Paneras Sets Another Record, Knights 800 Freestyle Tops 7-Year-Old Mark on Day 3 of LL Championships

Melissa Cartier

Danny Killian was the second swimmer in Clarkson's record-breaking 800 freestyle relay

Swimming/Diving | 2/20/2026 9:25:00 PM

Ithaca, NY – For the second straight day, freshman Evan Paneras broke an individual record, this time in the 200 butterfly, highlighting the Clarkson University Swimming & Diving program's third day at the Liberty League Championships, hosted by Ithaca College.

Along with Paneras's record in the 200 butterfly, the Clarkson men's 800 freestyle relay also topped a seven-year-old program mark in that event. Clarkson's men finished the day in fourth place with 781.5 points, still within striking distance of the third spot in the standings, while the women went to ninth place with 280 points.

2026 Liberty League Championships - Day Three

The evening session began with a new Clarkson record in the 200 medley relay, topping a mark that was created just two months ago in Rochester. Mason Cartier, Andrew Sammons, Evan Paneras, and Gavin Stuhler combined for a time of 1:32.85, good enough for third place points and more than a second quicker than the foursome's previous time at the Don Richards Invitational. Clarkson's group of four in the women's 200 medley relay gained eighth-place points with a time of 1:57.10 thanks to the combination of Aurora Zary, Fiona Reilly, Paige Davis, and Dani McDonald.

In the first individual event of the finals' session, Evan Paneras ended up in third place in the 200 butterfly. He had challenged his own school record in the 200 butterfly during the preliminaries, coming up .38 seconds short of a standard he created earlier in the year, but he shattered the mark in the evening finals, going 1.06 seconds faster than his previous best with a time of 1:51.76. Paneras was the only Golden Knight in the 'A' finals, but two reached the 'B' finals and two more made it to the 'C' finals. Landon Colby ended up in 10th place by being the runner-up in the second heat with a time of 1:56.70, while Casey Everett placed 14th in 1:58.90. In the 'C' finals, Colin Losinger placed 19th in 2:04.67 and Jacob Ducey was 21st in 2:07.90. Conner Klock also swam the event as an exhibition (2:21.21) in the preliminaries.

The women's 200 butterfly finals had two Clarkson swimmers in the 'C' heat, as Katelyn Otis topped the heat and finished 17th overall in 2:22.31, and Paige Davis was a spot behind in 18th in 2:26.03.

Three of the Golden Knights made the finals for the 100 backstroke, with one in the 'B' heat and two in the 'C' heat. Mason Cartier had the top time among all Clarkson swimmers, finishing with a 52.86 in the finals for 10th place. James Fedele ended up 17th in 56.84 and Lucas Monroe was 24th in 1:00.65.

None of Clarkson's four entrants in the 100 backstroke for the women made it to the finals, though Abigail Szyprowski was close, taking 27th in 1:07.32. Robin Weber (30th, 1:07.84), Emma Canale (32nd, 1:08.80), and Emily Kenny (33rd, 1:11.95) also participated in the preliminaries.

All three of Clarkson's participants in the 100 breaststroke advanced to the finals on Friday evening, with one appearing in each heat. Andrew Sammons took the eighth spot in the 'A' finals in 57.88 seconds, Matthew Sitarek ended up in 11th in 59.75 during the 'B' heat, and Sean Finnerty took 18th with a time of 1:01.85 in the 'C' finals heat.

The Knights' had just one swimmer in the women's 100 breaststroke finals. Fiona Reilly ended up in 23rd place overall, closing out her 'C' finals race with a time of 1:14.57. Roman Neenan just missed out on the finals, taking 29th in the preliminaries in 1:17.89.

For the second time in three days, both of Clarkson's divers survived the preliminaries to make it to the evening session. Gavin Cibelli was fourth in the morning and finished fourth in the evening, recording 431.20 points on the 1-meter dive. Carter Lancto had a few additional points in the evening and ended up in eighth place in the event with a score of 338.80.

The final event of the day saw Clarkson break a record in the 800 freestyle, shaving close to six seconds off the former standard from 2019. Owen White, Daniel Killian, Evan Paneras, and Gavin Stuhler combined to go for 6:55.70, which was good enough for third place, just .12 seconds ahead of fourth-place RPI. On the women's side, Clarkson's A relay finished in 8:16.90, claiming seventh-place points in the event. Four sophomores rallied together for that time, including Natasha Hurff, Aurora Zary, Fiona Reilly, and Kirsten Iles.

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