Women’s Swimming & Diving a Close Fourth After Strong Night at Patriot League Championships

Thursday, February 19

Annapolis, Md.

10 a.m./6 p.m.

Bucknell University

Patriot League Championships

Women’s Swimming & Diving a Close Fourth After Strong Night at Patriot League Championships

2/19/2026 9:00:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

RESULTS

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Kelly Byrne finished just a half-second off the podium in the 500-yard freestyle and freshman Tori Castro posted swam the second-fastest 50 free in school history to highlight a strong Thursday night for the Bucknell women's swimming and diving team at the Patriot League Championships at Navy's Lejeune Hall.

The Bison did not secure any medals on Thursday, but they used strong depth to sit in fourth place in the 10-team field, only 10 points behind third-place Boston University. Navy reached the 500-point mark and has opened up a 112-point lead over second-place Army (388), with Boston University (369), Bucknell (359), and Loyola (309) bunched in the next three spots.

The first full evening session of the meet started with Byrne and Clara Renner representing Bucknell in the A Final in the 500 free. Byrne finished fourth in 4:51.87, which was only .54 seconds behind bronze-medalist Brynn Stoneburg of Navy. Army's Molly Webber became the first in league history to win this event four straight times, and she did so with a league-record time of 4:42.07.

Byrne's time was fifth-best in Bucknell history. Renner, who turned in the No. 3 time in school history in a runner-up finish to Webber last season, finished sixth this year in 4:55.91. Sydney Dettmann also scored for the Bison with a 13th-place finish.

Bucknell had four point-scorers and two A Finals qualifiers in both the 200 individual medley and 50 free. Kyla Kelly was the first orange cap to touch with a fifth-place finished in 2:02.16. That moved her up from 10th to fifth on Bucknell's all-time list. Virginia Hastings, who owns the third-fastest 200 IM in team history, finished seventh, followed by Sydney Jee in 16th place and Sofia Burns in 21st.

Castro's first career finals swim resulted in a fifth-place finish in the 50 free. Her time of 23.16 was six-tenths behind winner Haley Robinson of Loyola, and it moved Castro from fifth to second on Bucknell's all-time charts. The only Bison to go faster was teammate Sara Ketron, who broke the 16-year-old school record with a 23.00 at last year's Patriot League Championships at Kinney Natatorium. Ketron finished eighth on Thursday in 23.41. Jennifer Bolden (22nd) and Natalia Gajecki (23rd) finished one-hundredth of a second apart in the C Final.

Three Bison scored in the 1-meter diving event. Natalie Penman led the way with a 10th-place finish with a score of 243.20, while freshmen Ruby Olliffe and Dea Mielenz took 18th and 19th, respectively.

The evening concluded with a seventh-place finish in the 400 medley relay. Gajecki, Hanna Bingley, Castro, and Bolden placed seventh in 3:43.80, which is the fifth-fastest time in program history. Gajecki put her name into the top 10 on the opening 100 backstroke leg, as her 55.25 is seventh-fastest in Bucknell history.

Points will be awarded in six more events on a busy Friday in Annapolis. Prelims start at 10 a.m. followed by the finals at 6 p.m., with live coverage on ESPN+.