Pace men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams completed the NE-10 Conference Championships meet with a surprising finish. The Setters accumulated over 1,000 points from Feb. 7-Feb. 10, encouraging the men’s record-setting third place end and the women’s fourth place end.

Among the victorious are two sophomore standouts, Annabel Keppel-Palmer and Filip Turecky. Coming off of an impressive 2018 freshman season, including qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 400 IM (individual medley), Keppel-Palmer continued to soar. She finished this year’s NE-10 Championships taking home the gold medal in the 200-back, almost breaking her personal record.

Keppel-Palmer, however, does not waste time celebrating. She’s already plotting her 2020 takeover.

“My goal for next year is to re-qualify again, and hopefully make it to finals,” she said.

Turecky was awarded three medals by the end of the fourth day of the NE10 Championships. He earned a bronze medal in the 800-free relay, a bronze medal in the 100-back, and finally first place in the 200-back, almost beating a program record.

“To prepare for the meet we trained nonstop for about three weeks, which was very intense,” he said. “We were up early in the morning, and then we had just a small amount of time between practices. Basically, all we did was sleep and train. That was our preparation.”

Coach Alexis Chocianowski, a former member of the women’s swimming team, could not have asked for a better conclusion to her first season as head coach.

“I was the assistant coach for three years, so I’ve known these kids for a while,” said Chocianowski. “It was very different than I expected, and I didn’t encounter as many issues as I thought I would, like people not doing what they’re supposed to be doing. I really have no complaints.”

The Setters look to improve each season, and are already anticipating a victorious 2020.

“I’d like to see our girls get top three, and I’d like to see our boys chase down second place,” Chocianowski said. “We have some talented kids, and I think we can chase it down.”