YORK, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's swimming team added 15 more individual scoring performances to its haul on Saturday, wrapping up the 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships with a sixth-place team finish at the Graham Aquatic Center.
 
The Raiders were one spot shy of having all seven of its swimmers in the 200-yard breaststroke make it back into evening finals. Sophomore Alyssa Tomb and senior Natalie Wiley paced the group by reaching the consolation 'B' final, placing 12th and 15th respectively with times of 2:29.06 and 2:31.20.
 
Wiley scored in the 200-yard breaststroke for the fourth straight year, with her 15th-place performance matching the highest finish of her career in the event. Tomb finished the week as the team's third-highest point-getter, scoring in all four of her individual events.
 
Four women competed in the pre-consolation 'C' final, with freshman Gracie Wetzel leading that group with a PR of 2:33.44 in the evening that resulted in 19th place. Sophomore Rachel Johnston, who qualified for the pre-consolation final with a PR in morning prelims of 2:33.23, swam 2:34.00 at night for a 21st-place finish.
 
Freshmen Emily Newton and Kristin Gebhard placed 22nd and 24th respectively in the 200-yard breaststroke while sophomore Lexington Wagner, who finished 25th, set a PR with a time of 2:36.89.
 
The 200-yard backstroke was also a signature event as four Raiders contributed points. The standout performance was a marvelous pair of swims by sophomore Marissa Bittner, who made the championship 'A' final with a morning prelim time of 2:07.82 and came back in the evening with a new lifetime best: an All-PSAC, third-place finish of 2:06.66 that affirms her ranking of sixth in school history for the event.
 
Sophomore Michaela Hersh impressed in the consolation 'B' final with an 11th-place time of 2:08.30. Hersh's time is a new collegiate best that moves her into ninth place all time at Shippensburg for the event. Hersh finished the meet as Shippensburg's No. 2 point scorer – contributing 79 total points from her swims this week.
 
Seniors Tomomi Nakano and Bri Joll each scored from the pre-consolation final of the 200-yard backstroke, with Nakano finishing 19th in 2:08.61 and Joll finishing 22nd in 2:12.88 – a five-second drop from her morning prelim. Nakano scored in the event for the third time, while Joll did so for the fourth straight year.
 
Senior Madison Breiner wrapped up a fantastic final conference meet with another personal best, swimming 53.68 seconds in the morning prelims to qualify for the consolation final and move into eighth on SU's all-time list for the event. Breiner finished in 13th in the evening final with a time of 53.68 seconds, while sophomore Sammy Taylor scored in the pre-consolation final with a 23rd-place finish.
 
Freshman Allie Keeling paced three Raider scorers in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 18:03.54 that resulted in 12th place. Keeling concluded her debut conference championship meet as Shippensburg's leading individual point scorer, compiling 86 points from her fifth-place finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle, her sixth-place finishes in the 200-yard and the 500-yard freestyle and her Saturday finish in the mile.
 
Freshman Gwen Elsey delivered a new personal best of 18:39.54 for a 21st-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle while junior Marina Cote contributed two team points with her 23rd-place finish of 18:55.73.
 
The 400-yard freestyle relay of Breiner, Nakano, Bittner and freshman Lauren Croll concluded the championships with an eighth-place finish of 3:38.27.
 
Shippensburg entered the final day of the meet within four points of Gannon for fifth place in the team standings, but SU was not able to bridge the gap with the Golden Knights. While the Raiders had 15 scoring performances, they only totaled 130 points from those swims, whereas the Golden Knights had nine scoring performances that totaled 139 points – benefiting from four Top 8 finishers. GU also gained eight points on the Raiders by placing fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
 
Of SU's senior swimmers who competed as eligible scorers at the meet, four are in line to graduate.
 
Breiner is set to wrap her career as a 14-time conference placewinner, including three Top 5 finishes. She scored four times in both the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle in addition to three times in the 100-yard freestyle, twice in the 1,000-yard freestyle and once in the 200-yard backstroke. Her performances this weekend situated her eighth all-time at Shippensburg both the 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle.
 
Joll is set to graduate as a 15-time conference placewinner, including 11 scoring efforts in pre-consolation finals. Her highest place finish of 10th in the 400-yard IM was achieved last year. She is a four-time scorer in the 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard IM and 400-yard IM and a three-time scorer in the 200-yard backstroke.
 
Nakano wraps up 2022 as a nine-time conference placewinner for her career – scoring three times in the 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke. She was a four-time Top 8 finisher, twice placing seventh in each backstroke event. Her personal bests rank her among Shippensburg's all-time Top 10 swimmers in both backstroke events.
 
Wiley concludes her undergraduate tenure as an eight-time career placewinner – scoring in all four of her seasons in both the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke. Her highest career finish of 12th place in the 100-yard breaststroke was achieved last season. She ranks 10th all-time at Shippensburg in both breaststroke events.
 
Saturday Results
 
1650 Free
12. Allie Keeling 18:03.54
21. Gwen Elsey 18:39.54
23. Marina Cote 18:55.73
 
100 Free
13. Madison Breiner 53.68 (53.10p) (8th all-time at SHIP)
23. Sammy Taylor 54.45 (54.44p)
34. Lauren Croll 56.27
 
200 Back
3. Marissa Bittner 2:06.66 (2:07.82p) (6th all-time at SHIP)
11. Michaela Hersh 2:08.30 (2:09.65p) (9th all-time at SHIP)
19. Tomomi Nakano 2:08.61 (2:09.98p)
22. Bri Joll 2:12.88 (2:18.06p)
25. Kallie Lyle 2:18.14
 
200 Breast
12. Alyssa Tomb 2:29.06 (2:28.85p)
15. Natalie Wiley 2:31.20 (2:29.43p)
19. Gracie Wetzel 2:33.44 (2:34.55p)
21. Rachel Johnston 2:34.00 (2:33.23p)
22. Emily Newton 2:35.30 (2:35.70p)
24. Kristin Gebhard 2:36.62 (2:36.27p)
25. Lexington Wagner 2:36.89
 
400 Free Relay
8. Madison Breiner, Tomomi Nakano, Marissa Bittner, Lauren Croll 3:38.27