ROCHESTER, NY - The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced the Swimmer, Diver Rookie and Coach of the Year awards for the 2012-13 men’s swimming and diving season. The conference coaches vote on the awards.
John Hu, a senior from Stevens Institute of Technology, has been named the Swimmer of the Year. Hu swam in three individual events at the Division III national meet and earned All-America distinction in all of them. He ended up 13th in the 200-yard individual medley with a 1:50.06 and broke his own school-record by almost two seconds in taking third in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:53.16. Hu earned a spot in the championship final of the 200-yard butterfly, where he set a new school record with 1:47.79 to take fourth place. One month earlier, Hu was named the Outstanding Male Swimmer of the Meet at the Upper New York State/Empire 8 Championships. He earned a win in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:51.98, carded a 4:00.43 in the 400-IM and clocked a 1:50.95 in the 200-yard butterfly. At the beginning of December, Hu was named the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Meet for the fourth-consecutive time in his marvelous career. The veteran tallied two NCAA A-cuts, earned three individual wins and participated on two winning relays.
Ithaca senior
Martin Brown was voted Diver of the Year after earning a pair of All-America finishes at the NCAA Championships. Brown was fourth in the event finals on the 3-meter board with a score of 525.75, and placed seventh on the 1-meter with a score of 456.30. At the Empire 8 Championships, Brown was second on both boards as he scored a 565.70 (3-meter) and a 526.75 (1-meter).
Ithaca freshman
Adam Zelehowsky was selected the Rookie of the Year after he made an appearance at the NCAA Championships as part of two relays and an individual event.
The 200-yard freestyle relay swam a time of 1:22.63 to place 13th overall to earn honorable mention all-America honors. The 400 freestyle relay placed 20th in the preliminary heats with a time of 3:04.78 and Zelehowsky finished 33rd in the 200 freestyle prelims with a time of 1:41.22. At the Empire 8 Championships, Zelehowsky won the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.91) and was part of the winning 200-yard freestyle relay team that set an association, championship meet and school record with a time of 1:22.10. He placed fifth in the 100 free, sixth in the 500 free and the 400 medley relay and 800 free relay each finished second while the 400 free relay was third.
Stevens
Brad Thornton has been named the Men’s Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year. Thornton guided the Ducks to three Championship Team titles in 2012-13. Stevens claimed its third-straight Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference title at the beginning of December. In late February the Ducks won the Empire 8 and the UNYSCSA title for the second time in program history. And last weekend, Stevens recorded its best-ever performance at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, placing a program-high sixth at the national meet.