Women's Swimming | 4/24/2021 8:42:00 PM

YORK, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University women's swimming team had another strong day in the pool on Saturday as it finished in second place overall at the 2020-21 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships at the Graham Aquatic Center. The Huskies finished with a total of 1317.5 points over the course of the two-day event, trailing only IUP in the team standings. The Crimson Hawks won the title with 1658 total points.

Senior Chelsea Ackerson (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) had the lone individual title on Saturday as she blew past the competition in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:32.63 to open the evening session. She was more than 25 seconds faster than Edinboro's Stephanie Sipple, who finished second in the event. It was Ackerson's second conference title of the championship meet as she opened with a victory in the 1000-yard freestyle on Friday morning to start the two-day event.

Ackerson opened the morning session on Saturday with a second-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:12.61. She trailed only Gannon's Silvija Taraska, who won with a mark of 5:05.30. Freshman Madison Osanitsch (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) continued her solid championships with a sixth-place result in the event after posting a time of 5:14.92. Freshman Katie Sharkey (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) and junior Liz Jackson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) also scored for the Huskies as they finished 15th and 16th, respectively.

The 100-yard backstroke featured a third-place finish from sophomore Grace Beierschmitt (Dover, Pa./Dover), who also had a sensational conference championships. Beierschmitt finished in a time of 57.59, nearly a second faster than her season-best time of 58.56, to earn the bronze. Freshman Jada Stambaugh (West Lawn, Pa./Wilson) took 11th in the event with a time of 1:00.80. Sophomores Alicia Lehman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) and Jenna Park (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal) placed 14th and 18th, respectively, while freshman Morgan Merrifield (York, Pa./Dallastown) was 21st to finish off the Huskies' scoring.

Bloomsburg went 4-5 in the 100-yard breaststroke with senior Kristen Bane (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) the highest Huskies' finisher with a time of 1:05.13 - half-a-second ahead of junior Carlie Owens (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone), who was fifth. Sophomore Anna Sugra (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) placed 13th overall after touching the wall in 1:09.83. Then, in the 200-yard butterfly, freshman Sydney Lloyd (Nescopeck, Pa./Berwick) took sixth with a time of 2:13.32 as she had a strong first career championship meet for the Huskies. Senior teammate Lindsay Mooney (Salisbury, Md./Parkside) was right behind in seventh with a time of 2:13.64. Junior Elizabeth Turner (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) placed 11th in 2:16.70 while freshman MacKenna Krouse (Mt. Airy, Md./South Carroll) was 13th after coming in with a time of 2:19.70. Junior Julie Marchioni (Reynoldsville, Pa./DuBois Area) also scored for the Huskies as she posted a time of 2:22.28 to place 16th overall.

In the final event of the morning, the Huskies' 800-yard freestyle relay team took fifth with a time of 8:00.95. The foursome consisted of Osanitsch, Ackerson, Owens, and Turner.

The evening session opened with Ackerson's dominant performance in the 1650-yard freestyle. Sharkey added a top-eight finish in the event as she placed seventh overall with a time of 18:30.64.

The Huskies then had three swimmers finish in the top eight of the 100-yard freestyle with Mooney leading the way with a fourth-place result after touching the wall in 52.46. Sophomore Courtney Hubric (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin), who won the 50-yard freestyle for her first conference title on Friday, tied for fifth with Edinboro's Makayla Scheu as they touched in identical times of 52.78. Lloyd took seventh with a time of 53.13. Jackson (16th), Merrifield (18th), Turner (23rd), and Park (24th) also scored for Bloomsburg in the event.

Beierschmitt led the Huskies in the 200-yard backstroke with a ninth-place finish as she swam the race in 2:08.64. Osanitsch, Stambaugh, and Lehman finished 13th, 14th, and 15th, respectively.

In the final individual event, Owens led Bloomsburg with a fourth-place result in the 200-yard breaststroke after completing the swim in 2:24.28. Bane took ninth overall while Sugra finished 14th. Marchioni added a 22nd-place finish to also factor in the scoring for the Huskies.

The championships closed with the Huskies taking second in the 400-yard freestyle relay as they posted a time of 3:32.70. The team featured Lloyd, Jackson, Mooney, and Hubric.

The runner-up finish for the Huskies extends the program's streak to eight straight seasons of finishing in the top three at the conference championships. It is Bloomsburg's first runner-up finish since 2018 which ended a string a four straight second-place results.

BLOOMSBURG RESULTS (SATURDAY)

500 FREE
2. Chelsea Ackerson (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) (5:12.61)
6. Madison Osanitsch (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) (5:14.92)
15. Katie Sharkey (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) (5:23.49)
16. Liz Jackson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) (5:24.86)

100 BACK
3. Grace Beierschmitt (Dover, Pa./Dover) (57.59)
11. Jada Stambaugh (West Lawn, Pa./Wilson) (1:00.80)
14. Alicia Lehman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) (1:01.51)
18. Jenna Park (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal) (1:03.51)
21. Morgan Merrifield (York, Pa./Dallastown) (1:04.78)
Sophie Besterman (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) X(1:04.68)
Annika Trolle (Allentown, N.J./Allentown) X(1:04.86)

100 BREAST
4. Kristen Bane (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) (1:05.13)
5. Carlie Owens (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) (1:05.67)
13. Anna Sugra (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) (1:09.83)
Danyel Noss (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) X(1:18.70)

200 FLY
6. Sydney Lloyd (Nescopeck, Pa./Berwick) (2:13.32)
7. Lindsay Mooney (Salisbury, Md./Parkside) (2:13.64)
11. Elizabeth Turner (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) (2:16.70)
13. MacKenna Krouse (Mt. Airy, Md./South Carroll) (2:19.70)
16. Julie Marchioni (Reynoldsville, Pa./DuBois Area) (2:22.28)

800 FREE RELAY
5. Madison Osanitsch (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) / Chelsea Ackerson (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) / Carlie Owens (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) / Elizabeth Turner (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) (8:00.95)

1650 FREE
1. Chelsea Ackerson (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) (17:32.63) - PSAC CHAMPION
7. Katie Sharkey (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) (18:30.64)

100 FREE
4. Lindsay Mooney (Salisbury, Md./Parkside) (52.46)
5t. Courtney Hubric (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) (52.78)
7. Sydney Lloyd (Nescopeck, Pa./Berwick) (53.13)
16. Liz Jackson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) (55.28)
18. Morgan Merrifield (York, Pa./Dallastown) (55.49)
23. Elizabeth Turner (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) (56.00)
24. Jenna Park (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal) (56.04)
Annika Trolle (Allentown, N.J./Allentown) X(56.63)
Sophie Besterman (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) X(57.14)
Danyel Noss (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) X(58.75)

200 BACK
9. Grace Beierschmitt (Dover, Pa./Dover) (2:08.64)
13. Madison Osanitsch (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) (2:11.37)
14. Jada Stambaugh (West Lawn, Pa./Wilson) (2:11.93)
15. Alicia Lehman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) (2:12.77)

200 BREAST
4. Carlie Owens (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) (2:24.28)
9. Kristen Bane (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) (2:27.70)
14. Anna Sugra (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) (2:32.88)
22. Julie Marchioni (Reynoldsville, Pa./DuBois Area) (2:41.26)
27. MacKenna Krouse (Mt. Airy, Md./South Carroll) (2:46.11)

400 FREE RELAY
2. Sydney Lloyd (Nescopeck, Pa./Berwick) / Liz Jackson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) / Lindsay Mooney (Salisbury, Md./Parkside) / Courtney Hubric (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) (3:32.70)