Friday Meet Results

Piscataway, NJ ... The College of New Jersey men's and women's swimming and diving teams made their mark on opening day of the Metropolitan Conference Championships. Several school records fell as juniors Margaret Molloy (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) and Tom Medvecky (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) swept the 500-yard freestyle event for the Lions.

Medvecky finished with an NCAA B-cut qualifying time of 4:37.11, winning the event by more than a second. Freshman Mike Caputo (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) placed third with a time of 4:39.95 in the METs finals race of his young career.

Molloy entered the race as the top seed and did not disappoint. She registered an NCAA A-cut time and new school record posting a time of 4:59.75. Sophomore Melissa Hessler (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra) took third place posting a B-cut time of 5:03.80.

The men's and women's team took first and second in the opening 200-yard freestyle relay event. Freshman Adam Schneider (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East), sophomore Ryan Clark (Ocean City, NJ/St. Augustine), senior Miles O'Connor (Los Angeles, CA/Homeschool) and junior Shawn Kircher (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) registered an NCAA B-cut time of 1:23.07 to take first place in the event. Senior Ashley Robb (Blackwood, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), sophomore Traci Hofer (Millville, NJ/Millville), freshman Kayleigh Shangle (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park), and Laura Pierce (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) took second in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:35.18. The Lions legion not only qualified for an NCAA B-cut, but also set a new school record with their performance.

Shangle and Pierce claimed second and third place in the 50-yard freestyle. Both posted NCAA B-cut times as Shangle finished in 24.08 with Pierce right behind at 24.09. Robb took fifth and missed a qualifying time in the preliminary round by .02.

In the men's 50-free, Clark placed fourth posting an NCAA provisional time of 21.03. Schneider also registered a B-cut time of 21.15 finishing sixth.

Seniors James Vanbiervliet (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough), O'Connor, Medvecky and Vernoia took first in the 400 medley relay in 3:22.61. The foursome qualified for an NCAA B-cut in their preliminary race, and then bettered their time in the final by more than five seconds finishing in 3:22.61.

Freshman Kristin Wikoff (Shrewsbury, NJ/Red Bank Catholic), Shangle, Pierce and Molloy made history in the 400 medley setting a TCNJ record tapping the wall in 3:53.94. They placed third in the race and also qualified for an NCAA provisional.

Sophomore T.J. Burns (Clarks Summitt, PA/Abington Heights) placed second in the 1-meter diving event with a score of 445.40. Junior Amanda Obst (Cape May, NJ/Lower Cape May Regional) took fourth posting a score of 366.05.

The Lions men's and women's team are back in action tomorrow morning for day two of the METs. The meet will begin with the 200-yard medley relay event.