BUFFALO, N.Y. – Cortland junior Sarah Culmo (West Islip) set meet and school records in the 50-yard freestyle and sophomore Krista Caputo (Staten Island/Curtis) broke the school record in the 500-yard freestyle during the first full day of competition at the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Cortland is currently in second place out of nine schools in a tightly contested team race with two days remaining. Five-time defending champion Geneseo is first with 227 points, followed by Cortland with 201, Fredonia with 190 and New Paltz at 154. The championship is being held at the Burt Flickinger Center at Erie Community College.

Culmo broke her own school record in the 50-yard freestyle in prelims in 23.67 seconds, then won the championship race in an NCAA “B” cut time of 23.53 seconds to repeat as league champion. She broke the previous meet record of 23.72 seconds set by New Paltz's Michelle Coombs in 2008.

Culmo also anchored the winning 200-yard freestyle relay team that also featured senior Jessica Evans (Hamburg), junior M.K. Dugue (Binghamton/Chenango Forks) and sophomore Michaela Auer (Oswego). They finished in 1:36.05, but afterwards swam a time trial in 1:35.09 to set new school record and hit an NCAA “B” cut. Evans, Dugue and Culmo were also part of last season's winning relay, along with Michelle Seeger, that held the previous school record of 1:35.42.

Caputo placed third in the 500-yard freestyle with her school-record time of 5:06.74. She broke the previous school mark of 5:10.86 held by Liz Neddo from 2009. All individual champions at the meet earn first-team All-SUNYAC honors. Second-place and third-place individual finishers are awarded second-team all-league status.

Freshman Miranda Fergus (Pleasant Valley/Millbrook) qualified for the NCAA Div. III Diving Regionals with her fourth-place score of 425.80 points on 3-meter diving. For the first time in 2013, divers will qualify for the national championship through one of four NCAA sponsored diving regionals. Fergus will compete at the Northeast/South Regional at Ithaca College March 1-2.

Cortland's 400-yard medley relay of senior Abigail MacDonald (East Amherst/Williamsville North), sophomore Ashley Sherard (Valley Stream), junior Chrisanna Hickey (Hopewell Junction/John Jay East Fishkill) and freshman Katie Cornetta (Gardner, MA) placed fourth in 4:00.78. Hickey also finished fifth in the 200-yard individual medley (2:11.15).

Culmo was one of three Red Dragons to advance to the championship final in the 50-yard freestyle. Dugue finished sixth in 24.78 seconds (24.64 in prelims) and Evans placed seventh in 24.87 seconds (24.75 in prelims).

Junior Lindsay Wigderson (Webster/Webster Thomas) turned in a seventh-place finish in 3-meter diving (370.45 points) and Auer won the consolation “B” final of the 50-yard freestyle in 24.70 seconds, a time that would have placed sixth in the championship final.

Other Red Dragons who scored points included sophomore Lauren Kaplowitz (Stamford, CT/West Hill) with a 10th-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (24.82) and Cornetta with a 16th-place showing in the 500-yard freestyle (5:34.93, 5:25.74 prelims).

Live Results

2013 SUNYAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships

STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1 (Feb. 21)

1) Geneseo – 227
2) Cortland – 201
3) Fredonia – 190
4) New Paltz – 154
5) Brockport – 99
6) Oneonta – 84
7) Buffalo St. – 67
8) Potsdam – 52
9) Oswego – 48