Kinney Natatorium was home to the 2025 Patriot League Championship for swim and dive just last week, where Bucknell Women’s Swim and Dive was able to take 3rd.
The teams kicked off the competition Wednesday night. The Bison finished the day with two impressive relays and strong performances off the diving board.
The very first event of the meet was the 200-medley relay. The Bison finished in fifth place with a time of 1:41.35, a new school record. The relay consisted of Sofia Burns ʼ28, Hanna Bingley ʼ26, Samantha Benzija ʼ27 and Sara Ketron ʼ27.
Virginia Hastings ʼ27, Rylie Giles ʼ25, Sydney Dettmann ʼ27 and Clara Renner ʼ28 made up the bronze-winning 800-yard freestyle relay team. With a time of 7:17.89, the squad was .25 seconds off Navy and about two seconds off first place finisher Army.
In the diving program, Reggie Frias ʼ25 placed third overall in the 3-meter competition.
Ketron and Renner put up impressive times to lead the team on Day 2. They entered the day in third place and would increase their score to 349.
In Thursday’s prelims, Ketron beat the 50-free school record with a time of 23.00. The record had been in place since 2009. Later that day Ketron finished in fourth, missing the podium by .02. Jennifer Bolden ʼ26 finished in 19th in the same race.
Renner set a new PR in the 500 free with a time of 4:48.48. This earned her a silver medal and the third-place spot in the Bucknell school record book. Kelly Byrne ʼ27 took home the 13th place finish and Giles in 16th in the 500 free as well.
Kyla Kelly ʼ26 and Kendall Luecke ʼ25 both swam the 200 IM. Kelly competed in the A final and finished sixth while Luecke saw in the B Final and placed 13th.
To cap off the night, Burns, Sydney Jee ʼ28, Benzija and Ketron placed sixth in the 400 medley.
The meet resumed Friday morning with the Bison still in third. Renner continued to dominate in the lanes and took home her first-ever conference gold medal and broke another school record.
Renner earned her first-place finish in the 400 IM, after placing fourth in the prelims earlier that day. Hastings was not too far behind her and placed third, joining her teammate on the podium. They both now hold school records in the 400 IM.
Bryne and Leucke swam in the B Final and earned the Bison ninth and 10th place points. Their teammates Skye Sunderhauf ʼ25 and Kelly also raced and placed 13th and 16th.
Bolden and Ketron earned more points as they finished fifth and seventh in the A Finals 200 free. Giles placed 10th and Dettman placed 15th in the B Final.
The Orange and Blue had three swimmers in the 100 Breast A Final. Bingley, Jee and Liz Dokina ʼ25 went 6-7-8.
In the 100 backstroke B Final, Burns won with a 55.88 time, moving her up in the record book. In the same race was Talia Bugel ʼ27 in 19th and Benzija in 22nd.
Frias finished eighth in the A Final for the 1-meter, and Natalie Penman ʼ27 posted an 18th place finish.
Ketron led the final relay for the Bison, alongside teammates Kelly, Hastings and Bolden. They finished the 200 medley relay in fourth with a time of 1:32.70, nearly catching their Navy opponent .39 in front of them. Despite missing the podium, they broke the school record.
The final day of the Patriot League Championships took place Saturday and the Bison collected two silver medals that evening.
The Orange and Blue collected numerous points in both the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke. Bison scorers were Bugel, Burns, Benzika, Lueke, Sunderhauf, Jee, Gillian Camperlengo ʼ25, Bingley and Dokina.
Sunderhauf also collected points by placing eighth in the 200 butterfly.
The rookie, Renner, won gold in the 400 IM and silver in the 50 free and 1,650 free. She was also named Rookie of the Meet.
The 1,650 free was one of the most exciting races on Saturday. Renner was neck and neck with Army swimmers the entire race, and after over 16 minutes, Renner touched the wall .59 behind the first-place Army finisher. Finishing at 16:31.54, Renner now has the second-fastest school time. Byrne placed 16th in the mile.
Ketron also had an impressive weekend, which consisted of breaking numerous school records. Saturday, she placed fourth in the 100 free and then went on to assist the 400 free relay. Ketron, along with Giles, Kelly and Bolden won silver with a time of 3:22.48, the second fastest in school history.
The Bison finished solidly in third place with a total of 1,090.5 points.
