Generals host Fall Invitational swimming and diving meet, women win first place

[Updated November 21]

Herkimer, NY – HCCC’s swimming and diving teams hosted their Fall Invitational Meet on Saturday. The women’s team finished first among the five colleges competing.

Photo: Herkimer’s Emily Washburn dives into a good start in the third leg of the women’s 400 yard medley relay

One of the most exciting events of the day was the final heat of the women’s 50 yard freestyle. Two Generals took the first two places, and they finished so close together that only the electronic scoring system could determine the winner. (See video below.) The official results have Herkimer’s sophomore speedster Emily Washburn (Rock Hill, SC) defeating Herkimer freshman Erica Francis (Akwesasne, Ont.) by 0.02 seconds.  Washburn swam the 50 yards in 27.42 seconds, and Francis sped through the water in 27.44.

Photo:  Katelyn Egnaczyk swimming the backstroke leg of the women’s 400 yard medley relay

The Lady Generals dominated their first home meet of the season.  Herkimer earned first place with 240 points.  Jamestown CC amassed 215.  The other scores were:  Genesee CC 139, SUNY Delhi 93, Alfred State College 63.

Emily Washburn led her team with first-place finishes in the 50 yard freestyle and the 500 yard freestyle. She swam a personal-best time in the 500, resetting by 10 seconds a school record she had previously established. Her record-setting time on Saturday was 5:42.69.

Erica Francis contributed to the team’s success with a strong freestyle leg in the 400 yard medley relay (1:01.28) and solid second-place finishes in both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle.

Photo:  Several Generals cheer on Creighton Jocelyn as he makes a turn in the breaststroke leg of the men’s 400 yard medley relay 

Sylvia Ross dominated the 1 meter diving event with a score of 205.95.  (See video below.)  

Rachel Rees, Sarah Ledwith, Amanda Knox, Katie Burt, Katelyn Egnaczyk, Nawal Norddine and Katelynn Skoda also contributed to the win with personal-best times in many of the events.

The men finished in fifth place. Geoff Fryer finished second in both the 200 yard freestyle and butterfly events. Greg Valachovic, Eric Nicoli and David Nitto swam personal-best times in the 50 yard freestyle.

Photo:  Geoff Fryer swims the butterfly leg of the men’s 400 medley 

Luciano Reyes, Eric Nicoli, Sultan Eljabali and David Nitto each swam personal-best times in the 100 yard freestyle. Bryan Jester and Luciano Reyes swam personal-best times in the 200 yard freestyle event.

Nick Streeter and Creighton Joscelyn swam strong legs in both the 400 yard medley and freestyle relays. 

The teams will next travel to Monroe CC for their first-ever Winter Invitational, Dec. 2-4.

Three videos are available below.

Click here for the complete meet result. 

Photo: A good crowd was on hand for the Fall Invitational Meet at HCCC’s Cristman Pool

Video: Emily Washburn in Lane 3 (third from top of picture) and Erica Francis in Lane 4 win first and second place in the closest of finishes

Video: A lovely dive by HCCC’s Sylvia Ross

Video:  Three Generals compete in Heat 2 of the men’s 50 yard freestyle: Lane 1-Greg Valachovic, Lane 2-Bryan Jester, Lane 6-Sultan Eljabali

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