MIAMI, Fla. – Two members of the Norwich University men’s swimming & diving team will see action at the sixth CSCAA Collegiate Open Water National Championship on Sunday, Dec. 18, as Martin Adlianitski (Cheshire, Conn.) and Benjamin Stark (Montverde, Fla.) will travel to the Biscayne Bay Campus at Florida International University to participate.

239 athletes from 41 schools from around the country will compete in a 5K race in the Biscayne Bay.  The women’s race will feature 141 athletes and the men’s race will feature 98 swimmers.

Adlianitski and Stark have both been key cogs for a swimming & diving program that has been electrifying this season, behind a 4-1 record in against competition and finished second in SUNY Potsdam’s North Country Invitational last month.  On the short year thus far, Adlianitski has won nine individual events and scooped up a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men’s Athlete of the Week accolade.  Stark, the reigning GNAC Men’s Rookie of the Year, has logged 12 individual victories en route to a pair of GNAC Men’s Athlete of the Week honors.

“We are honored to represent Norwich on a national stage,” Head Coach Jennifer Cournoyer said.  “Ben and Martin have worked hard to be able to qualify for this Championship.  Open Water swimming is a whole different beast, and this 5K will challenge them in many ways, but there are not two better athletes out there who are up for a challenge.  We would not be able to participate without our families, friends, and the alumni, through their support in the Maroon and Gold Challenge!  Their generosity has placed us on the path to take on such a great opportunity, thank you!”

The Open Water Championship was first held in 2016 at Lone Star Lake in Lawrence, Kansas.  The sixth iteration, hosted by FIU, marks the first time the event will take place outside of Lone Star Lake.  This season marks the first time that Norwich has sent participants to the Open Water National Championship.

The Open Water Championship is a key event in this emerging sport as the top five finishers from the men’s and women’s races qualify to compete in the USA Swimming 5K Open Water Championship.

The 41 schools will also be competing for a team championship.  Each institution can have up to five swimmers designated to contribute to the team score.  Similar to cross country scoring, the team scores are based on the top three finishes with the individual swimmer’s placing acting as their points and the team with lowest overall score being crowned champions.

The 5K course sits just off the shores of the Biscayne Bay Campus.  Athletes will swim four laps around the course that starts in front of the campus, past the mouth of Oleta River, into Biscayne Bay and back.

The men’s race will open the day’s festivities at 8:30 a.m. EST.  Individual champions will be crowned in each race with the top eight finishers also receiving awards.

Large portion of release courtesy of FIU Athletic Communications.