PHILADELPHIA – West Chester University landed three swimmers on the Men's Swimming Philadelphia Inquirer/PhillySIDA Academic All-Area team it was announced this week.
 
Paul Demesy (Saint Ulrich, France), Dalton Fink (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), and Devin Metzger (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) were all recognized for their academic excellence in the classroom as well as in the pool. For Fink, it is his second PhillySIDA academic award.
 
The 2023-24 Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area Men's Swimming & Diving Team includes student-athletes from seven different institutions across all three NCAA divisions. West Chester led the way with three honorees. They are part of 10 student-athletes named to the 2023-24 Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area Men's Swimming & Diving Team. The team is nominated and voted on by the sports information offices of 30 colleges and universities in the Philadelphia Metropolitan area.
 
Demesy, a two-time All-American at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships earlier this month, placed third in the 1,650-yard freestyle and sixth in the 1,000 free. He was also 10th in the 500 free. His time of 15 minutes, 11.53 seconds in the 1650 free set a new PSAC record.
 
All of that came on the heels of a very successful conference meet in which Demesy won two conference crowns and was all-conference in another race. He set a new championship meet record in the 1650 and was the PSAC champion in the 1000. He claimed all-conference accolades in the 500 free by finishing third and narrowly missed all-conference in the 200, placing fourth overall. His 72 points at the meet equaled teammate Kolos Nagy and served as the most earned by an individual at the championship meet.
 
Fink, a 2022-23 PhillySIDA Academic All-Area honoree, qualified for the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships on a pair of relays. The 200 free relay finished 13th at nationals while the 400 free relay placed 18th. Both of those relays won Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) titles at the conference meet. He earned a third all-conference certificate on the 400 medley relay that placed second at PSACs.
 
The freestyler, butterfly and backstroke specialist was a two-time All-PSAC performer individually. He placed second in both the 100 fly and the 100 back at PSACs in February. Last year, Fink was a 2023 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American® to go along with his PhillySIDA academic honor.
 
Metzger was also a two-time NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships on a pair of relays – the same relays as Fink. He also won two individual PSAC championships and three relay championships at the conference meet in February. He a conference title on the 800 free relay to go along with the 200 and 400 free relays that he teamed up with Fink to win.
 
Individually, Metzger won the 50 and 100 free at the PSAC Championships and placed sixth in the 200 free. He earned 53 points for the Golden Rams at the conference meet.
 
University of Pennsylvania junior Matthew Fallon was chosen the Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area Men's Swimming & Diving Performer of the Year.