CANTON, Ohio- The swimming & diving championship is set to begin Wednesday, Feb. 12 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. 15 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 eighth consecutive year Canton’s C.T. Branin Natatorium has served as host for the event.
 
The Great Midwest will feature Ashland, Findlay, Hillsdale and Malone while Davis & Elkins, Fairmont State, Frostburg State, Salem, West Virginia Wesleyan, and Wheeling represent schools from the Mountain East.
 
Wednesday’s evening festivities include preliminaries for the 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and 1,000 freestyle followed by women’s 3-meter diving prelims.
 
Both Findlay men and women are receiving national recognition in the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) latest polls. The Findlay men are slotted at No. 22, while the women nearly crack the Top 10 at No. 11.
 
On the men’s side, the Oilers will look to claim their eighth consecutive G-MAC title under 2024 Coach of the Year Diego Santos. Santos and the Oilers will look to replace all-American Tim Stollings, but return several standouts including Luca Chiandussi and Camilo Marrugo. Chiandussi returns after an all-American season last year, where he earned first-team status in the 100 breast, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay. Marrugo also earned all-American status in the 100 fly, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 50 free, 200 free relay, and 400 free relay. He has the fastest time at the championship meet in the 100 free (44.53) and 200 free (1:38.25).
 
The Findlay women return junior standout Emily Mears-Bentley, who captured Athlete of the Year honors for the second consecutive year last season. Mears-Bentley helped lead the Oilers to a top 10 team finish at the national meet last year, earning all-American honors in the 100 fly, 200 fly, 100 free, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay. In addition to Mears-Bentley, Findlay returns four all-conference members in Sasha Melynk, Katie Susi, Sofia Lesmes Montes, and Troie Grubbs.
 
Hillsdale will look to claim their third G-MAC title as all-Americans Megan Clifford and Elise Mason return for the Chargers. Clifford finished 13^th in the 200 butterfly last year at the national meet, taking home all-American honors for the second year in a row. For the third year in a row, senior Elise Mason won the 500 free, 1,000 free, and 1,650 free at the conference meet. She currently holds the top time in both the 1,000 free (10:17.54) and 1,650 free (17:11.51).
 
Tickets are available for purchase online through the Championship Central page.