The 2025 Patriot League Championship took place last week at Kinney Natatorium starting Wednesday and continuing into the weekend, with Bucknell Men’s Swim and Dive taking 4th place overall.
Only two men’s events took place on opening day. The first was the 200 medley relay which consisted of Shane Wynne ʼ26, Will Hedges ʼ25, Finn Russell ʼ27 and Justin DiSanto ʼ25. They finished the race with a time of 1:27.86, which sits at the fourth-fastest Bucknell time in that race.
The next event for the men’s team was the 800 relay, which the Bison finished with a time of 6:30,18, nearly breaking the school record and earning them a bronze medal. Riley Twiss ʼ27, Damian Czartoryjski ʼ28, Andy Dorsel ʼ25 and Chris Kopac ʼ25 made up the relay that closed out the night. The Bison held onto fourth place heading into Day 2.
Despite tough competition, the Bison continued to prove themselves as the week went on by putting up school record times. Dorsel finished with a time of 1:47.10 in the 200 IM, beating his personal best, placing him fourth and moving him into second all-time in the school history books.
Dante Buonadonna ʼ28 and Wynne were qualifiers for the B Final and Caleb Kubiak ʼ27 and Hedges in the C Final.
The Orange and Blue saw five swimmers score in the 500 free: Kopac in front in 13th place, Twiss in 15th, Alex Crossing ʼ26 in 16th, Finn Franks ʼ28 in 17th and William Shoemaker ʼ26 in 22nd. In the 50 free, the Bison earned more points after Russell finished 13th, DiSanto 14th and Colin Smith ʼ27 in 17th. Smith earned his place on the Bison record board with a time of 20.37 in the 50 free, placing him tenth in the school’s history.
The final race for Bucknell on Day 2 was the 400 medley and the Bison placed fourth, led by Wynne, Hedges, Russell and DiSanto.
Day 2 also marked the first diving events. The Bison saw impressive performances from a few divers, starting with Jackson Vinarub ʼ26, who scored a 307.95 in prelims in the 1-meter competition, as well as Jack Krug ʼ26 who placed 15th and Connor Thurston ʼ27, who finished in 21st.
The Bison entered Day 3 still in fourth place. The day started with the 100 butterfly where three Bison set personal records and entered the top-10 times list at Bucknell. Russell placed seventh with a time of 48.27 in the A Final. Czartoryjski finished in 14th (49.08), and DiSanto placed 17th (49.12) after winning the C Final.
There were five point scorers in the 400 individual medley. Dorsal posted a fifth-place finish with a time of 3:51.79. The other scorers were Twiss (11th), Buonadonna (12th), Braden Beagle ʼ26 (21st) and Crossing (22nd).
In the 200 free, Kopac finished seventh, Czartoryski in 11th, Smith in 13th and Franks in 14th.
James Lombardi ʼ27 had a big night as he placed first in the 100 breaststroke B Final. His time of 54.42 not only won him gold but earned him the second-place spot for fastest time in school history.
DiSanto, Russell, Kopac and Smith capped off the night with a fourth-place finish in the 200 free relay. They now hold the third-fastest school time. The Bison were still in fourth as the third day of the championships wrapped up.
The final day of the Patriot League Championships took place on Saturday. The Bison continued to break records and set new times in back-to-back events.
DiSanto competed in the A Final in the 100 free and placed sixth. He finished with a time of 44.37, and his prelim time of 43.75 placed him first on the Bucknell Top Ten List. Not long after, Hedges finished with a time of 1:58.48 in the 200 breaststroke prelims. He advanced to fifth after posting a 1:58.51 time in the finals.
Kopac opened the 400 free relay with a 44.23 split. DiSanto, Buonadonna and Smith each followed, and the relay placed fourth (2:56.44), nearly breaking the school record.
The Bison had three point-scorers in the 1,650 free. Kopac placed sixth overall, followed by teammates Shoemaker (7th), Franks (14) and Crossing (17).
DiSanto, Buonadonna, Smith, Czartoryjski and Russell scored in the 100 free.
Twiss swam a 1:48.93 in the 200 butterfly in the B Final and will continue to hold onto the seventh all-time record. Wynne, Twiss and Dorsel each finished in the top 15.
In the 1-meter event, Krug led with a seventh-place finish, and close behind him in eighth was teammate Vinarub.
As the weekend finished, the Bison ended in fourth place overall with 952.5 points. This week also ended Navy’s 20 straight Patriot League men’s titles as they were edged out by Army.
“I am very proud of how the team performed at the meet. It is great to see all of the hard work everyone has put in this year pay off,” said Dorsel.
Next up for the Men’s Swim and Dive team is the ECAC Championships which will start Feb. 28 and continue to March 2.
