The men’s swimming and diving team traveled to Annapolis, Md. for the Patriot League Championships on Feb. 19. The team came in fourth place at the end of the four-day meet, behind Navy, Army, and Boston University respectively.

One Bison star was Mike Nicholson ’14, who won three medals at this year’s Patriots. Nicholson won two gold medals in the 200 IM and 400 IM, and then broke his own school record in the 200 fly to come in second place and earn a silver medal. Nicholson has achieved 12 championship finals appearances throughout his career, including nine top-three finishes. He was the overall top scorer in the Patriot League for the Class of 2014 and now holds school records in the 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 breast, and 200 fly.

Other standouts included Louis Behnen ’17 who earned third place in the 1,650 free and achieved the second best time in school history. Behnen also came in second in the 400 IM and fifth in the 500 free.

“Despite the bad luck the men’s team has faced throughout the season with people being sick, getting injured, and quitting the team, we nonetheless did very well. We broke team records left and right and had personal best times across the board,” Behnen said. “People stepped up when they needed to and did not back down. Saturday was by far the best day for the men’s team. We could all feel the energy in the air by the end of the night.”

Jack Robinson ’17 came in sixth in the 200 back and earned the second best time in school history. Wes Marberry ’16 placed eighth in the same event.

“We saw a lot of people step up when it mattered and make great strides in their races, it was a great learning experience for me as a freshman at my first Patriot League Championship,” Robinson said. “Although our team didn’t end up where we wanted place-wise, we now know how to improve and what we need to do to be better in the future.”

Ben Seketa ’15 earned sixth place in the 200 breast, and Matt Hadley ’14 and Daniel Wallace ’14 both scored in the 100 free, coming in 10th and 13th respectively. Nicholson, Hadley, Wallace, and Trevor Reitz ’14 earned fifth place in the 400 free relay.

For the Bison divers, Jon Jones ’15 earned sixth place off the three-meter board, achieving scores over 280 in the prelims and the finals.

“The team was incredibly supportive and created a fun and motivating environment that fostered a lot of great swims,” Robinson said

Ultimately, it was a successful trip for the Bison swimmers and divers. Although Patriot League Championships are over, some of the Bison will return to Annapolis for the ECAC Championships starting today and continuing through Sunday.