2019 NCAA Division III Men’s Championships – Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2019 NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, March 20 – Saturday, March 23, 2019
• Swimming: prelims 10am, finals 6pm; Diving: 2pm
• Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champions: Denison (results)
• Digital Program
• Official Psych Sheet
• Live Video
• Live Results │ Diving Results
• Championship Central

Day Three

Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:44.56 3/17/2017 Brandon Lum, Wash U

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Robert Williams, Denison – 1:47.47
2. Brandon Lum, Wash U. MO – 1:47.56
3. Noah Houskeeper, Denison – 1:47.72
4. Lucca Delcompare, Williams – 1:48.10
5. Richard Kurlich, Denison – 1:48.33
6. Bouke Edskes, MIT – 1:48.37
7. Jeffrey Vitek, Johns Hopkins – 1:48.40
8. Andreas Nybo, Cal Lutheran / Beau Tipton, Trinity (TX) – 1:48.49
9. –
10. David Pearcy, Williams – 1:48.70
11. George Reuter, Chicago – 1:48.75
12. Jonathon Zimdars, Kenyon – 1:48.80
13. Elan Oumarov, NYU – 1:48.84
14. Noah Cutting, Linfield – 1:49.04
15. Hayden Hill, Rhodes – 1:49.27
16. John Stauffer, Denison – 1:49.57

With 21 entrants, of which one (Taye Baldinazzo of Chicago) was DFS, there were just three heats of men’s 200 fly and all but 4 competitors made it back to finals. Freshman Noah Houskeeper of Denison got the morning off to a good start with 1:47.72, taking .04 off his seed time to win the heat over classmate Richard Kurlich (1:48.33, -1.91). MIT junior Bouke Edskes was third in 1:48.37. Edskes finished 10th in this event a year ago and he was runner-up as a freshman in 2017.

Wash U senior Brandon Lum, who set the NCAA record in 2017 and was runner-up in 2018, won heat 2 in 1:47.56. Behind him were Johns Hopkins freshman Jeffrey Vitek (1:48.40, -.39), Cal Lutheran sophomore Andreas Nybo (1:48.49), and NYU sophomore Elan Oumarov (1:48.84, -.29).

Denison junior Robert Williams, who finished 3rd last year, won the final heat with a strong surge at the end. He touched in 1:47.47, edging Williams junior Lucca Delcompare (1:48.10) and Williams sophomore David Pearcy (1:48.70, -.35).

Nybo tied for 8th with Trinity sophomore Beau Tipton, who also swam 1:48.49 in prelims (-.52 from his seed time). In the swim-off to see who would contest the championship final and who would swim in the consolation, Nybo went out fast and built an early and significant lead. Tipton closed the gap over the final 50 yards but Nybo finished with 1:47.88, over a second in front of Tipton.

Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 46.62 3/17/2017 Ben Lin, Williams

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Jack Bauer, WPI – 47.67
2. Byrne Litschgi, Chicago – 47.71
3. David Fitch, Kenyon – 48.18
4. Emile Kuyl, Johns Hopkins – 48.21
5. Benjamin Holstege, Calvin – 48.37
6. Peyton Wilson, Wash U. MO – 48.41
7. Liam Picozzi, Denison – 48.58
8. Jacob Cost, Wheaton (MA) – 48.70
9. Kingsley Bowen, Tufts  / Carson Clear, Denison – 48.71
10. –
11. Justin Britton, Carnegie Mellon – 48.90
12. Forrest Campbell, John Carroll – 49.01
13. Colin Lafave, Emory – 49.08
14. Thomas Weiss, Kenyon – 49.13
15. Sage Ono, Emory – 49.28
16. Samuel Gabriel, Carthage – 49.57

Eben Schumann, a senior from Whitworth, destroyed his seed time in the opening heat of 100 backstrokes. Schumann clocked a 49.63 to finished 17th overall, taking 3.97 seconds off his seed time. Bowdoin freshman Theodore Mebust won the next heat in 49.87 over Amherst junior Craig Smith (50.03).

Johns Hopkins senior Emile Kuyl, the 2018 runner-up, win heat 3 with 48.21. Following him in quick succession were Calvin senior Benjamin Holstege (48.37), Wash U junior Peyton Wilson (48.41, -.68), Denison freshman Liam Picozzi (48.58, -34), and Kenyon junior Thomas Weiss (49.13).

Kenyon sophomore David Fitch, who was DQd in prelims last year, notched a 48.18 to win heat 4 over Tufts senior Kingsley Bowen (48.71), Carnegie Mellon sophomore Justin Britton (48.90), and John Carroll freshman Forrest Campbell (49.01, -.50).

Top-seeded John Bauer of WPI won the final heat in 47.67. Chicago junior Albert Litschgi went 47.71 to beat his entry time by .79. Wheaton senior Jacob Cost was third with 48.70 (-.06), edging Denison senior Carson Clear by .01.

2018 national champion Sage Ono of Emory was 15th with 49.28.

Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 50.94 3/17/2017 Andrew Wilson, Emory

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Collin Miller, UW Eau Claire – 54.22
2. Lukas Menkhoff, Pomona-Pitzer – 54.28
3. Nolan Monahan, USMMA – 54.45
4. Tiernan Foster-Smith, Denison – 54.53
5. Jeffrey Leckrone, Mary Washington – 54.66
6. Lance Culjat, Chicago – / Chasse Sodemann, Coast Guard – 54.92
7. –
8. Tanner Sonnek, Gustavus – 54.99
9. Patrick Tolloti, USMMA – 55.04
10. Maxwell Chen, Johns Hopkins – 55.17
11. Kevin Van Cleave, Wash U. MO – 55.19
12. Charles Lewis Pruett, Kenyon – 55.21
13. AJ Reid, Kenyon – 55.34
14. Brandon McKenzie, MIT – 55.37
15. Thomas Gallup, Caltech – 55.40
16. Sean Mebust, Amherst – 55.55

Chicago junior Lance Culjat (who placed 16th in 2018) cracked a 54.92 in the very first heat to take 1.83 seconds off his seed time and post the sixth-fastest time of the morning. Kenyon freshman Luis Weekes was 55.86 (-.04) in the next heat, coming to the was 1/100 ahead of Swarthmore freshman Noah Houskeeper (55.87) and .11 ahead of Denison senior Kenny Fox (55.97, -.23).

Denison senior Tiernan Foster-Smith improved his seed time by .12 to win heat 3 in 54.53. Chasse Sodemann of Coast Guard was second with 54.92 (-.49), while Gustavus Adolphus senior Tanner Sonnek touched third with 54.99. Foster-Smith was 3rd, Sonnek was 7th last year.

Defending champion, sophomore Lukas Menkoff of Pomona-Pitzer, won the penultimate heat in 54.28. Merchant Marines junior Nolan Monahan dropped .50 to touch second in 54.45, while his freshman teammate Patrick Tolloti was third in 55.04 (-.16).

Collin Miller of Wisconsin-Eau Claire put up the fastest time of the morning with 54.22 in the final heat. Miller was an A finalist a year ago but was DQd in the final. Jeffrey Leckrone, a senior at Mary Washington, touched second in 54.66 (-.23) ahead of JHU freshman Maxwell Chen (55.17) and Wash U senior Kevin Van Cleave (55.19).

Men’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay – Slower Heats

• NCAA Record: 6:29.27 3/22/2013 , Johns Hopkins (Lordi, Kimball, Coggin, Schmidt)

Top 8 from Morning Session:

1. Pomona-Pitzer – 6:40.64
2. Chicago – 6:41.68
3. Gustavus – 6:43.69
4. Carnegie Mellon – 6:43.81
5. Tufts – 6:45.36
6. Bowdoin – 6:47.99
7. Calvin – 6:48.10
8. Franklin & Marshall 6:59.69