WORCESTER, Mass. — The Southern Connecticut State University men's swimming and diving team sits in third place following the opening night of the 2026 Northeast 10 Conference Championships on Thursday, Feb 12 at the WPI Sports and Recreation Center.

The Owls finished the first session with 77 total points, trailing the University of Bridgeport, which leads the field with 114 points, and Bentley University in second with 83.

Southern Connecticut's standout performance of the night came in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The "A" relay team, composed of seniors Dylan Prescher, Samir Souidi, Ben Frazer, and Jack Fry, captured the bronze medal with a time of 6:48.82. The Owls' "B" relay team added to the scoring with a 13th-place finish, touching the wall in 7:07.56.

In the 1,000-yard freestyle, the Owls relied on their depth to stay within striking distance of the leaders, placing four swimmers in the scoring column. Richie Hall led the charge for Southern with a seventh-place finish in 9:50.95 while Souidi tied for 9th at 9;54.09. Lucas Quiroga was 13th (10:13.88) while Nick Zerva also scored for the Owls with a 14th place finish at 10:13.97. 

On the boards, sophomore Elliott Speckhard positioned himself for a podium finish in the 3-meter diving event. Speckhard finished second in the preliminary round with a score of 363.90. Freshman Cole Mullarkey also advanced to the finals, sitting in sixth place with a score of 298.65.

While the men are in third, the Southern Connecticut women's team jumped out to an early lead in their championship defense, ending the day in first place with 93 points after winning the 800-yard freestyle relay.

The four-day meet continues Friday with the 3 Meter diving finals 200-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard free 200-yard IM, 50-yard free and the 400-yard medley relay.