Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Patriot League Championships
Swimming & Diving Men Claim Patriot League Title for the First Time in 24 Years, Women Earn Second Place at Patriot League Championships
February 23, 2025 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Army West Point swimming & diving completed their historic 2024-25 campaign Saturday at the 2025 Patriot League Swimming & Diving Championships.
The women claimed second place at the meet with a total of 1,246 points while the men claimed their first Patriot League title in 24 years with a total of 1,611.5 points.
The Black Knights totaled 19 first place finishes at the meet including seeing 14 of the individual Patriot League Champion titles go to their squads.
For their efforts at the four-day meet, freshman Johnny Crush, junior Molly Webber, and Director of Swimming & Diving Brandt Nigro earned honors from the league.
Molly Webber earned the co-Women's Highest Point Scorer title in a three-way tie with Loyola Maryland's Lily Mead and American's Mimi Watts with 96 points apiece.
Johnny Crush earned both the men's Rookie of the Meet and the men's Swimmer of the Week titles. He is the first swimmer in Patriot League history to earn both honors in the same season.
After impressive showings from the Black Knights from start to finish, Director of Swimming & Diving Brandt Nigro was named the 2025 Patriot League Men's Swimming Coach of the Year. The distinction marks the second time Nigro has earned the honor after first earning the title in 2023.
DAY 1
The Black Knights got off to a strong start in the first day of competition. In the day's diving event, Minh Donnell delivered an impeccable performance on the 3-meter board for the Black Knights, earning an overall score of 308.30 to claim second place in the event.
Army's women placed third in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:40.27 from Angie McKane, Catriona Gilmore, Sydney Braeger, and Meghan Cole before the men claimed second place in the same event as Johnny Crush, Kohen Rankin, Daniel Verdolaga, and Owen Harlow combined for a 1:24.19 in the men's 200 medley relay.
The Black Knights swept the 800 free relay on both sides to round out their showing on the first day of competition.
Clara William, Jenna Hart, Kira MacMullan, and Molly Webber combined for a 7:15.17 in the event on a gritty effort from Webber to reclaim the lead for Army in the final leg of the event and claim first place.
The quartet of Thomas Hadji, Jack Pogue, Johnny Crush, and Wes Tate then set a program, Patriot League, Kinney Natatorium, and meet record in the event when they clocked in at 6:18.62 in a dominant showing to claim first place in the men's 800 free relay, only 0.20 seconds off the NCAA Zone B qualifying time for the event.
The Black Knights were in a strong position at the end of the first day as the women stood in second place after Navy with 184 points to the Mids' 218 while the men earned first place with 120 points on the first day, followed by Loyola Maryland in second (116) and Navy in third (110).
Day 2
Army looked strong as day two opened with the preliminary rounds Thursday morning. The Black Knights swept the top spots in the 500 free preliminaries as Molly Webber clocked a 4:48.68 to lead the women's side of the meet and Wes Tate
logged a 4:20.65 to lead the men's side of the meet.
Catriona Gilmore kept the Black Knights in strong position in the women's 200 IM preliminary round with a 2:01.32 to rank second heading into the finals. Joey Kling then finished first in the men's 200 IM preliminary with a program record setting time of 1:45.22.
Meghan Cole claimed a fourth first place finish in Thursday's preliminary rounds with a 22.92 to claim first place in the women's 50 free prelims while Johnny Crush clocked in a 19.60 in the men's 50 free prelims to rank second overall going into the afternoon's finals.
Molly Webber set Army off on a hot pace in day two of the action, claiming her third consecutive gold medal in the women's 500 free with a program record setting time of 4:46.20, securing first place and a NCAA B cut time.
Wes Tate then completed the Army sweep of the 500 free for the Black Knights with a 4:18.25 to set a pool record, secure a NCAA B cut time, and make him the first Black Knight to win the men's 500 free in back-to-back years.
Catriona Gilmore earned the runner-up title in the women's 200 IM final with a personal-best time of 1:59.81 behind Loyola's Lily Mead who took the gold medal with a 1:59.38.
Joey Kling and Alex Edwards put on a show in the A-final of the men's 200 IM, matching each other stroke for stoke throughout the race until Kling edged into the lead in the final moments of the race to claim first place with a 1:45.42 with Edwards securing second place on a 1:45.94, a full second ahead of the next closest swimmer.
Meghan Cole earned a runner-up title of her own in the women's 50 free as she clocked a 22.70 in the event, just 0.02 seconds behind the top time of 22.68 from American's Mimi Watts. Cole was mirrored on the men's side by
Johnny Crush who earned second place in the men's 50 free with a 19.61, 0.26 seconds behind Loyola Maryland's Caleb Kelly and fast enough for a NCAA B cut time.
David Manelis earned a top three finish in the men's 1-meter dive after earning a spot in the finals alongside teammates Jack McDaniel and Isaac Newman. Manelis claimed third place on the 1-meter board with a season-best overall score of 344.30.
The Black Knights then earned second place in the women's 400 medley relay as Jenna Hart, Catriona Gilmore, Angie McKane, and Molly Webber combined for a season-best time of 3:39.48.
Army's men wrapped up the day's events with a first-place finish, meet, Patriot League, and Kinney Natatorium record, and NCAA B cut time of 3:05.20 in the men's 400 medley relay from Johnny Crush, Kohen Rankin, Daniel Verdolaga, and Thomas Hadji. Their time currently stands as the 13th fastest time in the event in the NCAA while Crush's leadoff 100 back time of 44.96 earned him a new meet, pool, and Patriot League record for the men's 100 back.
After Thursday's showing, Navy moved into the lead on both sides of the meet, standing a 589.5 to Army's 580.5 on the men's side and 523 to Army's 451 on the women's side.
Day 3
Army looked to regain ground on day three of the meet, claiming first place in eight of the day's 10 preliminary events. Angie McKane (53.40) and Daniel Verdolaga (47.08) led the Black Knights off with wins in the 100 fly preliminaries before Alex Edwards added another first place finish in the men's 400 IM (3:50.50), followed closely by Kalvin Hahn in second place with a 3:50.86.
The Black Knights then swept the top two spots on each side of the 200 free as Molly Webber (1:48.09) and Clara Williams (1:48.65) claimed first and second place for the women and Thomas Hadji (1:35.62) and Wes Tate (1:35.70) secured first and second for the men.
Catriona Gilmore
next notched first place in the women's 100 breast (1:01.28), mirrored on the men's side by Kohen Rankin with a Kinney Natatorium pool record setting time of 51.88.
Freshman Johnny Crush wrapped up Army's preliminary performances with a first-place finish in the men's 100 back preliminary round from a blazing 45.56 heading into the day's final events.
Freshman Angie McKane kicked off Friday's finals with a podium finish for Army, claiming second place in the women's 100 fly finals on a NCAA B cut worthy time of 53.26. Fellow freshman Daniel Verdolaga then claimed an individual Patriot League Champion title with a time of 46.88 in the men's 100 fly to claim first place in the event.
Army's men continued to show out as Alex Edwards, Kalvin Hahn, and CJ Bernauer swept the podium in the men's 400 IM, claiming first, second, and third place respectively. Edwards notched an NCAA B cut time of 3:48.97, Hahn logged a time of 3:50.31, and Bernauer was just behind him with a 3:50.91.
Molly Webber and Clara Williams delivered a one-two punch in the women's 200 free and Webber made her mark on program history once again by becoming the first female Black Knight to ever earn the Patriot League Champion title in the event in back-to-back years. Webber's time of 1:47.74 saw her finish a full second ahead of Williams who claimed second place in the event with a 1:48.74.
Thomas Hadji and Wes Tate secured to places on the podium for Army on the men's side of the event as Hadji clinched second place on a 1:35.46 and Tate took third place with a 1:35.47.
Army saw another Black Knight join the ranks of Patriot League individual champions as Catriona Gilmore claimed first place in the women's 100 breast, following in the footsteps of Army's 2024 Patriot League women's 100 breast champion Aurelie Migault (1:01.21) with a gritty performance that resulted in a 1:00.71 NCAA B cut-worthy time.
Kohen Rankin completed the Army sweep of the 100 breast with a meet-record setting and NCAA B cut time of 51.64 to secure first place and the 2025 Patriot League men's 100 breast champion title for the Black Knights.
Freshman Jonny Crush continued the impressive run by Army's plebe class on Friday as he claimed first place in the men's 100 back with a dominant showing at 45.32.
Minh Donnell put Army back on the podium in the women's 1-meter dive as she totaled 260.90 points to earn third place on the 1-meter board, her second podium appearance of the meet.
The Black Knights wrapped up night three with a second-place finish in the women's 200 free relay as Meghan Cole, Angie McKane, Clara Williams, and Molly Webber combined for a 1:31.34.
Ben Vorthmann, Kohen Rankin, Owen Harlow, and Thomas Hadji took on the men's 200 free relay for Army in the final men's event of the night and after a nail-biter of a race the quartet claimed third place on a time of 1:18.31 behind Navy (1:18.17) and Loyola Maryland (1:18.24).
With their performances on day three of the meet, the men moved into first place at the meet with 1071.5 points to Navy's 1013.5 while the women stood second overall with 902.5 points to Navy's 1092.5.
Day 4
Johnny Crush set a quick pace for Army in Saturday's preliminaries, claiming second place in the men's 200 back prelims with a 1:42.48.
Meghan Cole earned a top three place in the women's 100 free preliminaries on a 50.66, the third fastest time of the preliminary rounds. Thomas Hadji set a fast pace for the men, logging a 43.61 in the men's 100 free prelims to finish first overall out of the preliminary heats.
Catriona Gilmore finished second overall in the women's 200 breast preliminary rounds with a 2:15.25 to her name. Kohen Rankin and Kalvin Hahn
claimed the top two spots respectively in the men's 200 breast preliminaries on times of 1:55.13 and 1:57.51.
Riley Groves and Jack Pogue finished second and third overall in the men's 200 fly preliminary rounds with times of 1:46.20 and 1:46.33 for the sophomore and senior swimmers.
The Black Knights wasted no time in making their mark on Saturday's final rounds as Molly Webber and Brice Barrieault claimed both the women's and men's 1650 free titles with times of 16:30.96 and 15:11.27. Barrieault was paced in the men's race by Wes Tate who finished second overall with a 15:13.30.
Johnny Crush kept the heat up for the Black Knights with a third place finish in the men's 200 back on a time of 1:42.64, good for a NCAA B cut qualification. Joey Kling followed closely in fourth place with a 1:43.12, another NCAA B cut qualifying time for the Black Knights.
Clara Williams then put on a strong showing in the women's 100 free, earning second place on a 50.42, just two hundredths of a second behind American's Mimi Watts who earned the gold medal on a 50.40.
Army saw its next individual champion title awarded to Thomas Hadji who put up a time of 43.31 in the men's 100 free. Catriona Gilmore kept the momentum rolling for Army, earning first place in the women's 200 breast on a time of 2:12.41.
Kohen Rankin completed the 200 breast sweep for Army minutes later with a time of 1:54.14, a dominant performance that saw him finish three full seconds ahead of the next fastest swimmer and set a new meet, pool, Patriot League, and academy record for the event.
Riley Groves and Jack Pogue took to the podium next for the Black Knights, earning second and third place in the men's 200 fly with times of 1:45.61 and 1:45.76.
David Manelis represented Army's men's diving team on for the second time of the weekend with an overall score of 362.20, good for third place and a NCAA Zone A Diving qualifying mark.
The Black Knights drew together for a pair of inspired performances to conclude the 2025 Patriot League Championships as Clara Williams,
Angie McKane, Meghan Cole, and Molly Webber set a blazing pace in the women's 400 free relay and claimed first place on a 3:20.27.
Their success fanned the flames for Johnny Crush, Kohen Rankin, Thomas Hadji, and Wes Tate to run away with the men's 400 free relay and set a meet, Patriot League, and pool record with their time of 2:52.20 to claim first place.
Crush led the quartet off the starting block with a program, meet, pool, and Patriot League record time for the men's 100 free of 42.33, one of the top 50 performances in the NCAA this season for the event.
Their victory clinched Army's first place finish at the meet and secured Army's first Patriot League men's title since 2001, disrupting a 20-year win streak for Navy and capping off an already historic season for the Black Knights with the coveted league title.
After four days of work, the men's team totaled 1,611.5 points for their victory while the women compiled 1,246 points for their second-place finish.
POST MEET REACTIONS
True champions are not defined by a single moment of brilliance, but by their ability to rise, adapt, and conquer through every grueling day of competition, consistently moving up when others falter and that's what our divers did. Even after taking some hard hits in prelims, they pulled through in the end when it counted most.
– Head Diving Coach Connor Dorff
FULL 2025 PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
ARMY TOP FINISHERS
Day 1
Women's 200 Medley Relay: McKane, Gilmore, Braeger, Cole (1:40.27) – 3rd
Men's 200 Medley Relay: Crush, Rankin, Verdolaga, Harlow (1:24.19) – 2nd
Women's 3-meter Dive: Minh Donnell (308.30) – 2nd
Women's 800 Free Relay: Williams, Hart, MacMullan, M. Webber (7:15.17) – 1st
Men's 800 Free Relay: Hadji, Pogue, Crush, Tate (6:18.62) – 1st (Program Record, Pool Record, Patriot League Record, Meet Record)
Day 2
Women's 500 Free: Molly Webber (4:46.20) – 1st (Program Record)
Men's 500 Free: Wes Tate (4:18.25) – 1st (Pool Record)
Women's 200 IM: Catriona Gilmore (1:59.81) – 2nd
Men's 200 IM: Joey Kling (1:45.42) – 1st (Program Record)
Men's 200 IM: Alex Edwards (1:45.94) – 2nd
Women's 50 Free: Meghan Cole (22.70) – 2nd
Men's 50 Free: Johnny Crush (19.61) – 2nd
Men's 1-meter Dive: David Manelis (344.30) – 3rd
Women's 400 Medley Relay: Hart, Gilmore, McKane, M. Webber (3:39.48) – 2nd
Men's 400 Medley Relay: Crush, Rankin, Verdolaga, Hadji (3:05.20) – 1st (Program Record, Pool Record, Patriot League Record, Meet Record)
Day 3
Women's 100 Fly: Angie McKane (53.26) – 2nd
Men's 100 Fly: Daniel Verdolaga (47.44) – 1st
Men's 400 IM: Alex Edwards (3:48.97) – 1st
Men's 400 IM: Kalvin Hahn (3:50.31) – 2nd
Men's 400 IM: CJ Bernauer (3:50.91) – 3rd
Women's 200 Free: Molly Webber (1:47.74) – 1st
Women's 200 Free: Clara Williams (1:48.45) – 2nd
Men's 200 Free: Thomas Hadji (1:35.46) – 2nd
Men's 200 Free: Wes Tate (1:35.47) – 3rd
Women's 100 Breast: Catriona Gilmore (1:00.71) – 1st
Men's 200 Breast: Kohen Rankin (51.64) – 1st (Pool Record, Meet Record)
Men's 100 Back: Johnny Crush (45.32) – 1st
Women's 1-meter Dive: Minh Donnell (260.90) – 3rd
Women's 200 Free Relay: Cole, McKane, Williams, M. Webber (1:31.34) – 2nd
Men's 200 Free Relay: Vorthmann, Rankin, Harlow, Hadji (1:18.31) – 3rd
Day 4
Women's 1650 Free: Molly Webber (16:30.96) – 1st (Program Record)
Men's 1650 Free: Brice Barrieault (15:11.27) – 1st
Men's 1650 Free: Wes Tate (15:13.30) – 2nd
Men's 200 Back: Johnny Crush (1:42.64) – 3rd
Women's 100 Free: Clara Williams (50.42) – 2nd
Men's 100 Free: Thomas Hadji (43.31) – 1st
Women's 200 Breast: Catriona Gilmore (2:12.41) – 1st
Men's 200 Breast: Kohen Rankin (1:54.14) – 1st (Program Record, Pool Record, Patriot League Record, Meet Record)
Men's 200 Fly: Riley Groves (1:45.61) – 2nd
Men's 200 Fly: Jack Pogue (1:45.76) – 3rd
Men's 3-meter Dive: David Manelis (362.20) – 3rd
Women's 400 Free Relay: Williams, McKane, Cole, M. Webber (3:20.27) – 1st
Men's 400 Free Relay: Crush, Rankin, Hadji, Tate (2:52.20) – 1st (Program Record, Pool Record, Patriot League Record, Meet Record)
Players Mentioned
