Men's Swimming and Diving | 2/17/2025 7:51:11 AM
Alfred University, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneseo, Hartwick College, and Nazareth University will compete at the 2025 Empire 8 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships from Wednesday, February 19 to Saturday, February 22 from the Webster Aquatic Center in Webster, NY. Preliminary swimming and diving action begins on all four days at 10 a.m. with the finals taking place at 5:30 p.m. each evening. Hartwick is looking to repeat as Empire 8 Champions.
At the conclusion of the meet, an Empire 8 women’s and men’s team champion will be crowned as well as a Male and Female Swimmer and Diver of the Meet. The top three finishers in each event will also be recognized.
Live video and results will be available throughout the four-day event. For more on this year's championship - including daily video links, heat sheets, results, and updated information - please head to the
Championship Central page.
2025 Empire 8 Team Capsules (Order Based on 2024 Championship Finish)
Hartwick is looking to repeat as Empire 8 Champions after winning its first Empire 8 title since 2006 last season. The Hawks won 10 dual matches in 2024-25 and boast a deep group of student-athletes. Sophomore standouts Hassan Abdelwahed and Cameron Drake have enjoyed tremendous success this season. Abdelwahed was an Empire 8 Athlete of the Week and enters the championship meet as the defending league champion in the 100- and 200- breaststroke events, while Drake is the defending champion in the 500- and 1,650-freestyle races and will be a top contender in both. Bryce Rogers, Evan Nezat and Sebastian Knowles are strong sprinters, while Owen James will represent the Hawks in the backstroke. Nezat is a contender in the breaststroke events, while Matthew Cole and Madhi Behniaye will compete in the individual medley races. The Hawks are the defending E8 champions in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Peyton Humphries will represent Hartwick in both the 1- and 3-meter diving events.
Alfred will look to win its second E8 title in three seasons and seventh in league history. The Saxons have a strong group of top student-athletes competing. Senior William LaMastus is the two-time defending league champion in the 100-yard backstroke, defending 200-yard backstroke champ and 2023 400-yard individual medley champion. He is among the E8 leaders this season in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events. He is a two-time E8 Athlete of the Week this season. First-year standout Carlos Gonzalez is a four-time Empire 8 Athlete of the Week this season and will be expected to compete for medals in several events. He has the fastest Empire 8 time to date in the 400-yard individual medley and is among the league leaders in both breaststroke events. Graduate student Emiliano Terrazas was the 2022 league champion in the 200-yard breaststroke, while Wade LaMastus is also a standout in the breaststroke. Sophomore Emmanuel Drappatz will also be in the mix to claim E8 honors in the sprint events, while senior Paul Tuttle is a standout in sprint and backstroke events. Alfred’s 200-yard medley relay team has won three straight E8 titles, while the 400-medley relay and 400-free relay teams are both two-time defending E8 Champions. Divers Jaxson McQuaid and Ryan Way will also look to earn key points for the Saxons in both diving events.
Nazareth is looking to earn its third Empire 8 Championship in 2025. Graduate student Ryan Hough enters as a top contender in the 50-, 100, and 200-yard freestyle events. He is the three-time defending E8 champion in the 100-yard freestyle, two-time defending 50-free champion and defending 200-yard freestyle champion. Hough was the E8 Athlete of the Week on Dec. 9. Seniors Adam DelGrand and William Danaher are standouts in the butterfly, while sophomores Jackson Gerbes and Gianluca Antonini will look to contend in the distance freestyle events. David Martin will compete for league titles in the breaststroke. The Golden Flyers are the defending Empire 8 Champion in the 200-yard freestyle relay. William D’Agata will represent Nazareth on the 1-meter diving board, where he has the fourth best score in the conference this season to date.
SUNY Brockport makes its Empire 8 Championship debut in 2025. Luca Olivieri was the Empire 8 Athlete of the Week on Jan. 6 and will compete in the backstroke, breaststroke, and individual medley. Mike Laviani will compete in the individual medley, while Erik Parkes is Brockport’s top swimmer in the butterfly and sprint freestyle events. Jace Fredericksen, Laviani and Josh Lauzonis are contenders in the distance freestyle events. Matt Cole is also expected to compete in several events. Reni Watson will represent Brockport in both the 1- and 3-meter diving events.
SUNY Geneseo also makes its Empire 8 Championship debut in 2025 and enters the week ranked 17th in the CSCAA Division III national poll. The Knights won the last 10 SUNYAC Championships 24 of the final 25 dating back to the 1998-99 season. The Knights have tremendous depth throughout the lineup, with eight different student-athletes and all five relay teams atop the E8 leaderboards in 2024-25. Brian Pabisch enters the meet as a top contender in all three-sprint freestyle and both sprint butterfly events. He has an NCAA “B” cut qualifying time in the 50-yard freestyle (20.33 seconds). Casey Connors, Dylan Gallub, Jordan Nielsen, Jake Nielsen, Chris Varrichio, Jack Keene, and Arman Tresnjo will also be in the mix to medal in the sprint events. Colin Babbit, Will Fagan and Cameron Fairley will represent the Knights in the distance events. Fairley was a previous E8 Champion in the 500-yard freestyle with Nazareth in 2022. Griffin Merkling is the current E8 leader in all three backstroke events, while Jake Nielsen has an NCAA “B” cut time in the 100-yard breaststroke. Alex Palmer is the current E8 leader in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley, while Connor Baird is the leader in the 200-yard butterfly. Diver Trent Makowiec broke the Empire 8 record in both the 1- and 3-meter diving events earlier in the season is a multiple-time All-American, having finished as national runner-up in both events at the NCAA Championship last season. Greg Meder was an All-American in the 1-meter event last year and will battle for league honors in both events.
Current 2024-25 Empire 8 Top Times
50-yard freestyle – Brian Pabisch, SUNY Geneseo – :20.33 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
100-yard freestyle – Brian Pabisch, SUNY Geneseo – :45.16
200-yard freestyle – Ryan Hough, Nazareth – 1:42.38
500-yard freestyle – Cameron Drake, Hartwick – 4:45.08
1,000-yard freestyle – Cameron Drake, Hartwick – 10:03.77
1,650-yard freestyle – Colin Babbitt, SUNY Geneseo – 16:42.41
50-yard backstroke – Griffin Merkling, SUNY Geneseo – :23.36
100-yard backstroke – Griffin Merkling, SUNY Geneseo – :50.89
200-yard backstroke – Griffin Merkling, SUNY Geneseo – 1:51.58
50-yard breaststroke – Jake Nielsen, SUNY Geneseo – :25.23
100-yard breaststroke – Jake Nielsen, SUNY Geneseo – :55.29 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
200-yard breaststroke – Alex Palmer, SUNY Geneseo – 2:02.34
50-yard butterfly – Brian Pabisch, SUNY Geneseo – :22.64
100-yard butterfly – Brian Pabisch, SUNY Geneseo – :49.48
200-yard butterfly – Connor Baird, SUNY Geneseo – 1:52.78
100-yard individual medley – Alex Palmer, SUNY Geneseo – :53.36
200-yard individual medley – Alex Palmer, SUNY Geneseo – 1:52.37
400-yard individual medley – Carlos Gonzalez, Alfred – 4:03.93
200-yard freestyle relay – SUNY Geneseo – 1:21.98 (Empire 8 Record)
400-yard freestyle relay – SUNY Geneseo – 3:01.21 (NCAA “B” cut qualifying time)
800-yard freestyle relay – SUNY Geneseo – 6:55.89
200-yard medley relay – SUNY Geneseo – 1:30.15
400-yard medley relay – SUNY Geneseo – 3:21.99
1-meter diving (11-dive) – Trent Makowiec, SUNY Geneseo – 605.50 (Empire 8 Record)
3-meter diving (11-dive) – Trent Makowiec, SUNY Geneseo – 625.90 (Empire 8 Record)
For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on X (@Empire8).
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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