COLUMBUS, Ga. — The Ave Maria Swimming and Diving team competed in the Small College Championships November 20-22 and broke 14 school records. The best swim of the weekend was Samuel Pilkington receiving the very first A-cut in program history and earning an automatic invite to the NAIA National Championships in March.
Pilkington’s qualifying swim was in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing with a time of 54.23. Pilkington broke his own school record by over a second and half and got the silver medal in pool of 24 swimmers, falling only to a swimmer from NCAA Division II Rollins. It is also currently the third-fastest time in the 100-yard breaststroke in the NAIA.
The Gyrene men got one more podium finish with the 200-yard free relay team placing third with a time of 1:22.72. The team consisted of Pilkington in the leadoff position followed by Scott Anderson, Pete Anderson and anchored by Eduardo Martiniano. That time was also a school record, beating the previous mark set at the 2024 NAIA National Championships by nearly two seconds…