By Joseph Keyser
WEBSTER, N.Y.—SUNY Brockport's men's swimming and diving team came in 4th place behind Grove City College, Penn State Behrend and SUNY Geneseo after scoring 285 points in the Brockport Early Season Invite on Oct. 19.
With a large recruiting class and a new approach to preseason training, Brockport’s men’s swimming and diving team is instilling a new culture for the program.
“I think it helps for the underclassmen athletes to build some confidence, seeing the upperclassmen put on good performances,” Brockport head coach Zack Wahl said. “It helps our first years and new athletes on the roster buy in a little bit more and understand that this is a process and that it might take a while to get to where the upperclassmen are. But seeing them do it helps them understand that they have to embrace the grind. When you do what you have to do, the results will follow.”
One upperclassman that embraces the grind of practice is Luca Olivieri, who broke the program’s 200-yard backstroke record last season. Injuries may have limited his performance, but he still made sure to encourage the new swimmers.
“I went out of my way this season to tell the freshmen that they should show passion and emotion when they swim,” Olivieri said. “When you have a good race, celebrate a little bit. On the side of the pool, make sure you’re cheering on your teammates.”
“You know, I really like to watch my teammates swim fast,” Olivieri said. “That sets a fire in me to swim fast. I love to see my teammates get up and race hard.”
The energy and cheering that Olivieri encouraged showed up before the first race even started. The crowd was loud, and the athletes were buzzing with excitement to get the season underway.
“The meet was better than my expectations,” freshman Erik Parkes said. “I just expected this small thing where there’s not a lot of people. But here, there were lots of fans. The seats were full. I loved it.”
Brockport’s medley relay team of Olivieri, Josh Lauzonis, Parkes and Garrett Nanna placed fourth with a time of 1:43.23.
Michael Laviani got sixth place in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:38.46.
Ryan Sampson got eighth place in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 12:46.11
Olivieri swam the 100-yard backstroke in 56.75, earning him eighth place. He placed seventh in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:05.70.
Jace Fredericksen earned himself eighth place in the 500-yard freestyle, posting a time of 5:21.10.
Parkes placed seventh in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 55:22.
“I think the freshmen did really well today,” Olivieri said. “Especially Erik [Parkes]. That kid is a dog. He’s going somewhere. He’s looking at a couple records already this year. So, yeah, dog.”
Full meet results are available on Meet Mobile.
The Golden Eagles’ next meet is a tri-meet against Alfred University and Alfred State on Saturday, October 26 at 1 p.m. in Alfred.
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