By Marissa Masano and Keon Edington / The Jambar
From record-setting swims to a coach’s departure, Youngstown State University’s swimming and diving team delivered in a postseason that could reshape the future of the program.
The dive team wrapped up its postseason with a trip March 9-11 to Ypsilanti, Michigan to compete in the NCAA Zone C Diving Championship.
Following that meet, Penguin swimmers headed to Ocala, Florida, for the College Swimming Coaches Association of America National Invitational Championship, held March 12-14.
Three divers represented YSU at the Zone C Championships. On the women’s side, junior Hanna Held competed in three events. She advanced to the finals in the platform dive, where she placed 17th overall, and her five dives equaled 204 points. Held finished 30th in the one-meter dive with a score of 232 and 43rd in the three-meter dive with a score of 207.
For the men’s side, two divers represented the program. Freshman Rafael Serey-Cormier placed 25th in the platform dive with a score of 252.
In his Zones debut, Serey-Cormier also competed in the one-meter and three-meter dives, finishing 45th and 48th with scores of 227 and 241, respectively. Senior Zachary Lao competed in the one-meter dive, placing in 44th with a score of 229, just ahead of Serey-Comier.
Over the three-day CSCAA NIC, the men’s team placed seventh overall with 351 total points, while the women finished 42nd with 37 points.
Graduate student Quinn Cynor capped off his Penguin career with a win in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:45.83 and added a runner-up finish in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:34.69.
The men’s 400-yard medley relay team of Cynor, senior James Slessor, sophomore Lorenz Beck and freshman Pablo Santos set a new school record and finished fifth with a time of 3:11.26.
In the men’s 200-yard freestyle relay, sophomores Jacob Gramer, Noah Smith and Ried Withey combined for a 15th-place finish with a time of 1:21.58.
YSU had two swimmers compete in the 50-yard breaststroke, where Slessor placed seventh with a time of 24.49, followed by junior Adrian Andres Moreno in 14th at 24.98.
In the men’s 50-yard backstroke, Santos finished 15th with a time of 22.54, while sophomore Elliott Elmore placed 20th in 22.89. Gramer took 15th in the men’s 50-yard butterfly with a time of 21.72, and Beck followed closely with a 21.85 finish.
Following the conclusion of the Penguins’ postseason, Head Coach Brad Smith announced March 17 that he will step down after seven seasons at the helm.
Smith expressed gratitude for the many student-athletes he coached during his time at YSU.
“Most importantly, thankful to the many wonderful student-athletes who have come through my life. I’ve formed years of meaningful memories and relationships that I’ll never forget and always cherish,” Smith said.
Under Smith’s leadership, the Penguins men’s and women’s programs reached their highest finishes at the Horizon League Championships. The men achieved that mark this past season with a third-place finish, while the women’s side recorded their best finish during the 2022-23 campaign.
Smith also coached Youngstown State’s two women’s swimmers meet winners, alumna Miriam Frass and sophomore Olivia Sweetman, who earned the honor in back-to-back Horizon League Championships this year and in 2025.
With Smith’s departure, the program’s head coaching position is now vacant for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.