PITMAN, N.J. – Shawn Kushner and
Ethan Weiss received major awards and joined 17 members of the TCNJ men's swimming and diving team who were honored on the All-NJAC Team released Wednesday by the league office. Special awards were voted on by the league's head coaches, while All-Conference honors were based on top times throughout the season.
Kushner was named rookie of the year and Weiss garnered diver of the year accolades for the Lions, who captured their first Metropolitan Conference Championship since 2015 and placed inside the top-20 at the NCAA Championships.
Kushner enjoyed a tremendous freshman season, posting the NJAC's top times in the 100 and 200 breast and earning a second-team spot as part of the 400 medley relay. He is the third straight TCNJ men's swimmer to be named rookie of the year, joining teammates
Sean Rave (2019) and
James McChesney (2020).
Weiss quickly established himself as the league's best diver, taking home eight weekly awards before winning the 1-meter dive and placing runner-up in the 3-meter at the MET championships. An NCAA regional qualifier, he is the second consecutive Lion to win diver of the year after
Jay Soukup took home the award a year ago.
James McChesney remarkable sophomore season included multiple school records and the NJAC's best times in both the 100 and 200 free in addition to a second-team nod in the 50 free. He was also a first-team all-conference performer in the 800 free relay and 200 medley relay to go with second-team honors in the 400 free relay and 400 medley relay.
Last season's rookie of the year went on to share Swimmer of the Meet honors with Rowan's Kevin Gillooly at the MET championships, where he was also voted Rookie of the Meet, and swam to first-team All-America honors in both the 100 and 200 free at the NCAA Championships. McChesney also received All-America honorable mention in the 50 free as well as the 400 and 800 free relay.
Lukas Blach was sensational in his rookie campaign, swimming to first-team All-NJAC honors and qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 1650 free. All-NJAC honorable mention in both the 200 free and 500 free, Blach was also part of the first-team 800 free relay, which garnered All-America status at nationals, as well as the second-team 200 free relay.
Andrew Walter registered a first-team All-NJAC nod for the top time in the 200 IM, also grabbing all-conference honors in the 200 back (2
nd team) and 100 fly (honorable mention) in addition to the 400 medley relay.
Ryan Higgins joined TCNJ's parade of talented first-years, snaring a first-team honor in the 400 IM.
Andrew Thompson made good on his graduate year, posting all-conference awards in the 100 fly (2
nd team), 200 IM (2
nd team), and 100 free (honorable mention) in addition to the 400 free relay (2
nd team), 800 free relay (1
st team), 200 medley relay (1
st team), and 400 medley relay (2
nd team). The 2021 NJAC Swimmer of the Year was part of a pair of All-American relays – the 400 and 800 free units – at the NCAA Championships and was an individual qualifier in the 200 IM, 100 fly, and 200 free.
Ethan Laible was a second-team All-NJAC performer in the 1650 free, while Rave swam to second-team honors in the 100 back and 200 medley relay.
Jonah Herring received honorable mention in both the 100 back and 200 fly, while
Patrick Sullivan did so in the 100 breast as well as the first-team 200 medley relay alongside Rave, McChesney, and Thompson.
Conrad Hoody earned honorable mention in the 1650 free and qualified individually for the NCAA Championships in the event; he was also part of the All-American 800 free relay.
Dixon Kahler and
Matt Watts were both part of the NJAC's top 200 free relay and 400 free relay units, joining
Jack Marble and Blach in the former and Thompson and McChesney in the latter. Both were part of the 400 free relay unit that notched All-America honors at the NCAA Championships.
Michael Wu was a second-team All-NJAC performer on the 1-meter dive and received honorable mention on 3-meter, where teammate Alex Watts obtained second-team honors.
