TWOJERSEY CITY, NJ–The Saint Peter's men's swimming and diving team officially opens its 2025 campaign at the NJIT Invite, held Friday and Saturday, October 10–11, at the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center in Newark. Competition begins at 5 p.m. on Friday and resumes Saturday at 10 a.m. The two-day meet will feature athletes from NJIT, Howard, and Villanova.
The Peacocks will compete in 16 events across the weekend, including a mix of individual and relay races.
DAY ONE
Saint Peter's will be represented in the 500-yard freestyle by J
uan Nunez, Tristan Raso, Daniel Sanchez, Patch Robinson, Ashton Smith, Jeff Thompson, Dean Lliguicota, William Horrisberger, and
Emerson Tofel.
Saint Peter's has five competitors entered in the 200-yard IM featuring
Austin Carducci,
Ean Vellescig,
Victor Fuentes, Tofel, and Robinson. In the 50-yard freestyle, the Peacocks will field Thompson,
Taj Seton-Martin,
Anthony Torres, and Carducci.
DAY TWO
Action will resume with the 400-yard IM, representing Saint Peter's is—Vellescig, Carducci, Tofel, Seton-Martin, Nunez, and Robinson. Raso, Lliguicota, Horrisberger, and Thompson will lead the team in the 100-yard butterfly, while Carducci and Torres take on the 200-yard event.
After a brief break, Nunez, Horrisberger, and Robinson will compete in the 1650-yard freestyle, followed by Nunez and Vellescig in the 200-yard backstroke. The Peacocks close the meet with the 100-yard freestyle (Fuentes, Vellescig, Tofel, and Robinson) and 200-yard butterfly (Raso, Lliguicota, Thompson, and Seton-Martin).
Saint Peter's will also enter relay teams in the 200-yard medley, 800-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, 400-yard medley, and 400-yard freestyle events.
THE COMPETITION
Host NJIT opened its season with a 171–125 loss to Iona but saw several strong performances. In his rookie debut, Andrew Cellar won the 100 backstroke with a time of 51.15, which is the seventh-best in school history. Senior Keegan Wooding earned the victory in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:48.46, and sophomore Borys Endle won the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:08.25.
Howard enters the meet ranked first in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll after capturing the 2024 NEC Championship. The Bison fell to Georgetown, 139–78, in their opener but recorded multiple top finishes, including wins from junior Mason Green in the 200-yard freestyle (1:43.19) and senior Taj Benton in the 100-yard butterfly (49.02).
Villanova will make its season debut at the NJIT Invite, returning a deep and experienced lineup. Sophomore Zach Sutter notched six top-10 program marks last season, highlighted by a 20.75 in the 50-yard freestyle at the 2025 BIG EAST Championships. Freshman Cole Gorsuch also etched his name into the Wildcats' record book, ranking among the program's top two all-time in both the 50-yard (22.19) and 100-yard (48.25) backstroke events.
Both days of the NJIT Invite will stream live on ESPN+ Friday Evening, ESPN+ Saturday Morning, ESPN+ Saturday Afternoon.
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