GENEVA, Oh.- The George Mason Patriots are on top of the men’s leaderboard after the second day of competition after finishing day one in a tie with George Washington for first, while the Colonials added on to their lead for the women. 

The Patriots now have a firm grasp on first place with 262 points, with George Washington trailing in second with 220.5, followed by St. Bonaventure in third at 201.5, La Salle at (169.5), Davidson (153.5), Massachusetts (134.5), Saint Louis (94), and Fordham (92.5).

A winning 200-yard freestyle relay team (Will Rastatter, Nick Ashton, Josh Fletcher, and Ryan Donnelly) with a time of 1:19.66 led the way in Mason’s big night. Rastatter also finished first in the 50-yard freestyle in 20.33. Gerald Hodges boosted the score with a second place finish in the 1-meter dive with a score of 292.05. Attila Kiss and Luke Devore both registered third place finishes in the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM, respectively. 

Tjaard Krusch etched his name into the conference record book with a time of 1:45.73 as he finished first in the 200-yard IM. 

After setting the conference record in last year’s championship, Moritz Fath claimed first place once more in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking a time of 4:20.62.

Davidson’s Daniel Valmassei took first place in the 1-meter dive with a score of 310.65. 

The Colonials hold a strong lead in the women’s competition at 251 points, while Duquesne follows in second with a score of 199. Fordham (194) is in third, followed by Davidson (172), Richmond (156), Massachusetts (117), St. Bonaventure (98), George Mason (79), La Salle (67), Saint Louis (62), and Rhode Island (41). 

GW clocked a second place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay (Meghan Burton, Becca Brown, Grace Olivardia, and Rebecca Smolcic) with an impressive time of 1:31. 42. Burton also came in second place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.15. 

Siena Senn of Davidson finished first in the 500-yard freestyle at 4:49.72, while teammate Sarah Helen Shepherd touched the wall at 1:58.99, taking first in the 200-yard IM. 

Fordham’s 200-yard freestyle relay team (Michelle Martin, Hannah McGee, Mia Bullock, and Theresa Mullen) broke the conference and meet record, setting the new best time at 1:30.84. Martin also completed the 50-yard freestyle in 22.95 to claim first place. 

The championships resume tomorrow morning with the preliminary events beginning at 10:00 am followed by finals at 6:30 pm.