The Bucknell women’s swimming and diving team is back in action this weekend as the Bison hit the road to take on Holy Cross and Boston. The Bison are fresh off of a third-place finish at the 2025 Patriot League Championships and a first-place finish at the ECAC Championships.
Bucknell returns two First Team All-Patriot League performers in junior Sara Ketron and sophomore Clara Renner. Renner was the Rookie of the Meet at the Patriot League Championships as the Bison took third. Ketron was a top-15 scorer and Renner was a top-5 scorer at the championships.
The Bison graduated a big class of 10 seniors last year, but are loaded with talent in every class. The team returns 21 members who account for 34 top-10 marks. The Bison set seven top-10 marks last season in relays.
“Last year’s senior class did a great job from a leadership standpoint, and they certainly contributed points performance-wise,” said head coach Dan Schinnerer. “They set a really good tone for our team in terms of let’s work hard and have fun. We’re here to enjoy this so love your opportunities and take advantage of them. It set the tone for our season last year which was a fun and successful one."
This year, the Bison return seven seniors, including captains Kyla Kelly and Claire Kehley. The class accounts for 10 top-10 individual times and have contributed to 12 different top-10 relay times.
“This class has done a great job through their four years here,” said Schinnerer. “There’s a lot of grit in this class and women who have worked through surmountable obstacles, and they’ve been really impactful.”
Kelly owns two top-10 times in individual races, and she has contributed to seven top-10 relay times. Kehley is a fantastic distance swimmer, owning a top-10 mark in the 1,000 and the 1,650 freestyle.
“With Kyla, we just continue to find new and different things that she can swim,” said Schinnerer. “She is the definition of versatility in that she can swim pretty much any event. She’s great for relays and in dual meets because we can just plug her in wherever we need her. It’ll be fun to figure out where we’re going to use her this year.”
Jennifer Bolden is another strong swimmer with her name scattered in the record books. The Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania native has a top-10 time in both the 100 and 200 freestyle and has contributed to seven top-10 relay times.
“Jen is on the sprint side of things, but we did discover that she’s pretty good at the 500 freestyle as well,” said Schinnerer. “In edition to being a good contributor individually, she’s really impactful on the relays.”
Hanna Bingley, Emma Feld, Megan Leyden and Ava Stallmeyer round out the class, and they all own at least one individual top-10 time. Bingley has the No. 2 time in the 100 breaststroke and has been a part of two top-10 relay times.
“Hanna is so consistent and she’s always there in the breaststroke,” said Schinnerer. “She didn’t have the freshman year she wanted but she learned from it and has been a big contributor the last two years.”
Feld ranks seventh in the record books for the 200 backstroke. Leyden owns the No. 3 time in the 100 butterfly and Stallmeyer is 10th in the 200 breaststroke.
The junior class is stacked with talent that includes Ketron and team captain, Virginia Hastings. The eight juniors on the squad have piled up top-10 marks, accounting for 11 individual top-10 times and contributing to 13 different top-10 relay marks.
“The whole junior class is really strong and complements the senior class,” said Schinnerer. “From a leadership standpoint and certainly a performance standpoint.”
Hastings owns four individual top-10 times, including the No. 3 times in both the 200 and 400 IM. Hastings also owns the No. 2 time in the 200 freestyle and the ranks 10th in the 500 freestyle. In relays, she has been a contributor to seven top-10 times.
“Virginia’s another swimmer who has a ton of versatility,” said Schinnerer. “To her credit, she was elected a captain as a junior which is fewer and further between inside of our team, so I think it’s demonstrative of the respect she has from our team.”
Ketron set the 50 freestyle record at last year’s PL Championships, where she was a top-15 scorer. She also ranks third in the 100 freestyle and seventh in the 100 butterfly after a breakout sophomore season.
“Sara had a tremendous year last season and it’s a bit of a storybook how much she’s improved over her time here,” said Schinnerer. “She is someone who learned a lot in her freshman year and put in the work to get better. To go from not being on our conference squad to a record-holder and All-League performer is all credit to her in how much she’s evolved in a year’s time.”
Sydney Dettman and Kelly Byrne both have multiple top-10 marks. Dettman holds top marks in the 200 freestyle and the 200 butterfly. She has also been a member of two top-10 relay times. Byrne ranks fifth in the 200 breaststroke and 10th in the 400 IM.
Samantha Benzija, Natalie Penman, Ashley Piacentino and Talia Bugel are also in the junior class. Benzija swims freestyle, butterfly and backstroke, and she owns a top-10 mark in the 100 butterfly as well as a contributing to two top-10 relay times.
Penman is a diver who owns the No. 4 rank in the three-meter dive. Piacentino contributed to a top-10 mark in the 200 freestyle relay.
“This class is just very, very solid,” said Schinnerer. “They’re making contributions all over. Leadership- and performance-wise, all of them are people that we’re going to look to be leaders and scorers in the events that they swim.
Renner headlines the sophomore class, the smallest class on the team with six members. Renner had an outstanding debut season for the Bison, making her mark with top-10 times in eight different individual events. She owns the record in the 200 butterfly, is No. 4 in the 200 freestyle, No. 3 in the 500 freestyle, No. 3 in the 1,000 freestyle, No. 2 in the 1,650 freestyle, No. 6 in the 100 butterfly, No. 2 in the 200 IM and No. 2 in the 400 IM. Renner also contributed to the 800 freestyle relay record, teaming up Hastings, Dettman and Rylie Giles ’25.
“Clara was awesome last year and all of the numbers back that up,” said Schinnerer. “She’s someone who works really hard and sets a great example, so it’s not by accident that she’s really, really good. We had a good inkling that she would be pretty good, but Sydney Jee and Sofia Burns both stepped up really well. They did a great job of stepping in and being contributors and adapting quickly to the college environment.”
Jee holds a top-10 mark in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke and Burns ranks eighth in the 100 backstroke. Burns contributed to Bucknell’s record-breaking 200 medley relay time at the PL Championships and both were part of a 400 medley relay that ranks eighth. The class also includes diver Annelise Enters and swimmers Brooke Worth and Lily Matthews.
Bucknell biggest class this year is the freshmen class with 11 members. The group includes Emma Briganti, Tori Castro, Kennedy DeVeaux, Tessa Feld, Natalia Gajecki, Keira Giles, Joslin Halsey, Hanna Klingensmith, Dea Mielenz, Ruby Olliffe and Alivia Wainwright. Giles is the younger sister of Rylie Giles ’25 and Feld is the younger sister of current swimmer Emma Feld.
“It’s a big and talented class,” said Schinnerer. “With what we have coming back and having a big class infused in the program, there’s plenty of reason for excitement on what the women’s team can do this year. Eleven is a lot and for us to be successful, that class has to adapt quickly. For them to get comfortable and confident, it takes all of those returners to mentor and guide them.”
Returning Women on All-Time Top-10 Performers Lists
Samantha Benzija, Jr.
- 8th, 100 Fly, (55.64)
- 1st, 200 Medley Relay (1:41.35)
- 5th, 200 Medley Relay (1:42.43)
- 8th, 400 Medley Relay (3:44.76)
Hanna Bingley, Sr.
- 2nd, 100 Breast (1:02.97)
- 1st, 200 Medley Relay (1:41.35)
- 5th, 200 Medley Relay (1:42.43)
Jennifer Bolden, Sr.
- 4th, 100 Free (50.73)
- 8th, 200 Free (1:49.73)
- 1st, 200 Free Relay (1:32.70)
- 3rd, 200 Free Relay (1:32.97)
- 9th, 200 Free Relay (1:33.58)
- 2nd, 400 Free Relay (3:22.48)
- 5th, 400 Free Relay (3:23.14)
- 6th, 400 Free Relay (3:23.43)
- 3rd, 800 Free Relay (7:18.59)
Sofia Burns, So.
- 8th, 100 Back (55.88)
- 1st, 200 Medley Relay (1:41.35)
- 8th, 400 Medley Relay (3:44.76)
Kelly Byrne, Jr.
- 5th, 200 Breast (2:16.02)
- 10th, 400 IM (4:22.99)
Sydney Dettman, Jr.
- 10th, 200 Free (1:50.09)
- 4th, 200 Fly (2:01.72)
- 1st, 800 Free Relay (7:17.89)
- 6th, 800 Free Relay (7:19.96)
Emma Feld, Sr.
- 7th, 200 Back (2:00.17)
Virginia Hastings, Jr.
- 2nd, 200 Free (1:48.06)
- 10th, 500 Free (4:55.58)
- 3rd, 200 IM (2:01.05)
- 3rd, 400 IM (4:18.63)
- 1st, 200 Free Relay (1:32.70)
- 2nd, 200 Free Relay (1:32.93)
- 4th, 400 Free Relay (3:23.03)
- 5th, 400 Free Relay (3:23.14)
- 7th, 400 Free Relay (3:24.06)
- 1st, 800 Free Relay (7:17.89)
- 6th, 800 Free Relay (7:19.96)
Sydney Jee, So.
- 8th, 100 Breast (1:03.38)
- 9th, 200 Breast (2:18.01)
- 8th, 400 Medley Relay (3:44.76)
Claire Kehley, Sr.
- 6th, 1,000 Free (10:10.78)
- 7th, 1,650 Free (16:52.20)
Kyla Kelly, Sr.
- 8th, 100 Free (50.95)
- 10th, 200 IM (2:02.89)
- 1st, 200 Free Relay (1:32.70)
- 2nd, 200 Free Relay (1:32.93)
- 9th, 200 Free Relay (1:33.58)
- 2nd, 400 Free Relay (3:22.48)
- 4th, 400 Free Relay (3:23.03)
- 5th, 400 Free Relay (3:23.14)
- 7th, 400 Free Relay (3:24.06)
Sara Ketron, Jr.
- 1st, 50 Free (23.00)
- 3rd, 100 Free (50.69)
- 7th, 100 Fly (55.55)
- 1st, 200 Medley Relay (1:41.35)
- 8th, 400 Medley Relay (3:44.76)
- 1st, 200 Free Relay (1:32.70)
- 9th, 200 Free Relay (1:33.58)
- 2nd, 400 Free Relay (3:22.48)
- 4th, 400 Free Relay (3:23.03)
- 5th, 400 Free Relay (3:23.14)
Megan Leyden, Sr.
- 3rd, 100 Fly (54.83)
Natalie Penman, Jr.
- 4th, Three-Meter Dive (273.30)
Ashley Piacentino, Jr.
- 9th, 200 Free Relay (1:33.58)
Clara Renner, So.
- 4th, 200 Free (1:48.71)
- 3rd, 500 Free (4:48.48)
- 3rd, 1,000 Free (10:00.62)
- 2nd, 1,650 Free (16:31.54)
- 6th, 100 Fly (55.43)
- 1st, 200 Fly (1:58.21)
- 2nd, 200 IM (2:00.86)
- 2nd, 400 IM (4:16.85)
- 1st, 800 Free Relay (7:17.89)
Ava Stallmeyer, Sr.
- 10th, 200 Breast (2:18.27)