WSWIMDIVE: Norwich Completes The Four-Peat On The Final Day; Wins Two Major Awards
Worcester, Mass. - For the fourth consecutive year in a row, the Norwich Women's Swimming & Diving team collects the Great Northeast Athletic Conference trophy after collecting a total of 1,058.50 points throughout the three-day weekend event.
Sunday featured the final final eight events of this year's title chase.
For the Cadets, Delaney Allen collected two victories in the 50 breaststroke and the 200 IM while Reilly Laitala claimed victory on the diving board in the 3-meter diving competition.
USJ was this year's runner-up as the Blue Jays scored 699.50 points after a strong showing this whole weekend, capped off by Alina Niemczyk, who captured the 200 butterfly.
In third place was Regis as they collected 571 points on the weekend. Freshman Sophia Caruso gave them two victories in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
Simmons took fourth place this year with 549 points, which included a relay victory to end the meet. Meanwhile, Elms had 334 and Saint Joseph's (Maine) had 284 points on the weekend. Albertus Magnus finished the field with 91 points and another individual victory from Mia Cortes, who won the 1650 event for the Falcons.
In addition to the final events of this year's championship, the conference also honored its major award winners. Delaney Allen of Norwich took home both Swimmer and Rookie of the Year honors, while Reilly Laitala was named Diver of the Year.
Meanwhile, Simmons head coach Michael Prout Jr. was voted the Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year while Elms also won the Institutional Sportsmanship award.
The top three finishers in each event were also recognized as the 2026 All-Conference honorees. The full list is included below.
Major Awards
Women's Swimmer/Rookie Of The Year: Delaney Allen, Norwich
Women's Diver Of The Year: Reilly Laitala, Norwich
Women's Coach Of The Year: Michael Prout Jr, Simmons
Women's Institutional Sportsmanship: Elms College
All-Sportsmanship
Alyssa DeFeo, Albertus Magnus
Joni McGillis, Elms
Deanna Parot, Norwich
Vera Rivard, Regis
Elise Soucy, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Bee Eckels, Simmons
Julianna Violette, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM (Top Three Finishers in each Event)
200 Yard Medley Relay – Simmons (Laura Luthi, Julia Long, Carli Quinlan, Bee Eckels); Norwich (Burgan Danger, Delaney Allen, Maria Piekarczyk, Alannah Kelliher); University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Charlotte Poltronieri, Julia Wysocka, Alina Niemczyk, Sara Omar)
400 Yard IM - Mia Cortes, Albertus Magnus; Sara Omar, USJ (Conn.); Ashley Morin, Norwich
200 Yard Freestyle - Carli Quinlan, Simmons; Sophia Caruso, Regis, Anna Gosselin, Norwich
50 Yard Butterfly - Alannah Kelliher, Norwich; Alina Niemczyk, USJ (Conn.); Maria Piekarczyk, Norwich
100 Yard Breaststroke - Delaney Allen, Norwich; Mia Cortes, Albertus Magnus; Bee Eckels, Simmons
200 Yard Backstroke - Ashley Morin, Norwich; Laura Luthi, Simmons; Kylie Farris, Norwich
1000 Yard Freestyle - Sara Omar, USJ (Conn.); Anna Gosselin, Norwich; Ava Hubster, Regis
400 Yard Freestyle Relay – Norwich (Delaney Allen, Katelyn Daly, Deanna Parot, Alannah Kelliher); Simmons (Bee Eckels, Charlotte Doherty, Ainsley Horan, Carli Quinlan); University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Julia Wysocka, Charlotte Poltronieri, Delaney Towey, Sara Omar)
200 Yard Freestyle Relay - Norwich (Delaney Allen, Deanna Parot, Maria Piekarczyk, Alannah Kelliher); Elms (Rachel McNally, Sasha Plotniak, Alissa Schettini, Joni McGillis); Regis (Kaylee King, Sophia Nylin, Jenna Silva, Sophia Caruso)
100 Yard Butterfly - Carli Quinlan, Simmons; Maria Piekarczyk, Norwich; Ava Hubster, Regis
500 Yard Freestyle - Sara Omar, USJ (Conn.); Anna Gosselin, Norwich; Charlotte Poltronieri, USJ (Conn.)
50 Yard Backstroke - Burgan Danger, Norwich; Charlotte Poltronieri, USJ (Conn.), Laura Luthi (Simmons)
50 Yard Freestyle - Sophia Caruso, Regis; Alannah Kelliher, Norwich; Joni McGillis, Elms
200 Yard Breaststroke - Mia Cortes, Albertus Magnus; Alina Niemczyk, USJ (Conn.); Julia Long, Simmons
100 Yard IM - Delaney Allen, Norwich; Bee Eckels, Simmons; Julia Wysocka, USJ (Conn.)
800 Freestyle Relay - Simmons (Carli Quinlan, Ainsley Horan, Laura Luthi, Bee Eckels); University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Sara Omar, Alina Niemczyk, Julia Wysocka, Charlotte Poltronieri); Elms (Alissa Schettini, Rachel McNally, Sasha Plotniak, Joni McGillis)
1M Diving - Reilly Laitala, Norwich; Kira Geiger, USJ (Conn.); Ava LePage, Norwich
100 Yard Freestyle - Sophia Caruso, Regis; Carli Quinlan, Simmons; Alannah Kelliher, Norwich
50 Yard Breaststroke - Delaney Allen, Norwich; Bee Eckels, Simmons; Sophia Nylin, Regis
1650 Yard Freestyle - Mia Cortes, Albertus Magnus; Laura Luthi, Simmons; Anna Gosselin, Norwich
100 Yard Backstroke - Sophia Caruso, Regis; Alannah Kelliher, Norwich; Laura Luthi, Simmons
200 Yard Butterfly - Alina Niemczyk, USJ (Conn.); Ava Hubster, Regis; Jenna Silva, Regis
200 Yard IM - Delaney Allen, Norwich; Sara Omar, USJ (Conn.); Bee Eckels, Simmons
3M Diving - Reilly Laitala, Norwich; Kira Geiger, USJ (Conn.); Sophia Simoes, USJ (Conn.)
400 Yard Medley Relay - Simmons (Laura Luthi, Julia Long, Carli Quinlan, Bee Eckels); Norwich (Burgan Danger, Delaney Allen, Maria Piekarczyk, Alannah Kelliher); University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Charlotte Poltronieri, Julia Wysocka, Alina Niemczyk, Sara Omar)
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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