WELLESLEY, Mass. — The Maine Maritime Academy men's swimming & diving team delivered a strong showing on Friday night at the Little East Championships, surging into second place in the team standings through 18 events with 282 points.

The Mariners were powered by a dominant performance from freshman Connor Hedstrom, who captured the conference title in the 50-yard freestyle with a blazing 21.03, edging a competitive championship final field. Hedstrom also helped spark Maine Maritime's sprint success earlier in the meet.

In distance action, freshman B Boyer claimed the conference crown in the 500-yard freestyle, touching the wall first in 4:49.71 to lead a trio of Mariners in the championship final.

Senior James Creegan added a third-place finish (5:05.47), while freshman Matthew Levesque placed fourth (5:08.21). Sophomore Luis Guillen Barcia rounded out the scoring in sixth (5:13.76), giving the Mariners four top-six finishes in the event.

Maine Maritime also made its presence felt in the relays. The Mariners opened the evening with a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:28.07) and later added another fourth-place showing in the 400-yard medley relay (3:39.55), keeping pace in a tight team race.

In the 50-yard breaststroke, freshman Tim Reda secured a third-place finish in 27.36, while senior Aidan Burke followed in fifth (28.25). Freshman Jack Davis added a 10th-place finish in the consolation final.

Freshman Dominic Miele contributed valuable points with a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke (2:01.92), and sophomore Nate Gibbons added a seventh-place effort in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.91).

The Mariners' depth and championship-final presence across multiple events positioned them just nine points behind the overall leader heading into the next day of competition, firmly in the hunt for a conference title.

Maine Maritime returns to the pool on Saturday for day 3 of the LEC championship.