The River Earns 2019 Swimming and Diving National Championship Titles

March 11, 2019 Robert Lane

The Indian River State College (IRSC) Swimming and Diving Team took possession of two new national titles, broke three national records, and earned multiple individual recognitions at the 2019 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Swimming and Diving National Championships held at Erie Community College in Buffalo, New York March 6-9.

The River's Swimming and Diving team took possession of two new national titles, broke three national records, and earned multiple individual recognitions at the 2019 NJCAA Swim Meet.

The IRSC Swimming and Diving Team extends a record-breaking winning streak and now holds 45 consecutive Men’s titles, and 41 overall and 37 consecutive wins for the Women’s team. This unmatched performance continues the longest unbroken U.S. championship winning streak in any sport at the collegiate level.

In addition to securing their national title wins, individual members of the IRSC Swim Team were able to break three standing national records during the meet as well as tie for another record.

Savanna Best kicked-off the meet Wednesday, setting the new national record in the women’s 50-yard breaststroke during preliminaries with a time of 28.45 seconds—winning the finals with a time of 28.77 seconds. Ryen Van Wyk set the national record for the men’s 100-yard individual medley at 49.47 seconds on Friday in addition to tying the national record in the 50-yard backstroke on Thursday finishing in 22.38 seconds. Rounding out record-breaking performances was Jarryd Baxter who broke the national record in the 200-yard men’s backstroke at 1:45.12 on the closing day of the meet.

Additionally, team members earned individual recognition with the following awards: Savanna Best, Female Swimmer of the Year; Jarryd Baxter, Male Swimmer of the Year; Gabby Tolento, Female Diver of the Year; and Matt Priola, Male Diver of the Year.

Indian River’s coaches were also recognized for their contributions to the sport with IRSC Head Swim Coach Sion Brinn recognized as the 2019 NJCAA Male Swim Coach of the Year, David Suba named Diving Coach of the year, and Assistant Swim Coach Manny Noguchi honored with the Jack Cistriano Service Award.