4-12-2024 1:58pm

4TH Swimmer Of

TOWSON, Md. –Towson University swimmer Brian Benzing has been named the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Men's Swimmer of the Year for the fourth-consecutive season, announced by the league office Thursday.

Benzing earned his fourth conference swimmer of the year award after posting blistering times at the NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships in Indianapolis last month. Benzing reset the league record in the 200 IM, his first event of the meet, with a time of 1:42.82 for 23rd place. He earned All-American honors and a silver medal in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 50.59, breaking his own conference record from preliminary swims. In the 200 breaststroke, the senior swam a 1:52.71 in preliminary heats to reset the CAA mark and finished 16th overall in the event for an Honorable Mention All-American nod in the event.

The senior was named the Outstanding Men's Swimmer of the Meet at the CAA Championships after winning the 100 breaststroke, 200 IM and picking up a bronze medal in the 100 butterfly. Benzing also earned three medals as a part of Towson relays in the 200 medley (bronze), 800 freestyle (gold) and 400 medley (silver) relays.

Benzing earned six CAA Men's Swimmer of the Week awards during the regular season.

Towson senior Brian Benzing earned CAA Men's Swimmer of the Year honors for the fourth straight season, while UNCW sophomore Ethan Badrian repeated as the CAA Men's Diver of the Year in a vote by the league's head coaches.

Joining Benzing and Badrian as 2024 award winners in men's swimming and diving were UNCW freshman William Carrico as Men’s Rookie Swimmer of the Year, Delaware freshman Lucas Madariaga as Men’s Rookie Diver of the Year, UNCW's Bobby Guntoro as Men's Swimming Coach of the Year and UNCW’s Gavrilo Blijden as Men’s Diving Coach of the Year.

Benzing became the CAA’s first four-time Men’s Swimmer of the Year after a sensational season. The senior received All-America accolades after a second-place finish in the 100 breast at the NCAA Championship, setting a CAA record with a time of 50.59. He was an honorable mention All-American in the 200 breast after posting a CAA-record time of 1:52.71 in the prelims and placing 16th overall. Benzing was also 23rd in the 200 IM at the NCAA’s with a CAA record with a time of 1:42.82. At the CAA Championship, he was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet for the third time after earning six medals. Benzing won the 100 breast for the fourth year in a row, set a meet record while capturing the 200 IM and set a meet record in the 200 free as part of Towson’s 800 free relay team.

Badrian was honored as the Most Outstanding Diver at the CAA Championship for the second consecutive season. He took gold in the 3-meter competition with a score of 350.25 and placed second on the 1-meter board with a score of 313.50. The sophomore competed at the NCAA Zone meet, where he finished 33rd on both boards. During the regular season, he swept both boards at the Patriot Invitational, scoring 363.30 on the 3-meter and 315.65 on the 1-meter. It’s the fifth year in a row that the CAA Diver of the Year has come from UNCW.

Carrico won two individual events and reached the podium four times in his inaugural CAA Championship. The freshman captured the 400 IM with a time of 3:47.31 after breaking the conference record with a time of 3:46.64 in the prelims. He was also the CAA champion in the 500 free with a time of 4:21.66. Carrico placed second in the 200 breast (1:56.28) and was part of the Seahawks’ second-place 800 free relay team. He is UNCW’s fourth Rookie Swimmer of the Year in the past five seasons.

Madariaga finished seventh on the 3-meter board at the CAA Championship with a score of 242.00 after posting a total of 256.00 in the prelims. He was ninth in the 1-meter competition with a score of 234.90. Madariaga is Delaware’s first Rookie Diver of the Year since 2004.

Guntoro was selected as the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year for the third straight season after guiding UNCW to its third consecutive conference title. The Seahawks scored 885.5 points to win the event by a 132-point margin.

Blijden was chosen as the Diving Coach of the Year for the first time. Along with the performance by Badrian, UNCW’s Nic Newis was the CAA champion on the 1-meter board and finished second on the 3-meter board.

In addition to the 2024 major award winners in men's swimming and diving, the following individuals and relay teams received All-CAA accolades based on their performances at the CAA Championship.

50-Freestyle: Sebastian Smith, Drexel; Aiden Bond, William & Mary; Mac Russell, UNCW
100-Freestyle: Sebastian Smith, Drexel; Jacob Duracinsky, UNCW; Aiden Bond, William & Mary
200-Freestyle: Kaloy Levterov, Delaware; Jacob Duracinsky, UNCW; Aiden Bond, William & Mary
500-Freestyle: William Carrico, UNCW; Kaloy Levterov, Delaware; Gavin Currie, Delaware
1650-Freestyle: Silas Crosby, UNCW; Logan Adley, UNCW; Dylan Smolders, Delaware
100-Butterfly: Kuba Kwasny, Drexel; Sebastian Smith, Drexel; Brian Benzing, Towson
200-Butterfly: Kuba Kwasny, Drexel; Jack Hattery, Delaware; Alessio Gianni, Drexel
100-Breaststroke: Brian Benzing, Towson; Toni Sabev, Delaware; Matvei Namakonov, Delaware
200-Breaststroke: Toni Sabev, Delaware; William Carrico, UNCW; Kacper Karnik, Drexel
100-Backstroke: Will Goldey, UNCW; Gavin Currie, Delaware; Jack VanHowe, UNCW
200-Backstroke: Kaloy Levterov, Delaware; Gavin Currie, Delaware; Will Goldey, UNCW
200-Individual Medley: Brian Benzing, Towson; Will Goldey, UNCW; Jacob Duracinsky, UNCW
400-Individual Medley: William Carrico, UNCW; Aidan Duffy, UNCW; Dylan Smolders, Delaware
200-Freestyle Relay: UNCW (Noah Sipowski, Mac Russell, Jacob Duracinsky, Kenneth Lowe)
Drexel (Kuba Kwasny, Nate Piccolo, Alasdair Bell, Sebastian Smith)
Delaware (Matvei Namakonov, Luke Rautzhan, Miguel Vasquez, Addison Collins)
400-Freestyle Relay: UNCW (Mac Russell, Jacob Duracinsky, Robert Tars, Kenneth Lowe)
Drexel (Alessio Gianni, Andrea Casini, Kuba Kwasny, Sebastian Smith)
Delaware (Addison Collins, Luke Rautzhan, Matvei Namakonov, Kaloy Levterov)
800-Freestyle Relay: Towson (Brian Benzing, Stephen McDonald, Sean Colson, Luke Schwar)
UNCW (Jacob Duracinsky, Will Goldey, William Carrico, Kenneth Lowe)
Delaware (Kaloyan Levterov, Andrew Taylor, Jacob Replogle, Gavin Currie)
200-Medley Relay: Delaware (Gavin Currie, Toni Sabev, Simeon Sabev, Matvei Namakonov)
Drexel (Dimitrios Gkelis, Kacper Karnik, Kuba Kwasny, Sebastian Smith)
Towson (Evan Bota, Brian Benzing, Ben Eischeid, Daniel McLaughlin)
400-Medley Relay: Delaware (Gavin Currie, Toni Sabev, Simeon Sabev, Matvei Namakonov)
Towson (Sean Colson, Brian Benzing, Ben Eischeid, Luke Schwar)
Drexel (Dimitrios Gkelis, Kacper Karnik, Kuba Kwasny, Sebastian Smith)
One-Meter Dive: Nic Newis, UNCW; Ethan Badrian, UNCW; Kevin Siegfried, Delaware
Three-Meter Dive: Ethan Badrian, UNCW; Nic Newis, UNCW; Kevin Siegfried, Delaware