CAZENOVIA, N.Y. - Junior Kayla Payson won two events to lead the Husson University women's swimming & diving team to a second-place standing after day one of the 2023 North Atlantic Conference Championship this evening at the Cazenovia College Aquatics Facility.

Husson finished the evening with 277 points, trailing Maine Maritime Academy's mark of 311 by 34 points. Gordon College sits in third with 198, followed by Cazenovia (98) and SUNY Delhi (69).

The Eagles opened Saturday's evening session with a first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, where Husson's A Relay of senior Abbie Howe, graduate student Ava Emery, Payson, and sophomore Rachel Hand combined for a new school record time of 4:19.53. The foursome smashed the previous record of 4:23.80 by four seconds. Husson's B Relay of senior Sydney Jordan, sophomore Erin Madden, senior Hannah Soutter and freshman Emma Thomas added a seventh-place finish, taking first in the B Final in 4:37.06.

In the 50-yard butterfly, Emery took second with a time of 29.26 after advancing in the prelims (28.51).

Hand set a new program record in 200-yard backstroke to top her own mark of 2:19.75 set during prelims with a time of 2:17.03 to capture the gold medal in the event. Howe helped the Eagles take the top two places on the podium in the 200-yard backstroke, taking second with a time of 2:23.89. Jordan (2:31.82), Soutter (2:33.97) and sophomore Grace Rocheleau (2:36.04) also completed in the finals of the 200-yard backstroke, earning fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively.

Thomas was the top Husson finisher in the 100-yard freestyle, finishing in fifth-place with a time of 1:03.49.

Freshman Riley Mahoney captured the NAC title in the 1-meter diving with a score of 350.80. Her point total is the second highest in school history in the 11-dive program. Junior Shelby Peterson took second with 344.95 points, while freshman Lily Butler (239.20) was fifth.

Payson cruised to a win in the 500-yard freestyle with a mark of 5:37.78 after freshman Maggie Poulin (6:20.89) finished seventh and sophomore Kat Christensen (7:01.59) placed ninth in the B-Final.

After a ten minute break, Payson return to the pool looking to defend her 2022 NAC 200-yard butterfly title doing so in a dominating fashion as she won the event by over 15 seconds with a time of 2:19.41. During her prelim swim, Payson top her own school record of 2:20.11 set at the 2022 Maine Collegiate Invitational with a time of 2:19.20.

Howe earned a spot in the finals in the 50-yard backstroke after swimming a 29.86 in the prelims. The senior took second-place overall with a time of 29.54, while Rocheleau and Jordan finished third and fifth, respectively.

Husson's A relay placed second in the 200-yard freestyle relay with the team of Payson, Emery, Madden and Hand with an impressive time of 1:47.59. The B relay of Jordan, Howe, Rocheleau and Thomas placed eighth overall with a combined time of 1:54.20.

Competition concludes on Sunday, starting at 10:00 a.m. with the 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 50-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard individual medley, and the 50-yard freestyle prelims. Sunday's Finals will take place at 4:00 p.m.