American University’s swim and dive teams broke both Patriot League and school records at the Patriot League Championships from Feb. 19-22. Graduate student Mimi Watts led the team with three gold medal wins.
On the first day, the swim team broke school records in the women’s 200 medley relay and the women’s 800 free relay. Sophomore Lian Jeong Engle, Watts, freshman Piper Crosby, and freshman Marin Priddy finished the 200 medley relay in 1:40.37. Senior Katie Yoo, junior Isabel McGovern, sophomore Kate Williams, and freshman Demetra Bicos were the record holders in the 800 free relay, coming in at 7:34:51.
Watts broke the school record in the women’s 200 medley relay at 1:40:37. She had a record-breaking weekend, with three gold medals at the Patriot League Championships. One of her notable medals came during the second day, as she won her third straight gold medal in the women’s 50 freestyle with a time of 22.99.
“My biggest takeaway was taking in the moment,” Watts said. “It was my last championship, it was my last meet, and I want to be sure that I was present in everything, and that whenever I was swimming, I wanted to be sure that not only was I giving it my all.”
On the men’s side, junior Colin Clough swam the sixth-fastest time, 20.12, in the men’s 50 free, breaking a school record set by Nick Buckley in 2022. Clough also broke a 23-year-old record in the 100 free with a time of 44.47 to place 11th. In the final of the 50 free, Clough earned his highest-ever finish at the league championships, placing eighth.
Clough’s improvement was well noted by Eagles head coach Garland Bartlett.
“The way he's improved this past year is just remarkable. He worked hard this summer and just maintained that spark,” Bartlett said.
Clough posted a career-best 53.83 in the prelims of the 100 breaststroke, just six-hundredths of a second off the school record time of 53.77 set by Dominick Szabo in 2003. Clough's time placed him sixth in the preliminaries, where he also finished in the A finals with a time of 54.38.
Day three saw Watts win again in the 100 freestyle, outpacing a swimmer from Army in 53.22 seconds. The record-breaking medal helped solidify Watts’s legacy, as she got her second win in the tournament. Additionally, Clough posted a lifetime best of 53.83 in the preliminaries of the 100 breaststroke, almost beating the school record set by Szabo in 2003.
Bartlett was proud of Watts and all she had accomplished this season and throughout her tenure with AU.
“I mean, Mimi, winning three titles again and three events is just incredible,” Garland said. “It's a testament to her work ethic and how well she shows up at these championship meets.”
Mimi Watts went 50.40 in her 100 freestyle win on the final day, beating another Army Black Knight by 0.2 seconds. Earning her third gold medal at the Patriot League Championships took her career total to 12. Watts finished tied as the highest points scorer of the Patriot League Championships. She is now tied with Cassell Hall of Famer Meghan Thiel for the most medals won for the Eagles at the Patriot League Championships. Coming off of a record-setting third day, Clough broke the school record for the 100 free, with a time of 44.61. Although he only came in 11th, it added to his personal best.
Watts and Clough earned All-Patriot League Honors, with Watts earning All-Patriot League First Team and All-Patriot League Academic Team for a fourth year in a row, and Clough earning All-Patriot League Second Team, the first honor for men’s swimming at American since 2013.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings, and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella and Hannah Langenfeld.
