VESTAL, N.Y. – For the second consecutive year, the third time in five years and fourth time in program history, the Binghamton men's swimming & diving team has won the America East swimming & diving championship. The Bearcats pulled away from runner-up UMBC on the fourth and final day of the six-team meet on Saturday at the VMI Aquatic Center. Binghamton's women's team, meanwhile, placed fifth overall out of seven squads.

With the win this weekend, the men's swimming & diving team is just the third Binghamton program to capture at least four conference titles since joining the America East back in 2001. The men's tennis team won 10 titles between 2003-14 while the baseball team has also won four crowns. In addition to the past two seasons, the Bearcat men's swimming & diving program was also the team champion in 2003 and 2021.

After trailing UMBC for the first two days of this year's America East meet, Binghamton was up by a scant 1.5 points after Friday's evening session. On Saturday, however, it was the Bearcats' depth that led them to the title. While it didn't win an individual crown, Binghamton posted four medalists and 12 Top-8 finishers to extend its winning margin to 775-722.5 (52.5 points).

The Bearcat women's team, meanwhile, attained five Top-8 finishers during Saturday's final session. In the process, it got to within 405-393 of the fourth place Retrievers.

"I am really proud of both of our teams this entire weekend," head coach Jerry Cummiskey said. "We told our men's team that we'd be down early to UMBC because they were very strong in the diving events but as the meet went on, we could work our way back. The women's meet was a lot deeper than last year so even though the medals didn't come, we still swam very well."

Graduate student Jake Vecchio as well as freshmen Evan Peters and Jackson Kennard were the Bearcats' top finishers on Saturday night. Vecchio was second in the 200 fly (1:47.52) while Peters was the runner up in the 200 back (1:46.90) and Kennard was second in the 200 breast (1:59.72). 

Peters concludes the meet with a first-place finish in the 200 free on Friday and another runner-up finish in the 500 free on Thursday. As for Vecchio, he and fellow graduate student Sandon Karinsky are the lone members of the Bearcat program to have been on all three championship teams since 2021.

Kennard was one of four Binghamton finalists in the 200 breast. He was joined by freshman Amir Sadykov in third place (2:00.29), fellow rookie Cameron Stetzer in sixth place (2:02.30) and freshman Tyler Schultz in eighth place (2:03.05).

Junior Liam Preston was fourth in the 200 back (1:48.61) and after the meet, he was presented with the men's America East's Elite 18 Award. That honor is presented after the championships each year to a student-athlete based on their academic record and their performance during the weekend. He is the third Binghamton men's swimmer to earn the honor in the past five years - joining Ryan Board (2021) and Ryan Maierle (2022). 

Sophomore Harrison Lambert lead a trio of Bearcat swimmers in the 1,650 free. He was fourth overall (15:35.85) and was followed by freshman Finnegan McFarland in fifth place (15:35.85) and fellow freshman Logan Shriver (15:57..21). 

The 200 breast was also the strongest event for the Binghamton women on Saturday. Senior Lauren Kuzma was fourth (2:17.50) and was followed by graduate student Courtney Moane in sixth place (2:18.74) and freshman Fayanne Smith-Salzberg in eighth place (2:20.69).

Junior Maria Pignatelli recorded her third Top-8 finish of the weekend as she placed fifth in the 100 free (50.86). Sophomore Haley Nowak made her second finals appearance of the meet, placing eighth in the 200 fly (2:05.76).

While Binghamton won the men's title, New Hampshire won the women's championship for the second time in three years. Both the Bearcats and Wildcats earned the Coaching Staff of the Year Awards for guiding their respective teams to victory. Cummiskey was joined by diving coach Heather Colby-Cummiskey, assistant coach Maddy Beekler, diving coach Jesus Santos and volunteer assistant coach David Randesi.

All-conference honors were awards to the top three finishers in each individual event plus the members of all first-place relay teams. The Bearcat men's team posted 11 all-conference selections - including six freshmen - while Smith-Salzberg was the lone women's honoree.

NOTES: The men's swimming & diving team is also just the second Binghamton program to win back-to-back America East titles. The men's tennis team had a run of seven straight titles from 2008-14. The conference discontinued sponsoring tennis the following year and the Bearcat men's and women's teams are now members of the Northeast Conference (NEC), The men's tennis team is the defending NEC champion.

TOP MEN'S FINISHERS - DAY FOUR
Evan Peters, 2nd, 200 back (1:46.90)
Jake Vecchio, 2nd, 200 fly (1:47.52)
Jackson Kennard, 2nd, 200 breast (1:59.72)
Amir Sadykov, 3rd, 200 breast (2:00.29)
Liam Preston, 4th, 200 back (1:48.61)
Harrison Lambert, 4th, 1,650 free (15:35.85)
Elijah Lanfear, 4th, 100 free (44.61)
Finnegan McFarland, 5th, 1,650 free (15:35.85)
Cameron Stetzer, 6th, 200 breast (2:02.30)
Jonah Kirschbaum, 6th, 200 fly (1:50.15)
Logan Shriver, 7th, 1,650 free (15:57.21)
Tyler Schultz, 8th, 200 breast (2:03.05)

TOP WOMEN'S FINISHERS - DAY FOUR
Lauren Kuzma, 4th, 200 breast (2:17.50)
Maria Pignatelli, 4th, 100 free (50.86)
Courtney Moane, 6th, 200 breast (2:18.74)
Fayanne Smith-Salzberg, 8th, 200 breast (2:20.69)
Haley Nowak, 8th, 200 fly (2:05.76)

BINGHAMTON MEN'S ALL-CONFERENCE (11)
Elijah Lanfear, Liam Preston, William Deutmeyer, Evan Peters, Cameron Stetzer, Harrison Lambert, Max Kaback, Jackson Kennard, Tyler Schultz, Jake Vecchio, Amir Sadykov

WOMEN'S ALL-CONFERENCE (1)
Fayanne Smith-Salzberg