a second. Ithaca (Matt Mitros, Alec Kutsner, Spencer Alderson, Ryan Cooke) posted a time of 3:02.67 for second.
WOMEN
- Skidmore junior Sabrina Reed made history for the Thoroughbreds with a victory in the 1,650-yard freestyle (mile). With a winning time of 17:49.51, she becomes the first Liberty League champion in program history. Reed was the runner-up in the event in 2025. Ithaca first-year Paige Simon (17:51.57) placed second, and Vassar College senior Addie Wiener (17:59.35) finished third.
- RIT first-year Taryn Hickey picked up her second win of the championship in the 100-yard freestyle at 51.41 seconds. Hickey was seeded second entering the final, cutting her prelim time of 52.02 while edging top seed Ithaca senior Elke Beaumont (51.67). Hickey also earned a win in the 50-yard freestyle during the opening day of the championship.
- RIT junior Madisen Pavoris swam to victory in the 200-yard backstroke, posting a time of 2:03.77. Pavoris, with a winning time of 2:03.77, had a margin of victory of almost 1.5 seconds (1.42). She was the top seed following the prelims at 2:03.77 and cut 1.4 seconds off that time en route to the victory.
- In the 200-yard breaststroke, Ithaca sophomore Sydney Koehler claimed the gold medal for the second straight year, with an NCAA B-cut time of 2:19.88. Koehler won the race by over four seconds, defeating teammate junior Kathleen Papiernik (2:24.09) for top honors. She also posted an NCAA B-cut time (2:19.99) in the morning prelims.
- RIT junior Gwen Petrie capped her sweep of the diving boards in the 3-meter diving event today with a finals score of 502.95.
- It was a tight race in the 400-yard freestyle relay between Ithaca and RPI, with the Bombers coming out on top with a winning time of 3:29.34 to the Engineers' 3:30.53. The Bombers were represented by senior Elke Beaumont, senior Naomi Fry, first-year Charlotte Barton, and junior Samantha Bender to complete the Bombers' five relay sweep in this year's championship.