CANTON, Ohio- The Swimming & Diving championship is set to begin Wednesday, Feb. 14 in conjunction with the Mountain East Conference (MEC) hosted by Malone University.
 
The four-day event starts on Wednesday morning and will continue through Saturday, Feb. 17 as team champions and meet-specific individual award winners are announced.
 
The prelims and final sessions will be streamed through both the Great Midwest Digital Network and Mountain East TV.
 
This marks the seventh consecutive year Canton’s C.T. Branin Natatorium has served as host for the event.
 
The Great Midwest will feature Ashland (men/women), Findlay (men/women), Hillsdale (women), and Malone (men/women).
 
The Mountain East members include Davis & Elkins, Fairmont State, Frostburg State, Notre Dame (OH), West Virginia Wesleyan, and Wheeling.
 
Wednesday evening’s festivities include preliminaries for the men’s and women’s 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle, and 1,000 freestyle followed by men’s 1-meter diving prelims.
 
Both Findlay men and women are receiving national recognition by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) latest coaches polls. The Findlay men cracked the Top 10 at No. 9, while the women are ranked No. 13.
 
On the men’s side, the Oilers will look to claim their seventh consecutive Great Midwest Swimming title under first-year head coach Diego Santos. Santos is taking over a program that lost national champion and all-American Daniel Garcia, but return several standouts including Tim Stollings, Camilo Marrugo, Luca Chiandussi. Stollings, a former national champion, enters the championship as the top swimmer in the 100 fly and 100 back. Marrugo holds the top times in the 50 free and 200 fly, while Chiandussi finds himself at the top in the 100 and 200 breast.
 
The Findlay women return sophomore standout Emily-Mears Bentley who won the Freshman and Swimmer of the Year during her rookie season. Mears-Bentley currently holds the G-MAC record in the 50, 100, and 200 free as well as the 100 fly and 400 individual medley. The Leicester, England native also earned all-American status in three events at the national meet last season. Other top returners include Katie Susi, Sydney Jones, and Abbie Kmet.
 
Hillsdale will look to claim their third G-MAC title as all-Americans Megan Clifford and Elise Mason  return for the Chargers. Clifford took home seventh place and a first-team all-American honor in the 200 fly last season and holds the top two times in the Great Midwest record books. Junior Elise Mason is a two-time G-MAC champion in the 1,650 free, 1,000 free, and 500 free and will look to extend her championship streak to three.
 
Tickets are available for purchase online through the Championship Central page.