Skip to main content


Repost Message will copy the article into draft mode and enable you to edit/change dates and information.
Do not change the dates of this posting because it will affect the original.

MCC Daily Tribune

Men & Women Swimming & Diving Teams Secure National Titles, Rodman Named Diving Coach of The Year

From March 1st until March 4th, the Monroe Swimming and Diving Teams competed in the NJCAA National Swimming & Diving Meet hosted by Erie Community College. The meet is a grueling 4-day (8 Session) prelim/final format, and Monroe had strong representation amongst other scholarship teams. The Men completed another year of great success capped off with the Al Zamsky Non-Scholarship Championship Team Title. The Women fought for a Spyke Johnson Non-Scholarship Title, where they tied with Genesee Community College on the last relay. The women overcame a 20-point deficit to the 2-time defending champions Jamestown in the last two events of the meet to secure the sharing of the Team Championship.     

Coach John Rodman was named the NJCAA Diving Coach of the Year. The Monroe Diving Team was critical to the program’s success the entire season. For the Men, Ryan Campbell led the way to a 4th place finish in both 1M and 3M diving earning All-American (First Team) status. Jill Sauer (Churchville) secured 3rd overall with a final score of 183.30, another All-American (First Team) Performance. Jon Smith, Brycen Lynch, and Shelby Nerber were also critical in securing top eight spots to propel the MCC Diving core in the competition.

The sophomore leadership of McKenna Briggs, Emma Preski, Kara Williamson, Sage Garcia, Michael Laviani, Alex Scaglione, and Brendan Briggs enabled both teams to drive to the top of the storybook ending. McKenna Briggs had lifetime swims in the 100 free, 50 breast, 100, breast, and 200 Free and won the consolation final in the 100 free with a time 55.00. Williamson added sprint and breaststroke support in the 50 Free, 50 Breast, 100 Breast, and 200 Breast. She also anchored the 400-free relay with a lifetime best split of 55.29 to lock in the title for the women. Emma Preski continued her dominance in distance freestyle events and showed true grit in the 1,000 Free, 1,650 (8th), and backstroke support in relays. Sage Garcia was a member of the 800 Free Relay, swimming a lifetime best in her 200 free. Mike “The Machine” Laviani led the way for the Men with impressive swims in the 500, 1,000, 1,650, and 200 Back. Scaglione had solid performances in sprint events (50 & 100 free) along with the 500 Free and 200 free. Brendan Briggs swam lifetime bests in the 100 and 200 free and was critical to all relay success. Evan Olsheski and Quin Blair also saw Lifetime best swims in the 50, 100, and 200-yard breaststroke events.          

Listed below are the names of the Top 16 finalists for the Men & Women:

Men:

  • Ryan Campbell (Men 1M- 270.75, 3M- 278.85)
  • Mike Laviani (1,000 free-10:42.29, 500 Free- 5:04.32, 1,650 Free- 18:08.92, 200 Back- 2:08.75)
  • Brycen Lynch (1M- 177.80)
  • Alex Scaglione (500 Free- 5:16.44)
  • Jon Smith (1M-150.15, 3M-226.90)

Women:

  • McKenna Briggs (50 Breast-32.72, 100 Breast-1:11.56, 200 Free-2:07.21, 100 Free-55.00)
  • Autumn Collins  (50 Free-28.32, 200 Free-2:19.90, 100 Free-1:01.49)
  • Berfin Gul (500 Free-7:09.92)
  • Kelsey Hucks (200 free- 2:22.70, 100 IM-1:13.78)
  • Shelby Nerber (100 IM- 1:14.03, 1M-142.80, 50 Fly-31.30)
  • Emma Preski (1,00 Free-12:11.21, 1,650- 20:37.25, 50 back-32.35)
  • Jill Sauer (1M-183.30 (3rd place)
  • Kara Williamson (50 breast-33.64, 50 Free-25.75, 100 breast-1:12.73, 200 breast- 2:44.86)
  • Yasmin Garcia (800 Free Relay)

Congratulations to the student-athletes on their success and the coaching staff for a long successful year that ended with a TEAM Championship on both sides!

Photo Captions:

  • Rodman COTY 2023: Coach John Rodman holding the plaque that names him the NJCAA Diving Coach of the Year, at the NJCAA Championships.
  • 2023 National Team Win: MCC's Men and Women Swimming and Diving Team members and coaches gathered together on the podium (some holding plaques) at the NJCAA Championships.

Attached Files:
Rodman COTY 2023.jpg
2023 National Team Win.jpg

Dale Pearce
Athletics
03/07/2023