White Breaks 21-Year-Old Mark in 200 IM to Highlight Day One of Liberty League Championships

Melissa Cartier

Swimming/Diving | 2/18/2026 9:25:00 PM

Ithaca, NY – Four program records fell and two members of the Clarkson University Swimming & Diving team had runner-up finishes in their respective races, as the Golden Knights had a solid showing on day one of the 2026 Liberty League Championships, hosted by Ithaca College.

Through nine events, the Golden Knights' men sit in third place with 254.5 points while the Clarkson women are seventh with 81 points.

2026 Liberty League Championships - Wednesday Results

In the opening event of the evening session, Casey Everett placed 10th overall in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:40.43, which was just .07 seconds slower than his preliminary time from the morning, which broke Everett's own record from a year ago by nearly three seconds (4:43.21). Everett was joined by two teammates in the 'B' finals, with Daniel Killian placed 14th in 4:45.04, more than two seconds faster than his preliminary time, and Colin Cordy taking 16th in 5:03.42. Aiden Spoors (27th, 5:03.79) and Lucas Monroe (32nd, 5:13.41) finished just outside qualifying for the evening session.

In the women's 500 freestyle, Natasha Hurff ended up taking 14th overall, participating in the 'B' finals, with a time of 5:20.77, nearly three seconds quicker than the preliminary race. Kirsten Iles swam in the 'C' finals, finishing in 20th place with a time of 5:35.37, roughly two seconds faster than her preliminary time from the morning. Katelyn Otis was 26th in the morning at 5:46.20, placing as one of the 'C' finals alternates.

Owen White had the fastest time of any swimmer during the 200 individual medley preliminaries and broke a 21-year-old Clarkson record by Matt Szrama (who won the UNYSCSA event in 2005 with a time of 1:54.38). White was part of a furious finish in the 'A' finals on Wednesday night, ending up in a tie for second in 1:54.07, just .04 shy of the fastest time. Evan Paneras won the 'B' finals in 1:55.00 to take ninth, though he did have the sixth-fastest time of anyone participating in the evening session. Andrew Sammons swam in the 'C' finals and ended up 19th with a time of 1:59.37. Conner Klock (2:17.18) raced in the preliminaries as an exhibition.

In the women's 200 individual medley, Fiona Reilly was the top scorer, placing 16th overall with a time of 2:18.18 in the 'B' finals, a little slower than her prelim time. Aurora Zary ended up 19th overall, though she shaved close to two seconds off her prelim time and had a finals time of 2:17.18. Swimming in the preliminaries were Paige Davis (26th, 2:22.70), Robin Weber (32nd, 2:25.05), and Emma Canale (36th, 2:30.86).

Gavin Stuhler challenged former teammate Connor Tasselmyer for the school record in the 50 freestyle during the preliminaries with a time of 20.72 seconds, just .17 seconds off the mark set in 2024, and the fourth-fastest time in program history (at the time). Stuhler topped his performance from the prelims by a tenth of a second, finishing in second place in 20.62 seconds, which is the second quickest race in program history. Andrew Sypko swam below 22 seconds twice, finishing 13th overall in 21.70 seconds. Sean Finnerty also posted a solid time in the 'C' finals, finishing in 22.71 seconds for 21st overall. Just outside of the Wednesday night finals was Evan Walsh, who was 26th in the prelims in 23.48 seconds.

None of Clarkson's women participated in the 50 freestyle finals, though Dani McDonald was close as she placed 29th in 26.00 seconds. Further down in the preliminary results were Addie Gorton (34th, 26.44), Roman Neenan (45th, 28.52), Emily Kenny (47th, 29.72), and Julie Seeger (false start).

Both of Clarkson's divers topped their performances from the preliminaries in the evening's finals. Gavin Cibelli had 431.40 points in the morning dive and then broke a school mark with 457.05 points in the finals, placing fourth. Carter Lancto, who took sixth overall, had 329.60 points during the morning dive and then surpassed that with 351.35 points in the evening session.

The combination of Mason Cartier, Andrew Sammons, Evan Paneras, and Gavin Stuhler finished fourth in the 400 medley relay, topping the school record by just under a second with a time of 3:25.51. Clarkson's women's 400 medley relay group of Aurora Zary, Fiona Reilly, Dani McDonald, and Addie Gorton had eighth-place points with a time of 4:19.15.

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