2023 Ivy League Men’s Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2023 Men’s Ivy League Swimming & Diving Championships

• Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25, 2022
• Prelims 11:00 AM / Finals 6:00 PM
• Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center, Brown University, Providence, RI
• Defending Champions: Harvard University
• Live Results on Meet Mobile
• Daily Results PDFs posted post-session here
• Live Video (ESPN+)
• Championship Central
• Day 1 Finals Results (PDF)
• Day 2 Finals Results (PDF)
• Day 3 Finals Results (PDF)
• Day 4 Finals Results (PDF)

SATURDAY EVENING HEAT SHEETS

Team Scores After Day 3

1. Harvard University – 1025
2. Princeton University – 1009
3. Yale University – 698
4. Columbia University – 654.5
5. Brown University – 588
6. University of Pennsylvania – 559
7. Cornell University – 467
8. Dartmouth College – 257.5

Harvard had its best morning yet, and after three days playing cat-and-mouse with Princeton, the Crimson look poised to claim their sixth consecutive Ivy League title. Cole Kuster and Simon Lamar posted the times to beat in the earlier heats of 1650 free, although Yale’s Noah Millard is hoping to win the event and sweep the distance freestyles. Harvard has the top two seeds in the 200 back – Gunnar Grant (1:41.14) and Anthony Rincon (1:41.81) – and they both broke the pool record this morning.

Joe Page of Yale posted the top time of the morning in the 100 free; with 42.98, he was the only sub-43 in the field, although both Marcus Holmquist of Harvard and Mitchell Schott of Princeton went 43.00. The middle lanes of the 200 breast will feel like a déjà vu of last night’s 100 breast final, with Brown’s Jack Kelly (1:52.70), defending champion and meet record-holder Matthew Fallon of Penn (1:54.48), and Columbia’s Demirkan Demir (1:54.82), who won the 100 breast, all vying for the title.

Princeton’s Raunak Khosla (1:42.49) and Nicholas Lim (1:42.74) led the morning qualifiers in the 200 fly; Khosla will be seeking his fourth consecutive title in the event. Similarly, Jonathan Suckow of Columbia is going for his fourth 3-meter diving win; he took home top honors in 2018, 2019, and 2022.

Finally, with four A finalists in the 100 free, Harvard is favored to wrap up the meet on a strong note in the 400 free relay.

Men’s 1650 Freestyle – Fastest Heat

• Ivy League Meet Record: 14:40.18 – Chris Swanson, Penn (2016)
• Pool Record: 14:40.18 – Chris Swanson, Penn (2016)
• NCAA A Standard: 14:37.31
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 14:55.21

Podium:

1. Noah Millard, Yale – 14:47.51
2. John Ehling, Princeton – 15:00.18
3. Aidan Wilson, Brown – 15:00.32
4. Cole Kuster, Harvard – 15:04.91
5. Shane Washart, Harvard – 15:05.96
6. Max Hardart, Brown – 15:06.24
7. Simon Lamar, Harvard – 15:08.87
8. Andrew Berzolla, Brown – 15:11.41

Noah Millard of Yale claimed his third title of the meet, giving a drubbing to the rest of the field with his dominant 14:47.51. Millard was out easy, letting Princeton’s John Ehling to set the pace from lane 5 over the first 500 yards. Ehling’s teammate, Dylan Porges was with him through the 200, when Millard slid past him into second place.

Over the second 500 yards, Millard swam long and even and outpaced Ehling by between .3 and .5 per 50. Meanwhile, Aidan Wilson of Brown had passed Porges and was swimming just a tick behind Ehling. Ehling pulled away at the 1000 and sat alone in second place until about the 1500 when Wilson began his final chapter.

As Millard cruised into the wall with 14:47.51, there was a furious battle going on for second place. Wilson and Ehling sprinted home, with the latter getting his hand to the wall .14 ahead of Wilson. Wilson shattered the Brown record with his time of 15:00.32.

Harvard’s Shane Washart, the defending champion, sprinted past Max Hardart of Brown for fourth place in the heat. The two placed fifth and sixth overall, as Cole Kuster’s 15:04.91 from the earlier heats held up for fourth place overall.

Men’s 200 Backstroke – Finals

• Ivy League Meet Record: 1:38.99 – Dean Farris, Harvard (2018)
• Pool Record: 1:41.14 – Gunner Grant, Harvard (2022)
• NCAA A Standard: 1:39.13
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:40.92

Podium:

1. Gunner Grant, Harvard – 1:41.43
2. Anthony Rincon, Harvard – 1:42.29
3. Pietro Ubertalli, Cornell – 1:42.66
4. Mark McCrary, Penn – 1:44.45
5. Paige daCosta, Cornell – 1:44.51
6. Kyle Won, Columbia – 1:44.93
7. Tyler Hong, Princeton – 1:45.23
8. Brett Feyerick, Princeton – 1:47.38

Gunner Grant won his third consecutive Ivy League title in the 200 back with 1:41.43, just .29 off his pool record-breaking time of the morning session. Teammate Anthony Rincon was right behind in second place with 1:42.29. Cornell freshman Pietro Ubertalli, who had been seeded with 1:44.83, blazed to a school record of 1:42.66 for third place.

The next four swimmers came to the wall in a wave, with Mark McCrary of Penn getting the touch by .07 over Paige daCosta of Cornell, 1:44.45 to 1:44.51. Kyle Won of Columbia edged out Princeton’s Tyler Hong by .3 for sixth.

Men’s 100 Freestyle – Finals

• Ivy League Meet Record: 41.42 – Dean Farris, Harvard (2019)
• Pool Record: 41.42 – Dean Farris, Harvard (2019)
• NCAA A Standard: 41.64
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 42.34

Podium:

1. Joe Page, Yale – 42.73
2. Marcus Holmquist, Harvard – 42.96
3. Mitchell Schott, Princeton – 43.08
4. (TIE) David Greeley, Harvard / Ryan Linnihan, Harvard – 43.66
5. –
6. Benjamin Feldman, Penn – 43.71
7. Marcus Lee, Brown – 44.19
8. Umit Gures, Harvard – 44.68

After a third-place finish in the 50 free and a fourth in the 200, Joe Page of Yale found his sweet spot. He led wire-to-wire in the 100 free and claimed the Ivy League title with 42.73. Page was out first in 20.38 at the 50, followed by Harvard’s Ryan Linnihan and Marcus Holmquist.

Page came home in 22.3 to win by .23 ahead of Holmquist.

Princeton’s Mitchell Schott, meanwhile, had the fastest second 50 in the field with 22.2. He passed Linnihan and nearly caught Holmquist, finishing third with 43.08.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke – Prelims

• Ivy League Meet Record: 1:51.44 – Matthew Fallon, Penn (2022)
• Pool Record: 1:52.70 – Jack Kelly (2022)
• NCAA A Standard: 1:51.54
• 2022 NCAA Invite Time: 1:53.23

Podium:

1. Demirkan Demir, Columbia – 1:52.94
2. Jack Kelly, Brown – 1:53.18
3. Matthew Fallon, Penn – 1:53.34
4. Jason Schreiber, Penn – 1:55.58
5. Jacob Bass, Cornell – 1:55.72
6. Alex Deng, Yale – 1:56.55
7. Jared Simpson, Harvard – 1:56.74
8. Josh Brown, Princeton – 1:57.69

Columbia’s Demirkan Demir completed the breaststroke double, winning a thriller in the 200 breast to add to Friday’s gold medal in the 100 breast. Yale’s Alex Deng jumped out to the early lead on the 50, leading the field with 25.82. Demir was two-tenths behind, while Cornell’s Jacob Bass and Brown’s Jack Kelly turned three-tenths later. It should be noted that Penn’s Matthew Fallon was in eighth place.

Demir’s second 50 of 28.8 put him solidly into the lead. Deng was two-tenths behind, while Kelly moved into third place. Fallon, now in sixth place, was making his move. He split a 28.2 on the third 50 to pass everyone by Demir and Kelly, now separated only by .14, and only .09 ahead of Fallon.

It looked like all three hit the wall at the same time, but the photo finish would show Demir with 1:52.94, Kelly with 1:53.18, and Fallon with 1:53.34.

Men’s 200 Butterfly – Prelims

• Ivy League Meet Record: 1:41.50 – Raunak Khosla, Princeton (2022)
• Pool Record: 1:42.05 – Raunak Khosla, Princeton (2019)
• NCAA A Standard: 1:40.44
• NCAA B Standard: 1:46.69

Top 8:

1. Raunak Khosla, Princeton – 1:41.72
2. Nicholas Lim, Princeton – 1:42.53
3. Adam Wu, Columbia – 1:43.95
4. Ben Littlejohn, Harvard – 1:44.02
5. Seungjoon Ahn, Columbia – 1:44.29
6. Aayush Deshpande, Harvard – 1:44.98
7. Connor Lee, Yale – 1:45.02
8. Joseph Gurski, Cornell – 1:45.20

Princeton’s Raunak Khosla won his third event of the meet with 1:41.72 in the 200 fly. It was his fourth consecutive victory in this event, bringing his career total to 11 individual titles (4×200 IM, 3×400 IM, 4×200 fly). Khosla lowered his own pool record from 2019 by .32 but was .22 off his meet record from last year.

Harvard’s Ben Littlejohn exploded off the blocks to take the early lead. He was in front of the field by a body length at the 50, followed by teammate Aayush Deshpande. Littlejohn still led at the 100 but Khosla and his teammate Nicholas Lim were steadily gaining on him.

It was the third 50 that made all the difference in the race, as both Khosla and Lim went 1.5 seconds faster than Littlejohn to take over the lead. It was Lim, in fact, who turned just ahead of Khosla, 1:15.54 to 1:15.57. Khosla outsplit Lim, 26.1 to 26.9, over the last 50 yards and won by eight-tenths.

Adam Wu of Columbia barreled past Littlejohn over the final 50 yards, going nine-tenths faster to edge him out for third place, 1:43.95 to 1:44.02.

Men’s 3-Meter Diving – Championship Final

• Ivy League Meet Record: 464.55 – Jonathan Suckow, Columbia (2022)
• Pool Record: 442.35 – Jonathan Suckow, Columbia (2019)

Podium:

1. Jonathan Suckow, Columbia – 434.00
2. JP Ditto, Yale – 359.30
3. Denny Gulia-Janovski, Harvard – 358.85
4. Joseph Victor, Princeton – 335.80
5. Taso Callanan, Princeton – 334.80
6. Rowland Lawver, Brown – 333.45
7. George Callanan, Princeton – 324.60
8. Luke Foster, Harvard – 197.30

Jonathan Suckow of Columbia completed his perfect sweep of the boards with a 434.00 win in 3-meter diving. He now goes down in history as one of the greatest divers in the Ivy League, having won on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards in 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. Suckow averaged 72.3 points per dive, with his highest-scoring performance coming at the end, a forward 4 1/2 somersault tuck that scored 79.80 points.

Yale’s JP Ditto, who was fifth last year, placed second with 359.30 points, half a point ahead of Harvard’s Denny Gulia-Janovski.

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay – Timed Final

• Ivy League Meet Record: 2:50.40 – Harvard (2022)
• Pool Record:
• NCAA A Standard: 2:50.52

Podium:

1. Harvard – 2:51.23
2. Yale – 2:51.53
3. Princeton – 2:51.97
4. Columbia – 2:55.26
5. Cornell – 2:56.03
6. Brown – 2:56.68
7. Penn – 2:56.95
8. Dartmouth – 2:58.82

Harvard wrapped up the meet with a pool record in the 400 free relay, going 2:51.23 to beat Yale by .30 and Princeton by .74. Ryan Linnihan (43.70), Umit Gures (42.85), David Greeley (42.61), and Marcus Holmquist (42.07) combined for the victory.

Yale was first out of the gate, with Noah Millard leading off in 43.08. Princeton’s Max Walther was second with 43.39. Princeton’s Raunak Khosla had the fastest second leg (42.80) and put the Tigers slightly in the lead at the halfway mark.

Harvard took the lead on the third 50, while Yale shot past Princeton. The three stayed in formation on the final 100 yards to all finish under the pool record.

Yale’s relay consisted of Millard, Marcus Hodgson (43.30), Ben Meulemans (43.27), and Joe Page (41.88). Page had the fastest split in the heat.

Princeton’s Walther and Khosla were followed by Nicholas Lim (43.57) and Mitchell Schott (42.21).

Final Team Scores

1. Harvard University – 1545
2. Princeton University – 1433.5
3. Yale University – 1052
4. Columbia University – 975.5
5. Brown University – 887
6. University of Pennsylvania – 879
7. Cornell University – 695
8. Dartmouth College – 373