WORCESTER, Mass. - The Norwich University men's swimming & diving team wasted no time asserting dominance at the 2026 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships, capturing first place in all eight events on Friday to surge to a 160.0-point lead at the WPI Sports & Recreation Center.

The Cadets hold a 95-point cushion over second-place University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) after Day 1 of the three-day meet, as they chase a fourth-straight GNAC crown and the seventh in program history.

The evening finals were highlighted by a record-breaking performance from Drew Bylow (Monroe, Mich.), who shattered the GNAC 200-yard backstroke record for the second time in one day.  After breaking the 2022 mark in prelims with a 1:57.39, Bylow lowered it again to 1:56.83 in the finals, claiming the event title and adding to a four-win night that also included the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:47.32), swimming the lead leg of the 200-yard medley relay, and anchoring the first-place 400-yard freestyle relay.

The Cadets kicked off the night with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay, as Bylow, Max Ansell (Red Bank, N.J.), Andrew Clark (Acworth, Ga.), and Adrian Riendeau (Ridgecrest, Calif.) combined for a time of 1:39.67 to earn 18 team points and set the tone for the evening.

Riendeau returned to the pool to dominate the 400-yard individual medley, posting a finals time of 4:31.94 to win by nearly 17 seconds.  The Cadets swept the podium in the event, with Anthony Helmer (Morristown, N.J.) and Henry Villanueva (New Rochelle, N.Y.) placing second and third, respectively.

Clark added a win of his own in the 50-yard butterfly, clocking in at 24.30, while Kristian Adlianitski (Cheshire, Conn.) broke through in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing first with a 57.57, less than half a second off the GNAC record.

Norwich's distance dominance continued in the 1000-yard freestyle, where Alex Sulyma (Warwick, R.I.) and John Connor Hallstrom (Bethany, Conn.) went 1-2 in a tightly contested final.  Sulyma touched in at 9:59.58, while Hallstrom followed just behind at 10:00.02.  Helmer completed the Cadet sweep of the podium in third.

To cap the evening, Adlianitski, Clark, Riendeau, and Bylow combined to take first in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:16.62, holding off the University of Saint Joseph and Regis College to close out a dominant opening day.

LEADERS:

• 200 Yard Medley Relay
  • Drew Bylow (Monroe, Mich.), Max Ansell (Red Bank, N.J.), Andrew Clark (Acworth, Ga.), Adrian Riendeau (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
    • 1st, 1:39.67
• 400 Yard IM
  • Adrian Riendeau
    • 1st, 4:31.94
• 200 Yard Freestyle
  • Drew Bylow
    • 1st, 1:47.32
• 50 Yard Butterfly
  • Andrew Clark
    • 1st, 24.30
• 100 Yard Breaststroke
  • Kristian Adlianitski (Cheshire, Conn.)
    • 1st, 57.57
• 200 Yard Backstroke
  • Drew Bylow
    • 1st, 1:56.83 (conference record)
• 1000 Yard Freestyle
  • Alex Sulyma (Warwick, R.I.)
    • 1st, 9:59.58
• 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
  • Kristian Adlianitski, Andrew Clark, Adrian Riendeau, Drew Bylow
    • 1st, 3:16.62

Throughout one day of championship competition, Norwich leads the team standings with:

1. Norwich - 160.0
2. Saint Joseph (Conn.) - 65
3. Regis (Mass.) - 46
4. Elms - 8
5. Albertus Magnus - 4

Championship action resumes Saturday with another full slate of preliminaries and finals, as the Cadets look to build on their strong start.  Preliminaries are slated to begin at 10:00 a.m., with finals scheduled for 6:00 p.m.