WORCESTER, Mass. - The Norwich University men's swimming & diving team capped off another dominant campaign with a wire-to-wire performance at the 2026 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships, claiming their fourth consecutive league crown behind a tidal wave of event victories and individual honors at the WPI Sports & Recreation Center.

The Cadets surged to a team score of 462.5 points, more than doubling up second-place University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), who finished with 207.5.  Norwich captured first place in 22 of 25 events across the weekend, including seven of eight competitions on Sunday's final day, to sweep both the men's and women's team titles for the fourth straight season.

Led by Drew Bylow (Monroe, Mich.) and Gabe Wettig (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), who earned GNAC Men's Swimmer and Men's Rookie of the Year honors respectively, the Cadets extended a years-long dynasty at the top of the conference.  Bylow becomes the fourth-straight Norwich swimmer to be named Men's Swimmer of the Year, following in the footsteps of Kristian Adlianitski, Will Thompson, and Martin Adlianitski.  Wettig continues the program's streak of five-straight GNAC Men's Rookies of the Year, joining Bylow, Kristian Adlianitski, Adrian Riendeau, and Benjamin Stark.

Noah Lowe (Latham, N.Y.) was recognized for his exemplary conduct and competitive spirit as Norwich's selection to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

Norwich opened championship Sunday with a statement swim in the 100-yard freestyle, as Adrian Riendeau (Ridgecrest, Calif.) sprinted to gold in 48.96.  Wettig followed in second with a time of 50.18, and Lowe rounded out the podium sweep with a third-place finish in 50.43.

The Cadets kept piling on from there.  Kristian Adlianitski (Cheshire, Conn.) repeated as the conference champion in the 50-yard breaststroke, stopping the clock at 26.57, before Norwich went 1-2 in the 1650-yard freestyle.  John Connor Hallstrom (Bethany, Conn.) blazed to the win in 16:40.89, with Alex Sulyma (Warwick, R.I.) claiming silver in 17:21.78.

Bylow cemented his Swimmer of the Year campaign with a victory in the 100-yard backstroke, clocking in at 52.59, and returned later in the evening to take the 200-yard individual medley in 1:58.95.  Wettig added another top-three finish in the IM to cap his breakout championship meet.

Andrew Clark (Acworth, Ga.) cruised to victory in the 200-yard butterfly, touching in 1:56.26, while Hallstrom (second in 2:00.68) and Anthony Helmer (Morristown, N.J.) (third in 2:09.51) completed the Cadets' second podium sweep of the night.

Norwich closed out the championship with an emphatic win in the 400-yard medley relay, as the quartet of Riendeau, Adlianitski, Clark, and Lowe combined for a time of 3:35.49, more than seven seconds ahead of the next closest team.

The Cadets secured the program's seventh all-time GNAC championship, and the fifth under Head Coach Jennifer Cournoyer's leadership.  With the women's team also securing the title during the meet, Cournoyer now boasts nine total GNAC championships at the helm.

The top three finishers in each event were also recognized as 2026 GNAC All-Conference honorees.  They included:

• 200 Yard Medley Relay - Norwich (Drew Bylow, Max Ansell, Andrew Clark, Adrian Riendeau)
• 400 Yard IM - Adrian Riendeau, Norwich; Anthony Helmer, Norwich; Henry Villanueva, Norwich
• 200 Yard Freestyle - Drew Bylow, Norwich; Alex Sulyma, Norwich
• 50 Yard Butterfly - Andrew Clark, Norwich
• 100 Yard Breaststroke - Kristian Adlianitski, Norwich
• 200 Yard Backstroke - Drew Bylow, Norwich
• 1000 Yard Freestyle - Alex Sulyma, Norwich; Connor Hallstrom, Norwich; Anthony Helmer, Norwich
• 400 Yard Freestyle Relay - Norwich (Kristian Adlianitski, Andrew Clark, Adrian Riendeau, Drew Bylow)
• 200 Yard Freestyle Relay - Norwich (Drew Bylow, Gabe Wettig, Adrian Riendeau, Kristian Adlianitski
• 100 Yard Butterfly - Andrew Clark, Norwich; Gabe Wettig, Norwich;
• 500 Yard Freestyle - Andrew Clark, Norwich; Connor Hallstrom, Norwich; Alex Sulyma, Norwich
• 50 Yard Backstroke - Adrian Riendeau, Norwich
• 50 Yard Freestyle - Kristian Adlianitski, Norwich; Gabe Wettig, Norwich, Max Ansell, Norwich
• 200 Yard Breaststroke - Max Ansell, Norwich
• 100 Yard IM - Kristian Adlianitski, Norwich; Adrian Riendeau, Norwich
• 800 Freestyle Relay - Norwich (Kristian Adlianitski, Alex Sulyma, Andrew Clark, Drew Bylow)
• 100 Yard Freestyle - Adrian Riendeau, Norwich; Gabe Wettig, Norwich; Noah Lowe, Norwich
• 50 Yard Breaststroke - Kristian Adlianitski, Norwich
• 1650 Yard Freestyle - Connor Hallstrom, Norwich; Alex Sulyma, Norwich
• 100 Yard Backstroke - Drew Bylow, Norwich
• 200 Yard Butterfly - Andrew Clark, Norwich; Connor Hallstrom, Norwich; Anthony Helmer, Norwich
• 200 Yard IM - Drew Bylow, Norwich; Gabe Wettig, Norwich
• 400 Yard Medley Relay - Norwich (Kristian Adlianitski, Andrew Clark, Adrian Riendeau, Noah Lowe)

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LEADERS:

• 100 Yard Freestyle
  • Adrian Riendeau (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
    • 1st, 48.96
• 50 Yard Breaststroke
  • Kristian Adlianitski (Cheshire, Conn.)
    • 1st, 26.57
• 1650 Yard Freestyle
  • John Connor Hallstrom (Bethany, Conn.)
    • 1st, 16:40.89
• 100 Yard Backstroke
  • Drew Bylow (Monroe, Mich.)
    • 1st, 52.59
• 200 Yard Butterfly
  • Andrew Clark (Acworth, Ga.)
    • 1st, 1:56.26
• 200 Yard IM
  • Drew Bylow
    • 1st, 1:58.95
• 400 Yard Medley Relay
  • Adrian Riendeau, Kristian Adlianitski, Andrew Clark, Noah Lowe (Latham, N.Y.)
    • 1st, 3:35.49

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After three days of championship competition, Norwich led the team standings with:

1. Norwich - 462.5
2. Saint Joseph (Conn.) - 207.5
3. Regis (Mass.) - 168
4. Elms - 24
5. Albertus Magnus - 9

A select group of swimmers will now look ahead to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Open Swimming & Diving Championships, set to take place from Friday, Feb. 27 to Sunday, Mar. 1, hosted by Bucknell University within Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pa.