BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jamestown Community College head swim coach Todd Conklin said his teams needed a big night at the 2023 NJCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving National Championships held at the Burt Flickinger Center of Erie Community College.

Well that day came on Friday.

The girls moved another step closer a third consecutive national championship, currently sitting at fifth place overall and atop the non-scholarship schools with 182 points.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way the kids responded,” Conklin said about his team. “All the girls that swam made it back to the finals tonight. The girls are battling and win, lose or draw, I know these girls have given it everything they can.”

Earning another All-American finish was Madison Kramer (Falconer, N.Y./Frewsburg CS) earning fifth in the 100-yard backstroke with a personal- and school-record time of 58.98.

“It’s the second-best finish I’ve had since coaching here,” Conklin added. “No. 5 doesn’t happen very often and it’s another school record.”

Hannah Eckert (Frewsburg, N.Y./Frewsburg CS) placed 15th in the 100-yard backstroke at 1:12.15.

The Jayhawks had two strong finishes in the 100-yard individual medley with Stacey Blackler (Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa/Edenvale HS) earning 10th at 1:12.19 and Kylee Hennessy (Warren, Pennsylvania/Warren Area HS) finishing 16th at 1:22.01.

With a big surprise on the day, Lindsey Spitz (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown HS) broke a school record in the 100-yard breaststroke by dropped her time over 2 seconds for an 11th-place finish at 1:11.77.

In the 200-yard butterfly Jenna Fibiger (Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa/Fourways HS) became an All-American with an eighth-place finish at 2:52.91.

“She came from South Africa and she’s done everything I’ve asked of her,” Conklin added. “For her to get an eighth-place finish and a podium place was special tonight.”

The day wrapped up with another All-American finish for the 200-yard medley relay team of Kramer, Spitz, Blackler and Fiebiger, swimming 1:58.83 for a new school record and sixth place.

“It’s just great to see what these kids are doing,” Conklin added. “I’m hoping the girls can finish the deal. We’ll see where it lies after tomorrow night.”

The Jamestown Community College men moved into second place after Maxim Johnson (Johannesburg, South Africa/King Edwards VII School) added another top-10 finish.

Johnson improved his 200-yard butterfly time by 4.5 seconds for a time of 1:57.17.

The 200-yard medley relay also made the quartet of Joseph Keyser (Mayville, N.Y./Chautauqua Lake CS), Steven Zentz (Dunkirk, N.Y./Dunkirk HS), Johnson and Josh Carr (Wigan, England/Standish Community HS) All-Americans by finishing in eighth place with a time of 1:51.76.

“We finished third at the regional meet and we’re in position to pull of a second-place finish,” Conklin said about the men. “I’m proud of their efforts and we’ll strive our best to get second and if we get that it will be a huge success for this year.”