LANCASTER, Pa.—Swarthmore College Women's Swimming earned its highest finish in the Centennial Conference Championships since 2011 by finishing in third place on Sunday evening. The Garnet, who improved two places from last season's final, scored 524 points this weekend, finishing behind champion Ursinus College (815 points) and Gettysburg (537). At the end of the evening, Swarthmore freshman Clare Cushing was awarded the conference's Most Outstanding Rookie honor.

Cushing began Sunday's finals with a fifth-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle endurance race. Her time of 17:48.89 earned 14 points for Swarthmore and also set a new school record.

The Garnet then had five finalists score in the 200 back. Emily Bley won bronze with a time of 2:05.93 and broke the school record she had set in 2016. Scout Clark finished in eighth, clocking in at 2:10.23. In the consolation heat, Erica Flor finished third, Stephanie Tilneac sixth and Abby Goodman eighth.

Sophomore Liz Staton won gold in the 200 breaststroke and set a new school record, swimming to victory in 2:23.09, 0.14 seconds faster than the runner-up. In the event's B heat, Swarthmore's Ashley Hwang, Selina Ye, Sierra Bienz and Kyla Hallam took third through sixth.

Senior Abby Byrne added an eighth-place finish in the 200 fly (2:14.98) with Sarah Solomon and Amelia Tomei scoring ninth and 16th.

The Garnet closed out the championships with a fifth-place finish in the 400 free relay. Cushing, Bley, Hwang and Sayaka Vaules swam to a time of 3:38.05.

The future is bright for Swarthmore College Women's Swimming. The Garnet will look to continue to climb in the conference standings come next season.