BUFFALO, N.Y. – A school record-setting performance in the 800-yard freestyle relay helped propel the Cortland women's swimming and diving team to fourth place through Thursday's competition at the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championships.

The championship, which is being held at Erie Community College's Flickinger Center, will continue on Friday with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 5:30 p.m., and will conclude on Saturday.

Geneseo leads the way in the team standings with 365 points. Cortland is currently in a tight battle with three other schools for spots two through five. New Paltz is second with 164 points, followed by Oneonta with 157, Cortland with 156 and Brockport with 153.

The 800 freestyle relay was the lone event held on the women's side Wednesday, and the combination of Marissa Kordal (Eden), Rachel Noach (White Plains), Heidi Simpfenderfer (Poughkeepsie/Roy C. Ketcham) and Kelly Davey (Plattsburgh) broke the school record by nearly three seconds. Their third-place time of 7:50.26 eclipsed the previous school mark of 7:53.10 set by Jessica Evans, Sarah Culmo, Krista Caputo and Chelsey Simon in 2013.

On Thursday, Simpfenderfer, Davey and Noach each qualified for finals in their individual events. Simpfenderfer finished fourth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:14.11, 5:11.21 prelims), Davey was fifth in the 50-yard freestyle (24.45, 24.33 prelims), and Noach placed eighth in the 500 free (5:29.16, 5:25.98 prelims).

The Red Dragon quartet of Natalie Johnson (Canandaigua/Marcus Whitman), Alana Szewczyk (South Wales/Holland), Kordal and Simpfenderfer finished third in the 400-yard medley relay (4:02.22), while Simpfenderfer, Kalee Walden (Dryden), Lily Miller (Buffalo/Starpoint) and Davey were fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:38.64).

Five Red Dragons scored points by placing in the ninth to 16th range. Kordal was 11th in the 200-yard individual medley (2:13.83), Lauren McBrinn (Suffern/Paramus Catholic (NJ)) finished 12th in the 500 free (5:33.13), and Rachel Pinsky (West Hartford, CT/Hall) placed 12th in 1-meter diving (296.85 points). Halle King (Auburn/Skaneateles) turned in a 13th-place finish in the 500 free (5:33.57, 5:31.78 prelims), and Walden was 15th in the 50 free (25.40, 25.12 prelims).

Championship Web Page (includes links to results, photos, streaming video, etc.)


2018 SUNYAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships

STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1  (Feb. 22)
1) Geneseo - 365
2) New Paltz - 164
3) Oneonta - 157
4) Cortland - 156
5) Brockport - 153
6) Oswego - 109
7) Fredonia - 99
8) Potsdam - 86
9) Buffalo St. - 75