Nineteen Pirates Named All-BIG EAST

3/1/2023 10:01:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

NEW YORK – Nineteen members of the Seton Hall men's and women's swimming and diving teams received All-BIG EAST honors, the conference announced on Wednesday. In order to achieve All-BIG EAST status, competitors must finish in the top three in any individual or relay event at the BIG EAST Championships.

Of the 19 Pirates honored, 12 were on the men's side and seven were on the women's squad. Fourteen Pirates were multi-event honorees. Freshman Michael Klimaszewski (London, England) led the Pirates with six all-conference honors. Lea Moeller (New Lenox, Ill.) led the women's team with four all-league distinctions. The 19 honorees between the men's and women's programs are the second-most in the BIG EAST.

In total, Seton Hall won 11 events and nine different Pirates were crowned BIG EAST Champions. Nine new school records were set while the Pirates picked up six NCAA qualifying times. Five of the new school records came courtesy of the women, as Allie Waggoner (Moorestown, N.J.) set three new school marks and Natalie Heim (Middletown, N.J.) set two. Waggoner took down the 400 IM school record with a time of 4:22.10, and broke both the 1000 Free and 1650 Free records during her gold medal swim in the mile.

Heim won both the 100 Free and 200 Free on the week, setting new school records in each event. In the process, Heim became the first Pirates woman to win the 100 Free and the 200 Free. The three swimming victories for the women's team also marked the most at a single BIG EAST Championships in program history.

The men's 800 Free Relay team of Kevin Cary (West Chester, Pa.), Gideon Langenbusch (Oberhausen, Germany), Justin Oosterwyk (Pequannock, N.J.) and Ben LaClair (Belchertown, Mass.) broke the school record on day one of the championships with a time of 6:32.13 en route to a second place finish. The 400 Medley Relay team would also take down a program record, as Pantano, Ben Endersby (Caldwell, N.J.), Klimaszewski and Cary won the event in 3:13.09.

Klimaszewski broke school records in the 100 Fly and 200 Fly, earning NCAA "B" cut time in prelims and finals of both events. His win in the 100 Fly marked the fifth straight year in which a Pirate has won the event. Sean Vizzard (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Clil Halevi (Kafar Hadranim, Israel) both earned NCAA qualifying times during the 1650 Free as they finished in second and fourth, respectively.

Quinn Murtha (Cumming, Ga.) became the first Pirates men's diver to win a BIG EAST title since current diving coach Ben Mitchell did so back in 2015. Murtha won the 1-meter on Wednesday night with a total score of 569.75 and won the 3-meter on Friday night with a score of 613.80.

Ross Pantano (Bennington, Neb.) swept the backstroke events last week, becoming the first Pirate man to win a backstroke event since 2011. His win the 100 Back was just the second ever for the men's team, and the first since Jack Leavitt did so in 2005.

Men
Kevin Cary (200 Free, 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay, 800 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay)
Ben Endersby (200 Medley Relay, 200 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay)
Clil Halevi (500 Free)
Michael Klimaszewski (100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay)
Ben LaClair (100 Free, 400 Free Relay, 800 Free Relay)
Gideon Langenbusch (800 Free Relay)
Thomas Minar (50 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay)
Quinn Murtha (1M Dive, 3M Dive)
Justin Oosterwyk (200 Fly, 800 Free Relay)
Ross Pantano (100 Back, 200 Back, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay)
Trevor Post (1M Dive, 3M Dive)
Sean Vizzard (500 Free, 1650 Free)

Women
Sierra Cripps (200 Fly)
Natalie Heim (100 Free, 200 Free, 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay)
Leiya Istambouli (400 Free Relay)
Cornelia Jerresand (200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay)
Josie McCartney (200 Free Relay)
Lea Moeller (50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay)
Allie Waggoner (500 Free, 1650 Free)

First-Place Finishes
Men's 100 Back - Ross Pantano - 48.14
Men's 200 Back - Ross Pantano - 1:46.00
Men's 100 Fly - Michael Klimaszewski - 46.82 (Program Record)
Men's 200 Fly - Michael Klimaszewski - 1:45.23 (Program Record)
Men's 400 Free Relay - Thomas Minar, Kevin Cary, Michael Klimaszewski, Ben LaClair - 2:58.35
Men's 400 Medley Relay - Ross Pantano, Ben Endersby, Michael Klimaszewski, Kevin Cary - 3:13.09 (Program Record)
Men's 1-meter Dive - Quinn Murtha - 569.75
Men's 3-meter Dive - Quinn Murtha - 613.80
Women's 100 Free - Natalie Heim - 50.15 (Program Record)
Women's 200 Free - Natalie Heim - 1:48.00 (Program Record)
Women's 1650 Free - Allie Waggoner - 16:31.50 (Program Record)