BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Notre Dame College sophomore Ashton Smith was recognized on Thursday as the MEC Men’s Swimmer of the Year, while Frostburg State’s Nate Canapp was voted the league’s freshman of the year. Notre Dame head coach Stephanie Gyurke earned the nod as the MEC Coach of the Year after leading the Falcons to their third-consecutive MEC Championship in men’s swimming.
 
Smith, from Sydney, Australia, broke five Notre Dame College school records during February’s GMAC/MEC Swimming Championships. He posted the top time in the league in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free at the conference championship meet, while taking second in the MEC in the 200 IM. The two-time MEC Swimmer of the Week also earned all-conference honors in the 200 free relay, 400 free relay and 400 medley relay.
 
Canapp, a freshman from Baltimore, Md., was the conference’s top individual event scorer at the GMAC/MEC Championships with 104 points. Overall, he finished the event with four top 8 finishes, including a third-place finish in the 1000 free, a fourth-place finish in the 500 free and 1650 free and a fifth-place finish in the 400 IM – earning first team All-MEC accolades in each event. Canapp also added second team All-MEC honors in the 800 freestyle relay and broke a pair of school records in the 1000 free (9:42.56) and 1650 free (16:11.22).
 
Gyurke earned men’s swimming coach of the year honor for the third-straight year after leading the Falcons to a third MEC Swimming Championship in 2022. During the four-day GMAC/MEC championship event in Canton, the Falcons turned in 13 all-conference swims, including the top time in the conference in five of those events. Notre Dame finished the championship event with 984.5 points, finishing ahead of Fairmont State in second place with 825.5 points. Notre Dame also went 4-3 in dual meets this season, including a 3-0 mark against conference opponents. In addition to her success leading the men’s swimming team, Gyurke also led Notre Dame women’s swimming to its best finish ever at the conference championship meet, taking second place in the MEC.
 
The MEC all-conference teams (first-team, second-team, honorable mention) were recognized in February based on the final results in each event at the 2022 GMAC/MEC Swimming and Diving Championships.