The Oswego State swimming and diving teams plunged head-first in Oneonta for their first contest of the new campaign, on Oct. 18.

The season-opening meet commenced at the sight of a 200-yard medley relay, with the men’s A team turning in a time of 1:41.30 for a second-place finish – just 2.12 seconds behind the Red Dragons. On the women’s side, it was the Lakers B team, composed of Rita Romano, Anna Baker, Aurora Jarvie and Allison Priestley, that showed up and out to take a first place victory in the relay at 2:02.64.

The squad remained dominant in the next event, as the top three finishers in the men’s 1000-yard freestyle were all Lakers. Jake Sarnowski secured first place at 11:24.48, and veterans Nathan Ratta Vine and Ryan Liedka trailed closely behind, at 11:40.10 and 12:00.15 respectively, for the second and third places.

In a masterful race, Isabelle Dague seized control of a first place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle, at 11:54.19. Just 10 seconds later, Emily Seldin touched the wall to take second place at 12:04.28, and Kaitlin Wheeler met with the finish line in 13:20.44, for third place.

Antonio Medina finished second in the men’s 200-yard freestyle at 1:54.68 – just four seconds behind first place Tyrell Delroy – while the women gained another sweep in the event, with Isabella McDonald (2:08.18), Gabrielle Janeski (2:09.43) and Emily Lotito (2:15.22) leading the charge. Samuel Waddell and Duncan Smith found themselves at the top of the board in the 50-yard freestyle, with times of 22.18 and 22.40, respectively. Owen Baker finished in fourth at 23.65, and for the women, Katherine Burch finished in second place at 26.49 – an incredibly tight .3 seconds behind Allison LaBarbera.

Mitchell Stevens soared past the competition in the men’s 100-yard fly, with a first place finish at 55.08, while Jayden Hernandez finished third in 55.89 and Nick Celentano in fourth, at 56.51. The women had no problem keeping the flair alive on their side. In the same event, Joscelyn Coniski finished first in 1:03.24, Burch in second at 1:08.35 and Abigail Hinman in third at 1:11.01.

Waddell built upon his already-successful day when he met good fortune in the 100-yard freestyle, cementing a time of 49.90 for first place, succeeded by Smith, in 50.21 for second place. Jayna LaFerriere took first place on the women’s side at 55.87, and Janeski finished third in 59.12. Dague and Romano took control of the first and second place spots in the 100-yard backstroke, with Dague finishing in 1:07.57, and Romano in 1:10.10. The women’s team secured a victory in the 500-yard freestyle, led by McDonald in first at 5:47.92.

Both the men’s and women’s teams collected the top spots in the 100-yard breast stroke, and the result was replicated in the final event of the day, the 200-yard relay, as both groups stayed composed to finish in first.

“The kids raced well and created a great team atmosphere, which is always a focal point and something we look to continue to develop throughout the season,” Lakers head coach Mike Holman said.

The Lakers (1-0) came and conquered central New York, as the women’s team took a 163-58 victory over the Red Dragons, while the men also saw a firm 132-89 win.