Men's Swimming and Diving Looks for Continued Success in New Season

The St. Bonaventure men's swimming and diving team begins a new season Thursday, Sept. 26 as head coach Mike Smiechowski enters his third season at the helm of the program.
 
Smiechowski led the program to a third-place finish at the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship meet, moving up from a sixth-place result in 2023 as a first-year head coach at St. Bonaventure.

The improvement from 2023 to 2024 is a testament to the work Smiechowski and the student-athletes have put in to return the program to one of the top-performing teams in the Atlantic 10. From 1998 to 2015, the program won three conference championships and were runners-up each year they did not win.

The team returns four previous Atlantic 10 medalists while bringing in graduate transfer Aidan Kreiley who looks to make an immediate impact for the Bonnies.
 
Kreiley spent his first four seasons at the Atlantic Coast Conference's Louisville. The Dansville, N.Y. native helped the Cardinals to a 2021 ACC championship and was named to the conference's All-Academic Team as a senior.
 
"Kreiley is going to make a big contribution to our relays and in individual events," said Smiechowski. "We hope to have him compete for a podium spot in the 100 and 200-breaststroke at Championships."

Senior Alexander Behr earned his second consecutive silver medal in the 200-butterfly in 2024. The program record holder in the event, Behr has also earned Atlantic 10 All-Academic team honors in the previous two seasons.

Other previous medalists returning for the Bonnies include Luigi Termine, Ben O'Neill and Ben Giera.
 
Termine finished third in the 100-backstroke while O'Neill notched a silver medal in the 1-meter dive in 2024.
 
Giera missed out on the podium in his sophomore season but earned gold in the 3-meter dive as a freshman in 2022. The junior diving duo of O'Neill and Giera look to continue their success and bring guidance to newcomer Josiah Knapp.
 
"O'Neill and Giera have helped elevate our diving program, and they will help elevate Josiah, our incoming freshman," said Smiechowski. "Josiah is a very talented freshman and O'Neill and Giera will help him compete for positions in A-Finals at Championships."

The Bonnies are an experienced squad with 14 upperclassmen on the roster. Joining Behr in the senior class are Knute Wargin and Mikolaj Synowiec.
 
Graduate transfer Kreiley is joined by returners Dylan Cachia and Sam Matthews.
 
Matthews returns for his second year with the Bonnies. In the 2023-24 season, Matthews was a contributor in the 50, 100 and 200-freestyle making either the A or B finals of each event at A-10 Championships.

Eight athletes return as juniors. Termine, O'Neill and Giera are joined by Henry Wilkes, Knute Wargin, Denton Smith, Boray Goren, and Will Foggin.
 
Kevyn Collazo Torres, Johnny Edwards, Aiden Hall, Carlos Hidalgo, Andrew Ketler, and Paul Wissel return for their second season with the Bonnies.
 
Collazo Torres and Hall both made an immediate impact, making multiple finals at Atlantic 10 Championships. Hall recorded an eighth-place finish in the 500-freestyle while Collazo Torres finished 11th in the 200-IM and 14th in the 400-IM a year ago.

The Bonnies bring in five freshmen swimmers along with diver, Knapp.
 
Mark Mizsei is an exciting newcomer for the Bonnies. The Hungary native posted a 7th place finish in both the 100 and 200-meter fly in April at the Hungarian National Championship. In an article released by SwimSwam.com, Charlotte Wells notes that Mizsei's converted LCM time in the 200-fly would give him the program record and a shot at the podium at the championship meet.
 
Joining Mizsei as a part of the freshman class are Quinn Borchers, Connor Peck, Will Parker, and Mark Cattron.

After the Youngstown State dual meet, Bona will host Niagara Oct. 5 for Alumni Appreciation Weekend.