COMPLETE RESULTS (PDF)
FINAL TEAM SCORES (PDF)
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | DAY FOUR PHOTO GALLERY

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GENEVA, Ohio – The Atlantic 10 Championships concluded on Saturday, with the George Mason men's swimming and diving team winning the first A-10 Championship in program history.  The A-10 Championships were held Feb. 19-22 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Mason took the lead on day two and never looked back, claiming the Atlantic 10 Championship with 657 points, with George Washington second (637.50) and St. Bonaventure third (498).  La Salle finished fourth (438.50), followed by Davidson (415), Massachusetts (345.50), Saint Louis (267) and Fordham (224.50).

"I'm almost speechless for one of the first times in my life," Mason head coach Peter Ward said.  "This has been 20 years in the making and we finally put together a team that is the most complete team that I've ever coached.  We have strong people in every event and every discipline.  They came together at the right time, performed at the highest level and we were able to come away with a championship."

Ward was named 2020 Atlantic 10 Men's Head Coach of the Year.

The Patriots took the top two spots on the podium in the Championship Final of the 200-yard backstroke.

Senior Ryan Donnelly won the gold, claiming the A-10 title in the event with a NCAA B qualifying time (1:44.08).  Senior Logan Eubanks won the silver with a NCAA B qualifying time (1:44.68).

Donnelly won a total of four medals, with a gold (200 freestyle relay), two silver (800 freestyle relay/400 freestyle relay) and a bronze (100 backstroke).  Eubanks won two gold medals (100 backstroke/200 medley relay) and one silver (200 backstroke) at the A-10 Championships.

"There's no two ways about it," Ward said.  "We're allowed an 18-man roster size for the championship and this is the first time that all 18 members have scored points.  This is a complete team event and we did well on day one and swam well on day two and got the lead.  On day three we opened up a bigger lead and were able to close the deal."

Freshman Luke DeVore won the individual title in the Championship Final of the 200-yard butterfly, setting an Atlantic 10 Conference and meet record with a time of 1:45.83.  He won a total of three medals, two gold (100 and 200 butterfly) and one bronze (200 IM).

Junior Dylan Peck finished eighth the event (1:51.10).  In the Consolation Final, junior Devin Truong was fifth (1:50.08).

Mason senior Attila Kiss swam to a fifth-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle (15:42.21), while freshman Jackson Knouse placed 10th in the event (15:52.75).  Kiss won two medals at the A-10 Championships, a silver (800 freestyle relay) and a bronze (500 freestyle).

In the Championship Final of the 100-yard freestyle, sophomore Will Rastatter just missed a spot on the podium with a fourth-place finish (44.91), while freshman Josh Fletcher placed sixth (45.03).

In the Consolation Final of the event, sophomore Nick Ashton was second (45.12) and junior Drake Moretz finished third (45.14).

Rastatter won four medals overall, three gold (50 freestyle/200 freestyle relay/200 medley relay) and one silver (400 freestyle relay).

"We talked about the history of our program and all the people who came through it over the past 20 years," said Ward when asked what he told his team prior to the last day of competition.  "The alumni and the people who worked hard to get to this point.  These are the guys who get to enjoy the benefits of it and what that means to them.  To take a look at the people beside you because this is an accomplishment that few people get to do and it's something that the team will share for the rest of their life."

Senior Jake Ball placed fourth in the Championship Final of the 200-yard breaststroke (1:58.57), with freshman Thomas Chapman eighth (2:03.41).  Each of the top-three finishers in the event recorded a NCAA B qualifying time.

In the Consolation Final of the event, senior Christopher Stankiewicz touched the wall second (2:01.76), freshman Sammy Lucht finished fourth (2:02.46) and junior Wallace Watkins placed fifth (2:02.61).

The group of Moretz, Ashton, Donnelly and Rastatter added to the Patriots' medal total, winning the silver in the 400-yard freestyle relay (2:59.04).

Senior Gerald Hodges, Jr. won his second medal, taking the bronze in the three-meter diving event.  He posted a preliminary score of 270.85 and a finals score of 311.65.  Hodges won the silver in the one-meter dive earlier in the competition.

"This is right up there with anything that I have done professionally," Ward said.  "As an athlete, swimming on an Olympic team was a great experience and was a huge goal in my life.  The last 20 years, this has been my goal and the goal of this program.  It ranks as high as anything that I've ever done professionally.  It's about performing at the highest level against your peers.  The Atlantic 10 is our peers and we have performed at the highest level against them."

The Patriots as a team celebrated by jumping in the pool at the SPIRE Institute.

"That's a tradition in swimming and one that's unlike any other," Ward said of the celebration.  "I haven't stood on a starting block in a lot of years, but there's no better feeling than to hop in the pool with your team when you win a championship."

On the women's side, George Washington won the title with 608 points, with Fordham second (534) and Duquesne third (525).  Richmond was fourth (453.50), followed by Davidson (417), St. Bonaventure (281.50), Massachusetts (254), Mason (219), La Salle (196), Saint Louis (134) and Rhode Island (79).

Mason sophomore Megan Cummins placed 10th in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:03.36), while sophomore Sophie McKinley was 23rd (17:36.14) and senior Hannah Ikenberry was 24th (17:37.07).

Sophomore Jacquee Clabeaux just missed earning a spot on the podium with a fourth-place finish in the Championship Final of the 200-yard breaststroke (2:14.59).  Each of the top-three finishers in the event posted a NCAA B qualifying time.

In the Consolation Final of the 200-yard backstroke, sophomore Hannah Milikich placed sixth (2:02.97) and Ikenberry was eighth (2:04.40).

The combination of junior Shannon Glesing, sophomore Laura Hodge, freshman Leah Riley and Clabeaux finished fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:24.25).

The Atlantic 10 Championships are the final team competition of the 2019-20 season.