2025 DIII Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2025 NCAA DIII Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 19-22, 2025
• Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• Times: Prelims 10:00 AM / Finals 6:00 PM (ET)
• Defending Champs: Kenyon women (1x) & Emory men (3x)
• Psych Sheet
• Live Streaming on NCAA.com
• Live Results
• “NCAA DIII Championships” on Meet Mobile
• Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2

Good morning D3 fans, it’s time for the third prelims session of the 2025 NCAA Division III Championships. Today, things get started with heats of the 200 medley relay, then we’ll shift to individual events including the 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke, and 100 breaststroke.

As a reminder, here are the team standings through two full days of action.

Women (Top 5)

1. NYU – 242
2. MIT – 216
3. Denison – 175
4. Kenyon – 173
5. Emory – 172

Men (Top 5)

1. Denison – 166
2. Kenyon – 126
3. Chicago – 124
4. NYU – 121.5
5. Emory – 116.5

Women’s 200 Yard Medley Relay – Prelims 

• Division III Record: 1:39.55, Emory (M. Jungers, A. Glowniak, T. Leone, C. Maki), 2023
• 2024 Champion: 1:39.67, MIT (K. Augustyn, E. Chen, A. Naveen, E. Roberson)

Finals Qualifiers: 

1. Kenyon (Eisenbeis, Fadely, Ford, Geboy), 1:40.28
2. MIT (Augustyn, Bernard, Naveen, Roberson), 1:40.44
3. Denison (Park, Tofflemire, Palmroos, Kadlecik), 1:41.01
4. Emory (Jungers, Choen, Greeneway, Kennedy), 1:41.80
5. NYU (Ranile, Li, Xayaveth, Oldham), 1:41.84
6. Pomona-Pitzer (Yoon, Coppo, Calvi, Mello), 1:42.11
7. Chicago (Georgopoulou, Soosai, Xu, Zhao), 1:42.24
8. Calvin (Merkel, Bajwa, Farrell, Sonday), 1:42.46
9. Williams, 1:42.49
10. Hope, 1:42.60
11. Swarthmore, 1:42.99
12. CMS, 1:43.21
13. Colby, 1:43.22
14. Johns Hopkins, 1:43.23
15. SUNY Geneseo, 1:43.56
16. Wash U, 1:43.83

Kenyon’s quartet of Gwenyth Eisenbeis (25.29), Jennah Fadely (27.28), Celia Ford (24.85), and Sydney Geboy (22.76) won the penultimate heat of the women’s 200 medley relay prelims with a 1:40.28. That held up as the fastest qualifying time of the morning, securing the Owls lane four in tonight’s final in a season-best swim.

In the final heat, MIT’s Kate Augustyn (25.23), Sarah Bernard (28.99), Annika Naveen (23.94), and Ella Roberson (22.28) won with a 1:40.44, checking in with the second-fastest prelims swim. The MIT women are the defending champions in this race, which marked the program’s first NCAA relay title when they won last season. The Engineers are two-for-two in relays at this meet so far, with both Naveen and Roberson contributing to the DIII record the team set last night in the 200 freestyle relay.

Denison controlled heat three with Jasmine Park (25.84), Riley Tofflemire (28.46), Maja Palmroos (24.39), and Grace Kadlecik (22.32). They won in 1:41.01 beating NYU’s team though both moved safely through to the ‘A’ final.

Tufts appeared to place 11th and book a spot in the ‘B’ final. But, the Jumbos were disqualified, bumping Wash U into the ‘B’ final.

Men’s 200 Yard Medley Relay – Prelims 

• Division III Record: 1:25.85, Emory (R. Soh, J. Meyer, J. Echols, C. Lafave), 2023
• 2024 Champion: 1:26.14, Emory (R. Soh, J. Meyer, J. Echols, C. Bjornstad)

Finals Qualifiers: 

1. Tufts (Lundgren, Adams, Sikka, Euvrard), 1:26.65
2. Emory (Lahmann, Bonnault, Echols, Yin), 1:27.01
3. Carnegie Mellon (Deshpande, Lee, Morford, Peitler), 1:27.04
4. NYU (McQuaid, Nechyduk, Watanakun, Wehbe), 1:27.45
5. Denison (Bevill, Venos, Narcelles, Hensel), 1:27.76
6. Bates (Johnson, Somridhivej, Oppenheim, Cory), 1:27.97
7. Chicago (Chan, Xia, Catton, Benderskill), 1:28.21
8. Wash U (Wolford, Rockaway, Bick, Sibley), 1:28.25
9. Kenyon, 1:28.32
10. MIT, 1:28.34
11. Johns Hopkins, 1:28.36
12. CMS, 1:28.42
13. TCNJ, 1:28.48
14. RIT, 1:28.74
15. Amherst, 1:28.75
16. Williams, 1:29.41

The Tufts squad of Eric Lundgren (22.13), Emmett Adams (23.65), Armaan Sikka (21.31), and Soeren Euvrard (19.56) stormed to the win in heat three, posting a school record 1:26.65. That time held up as the fastest of the morning; in fact, the Jumbos were the only school sub-1:27 this morning and their swim would’ve placed second in this race last season. It’s a big swim for the Jumbos as they were not part of the ‘A’ final at 2024 NCAAs, instead winning the ‘B’ final.

Denison also moved up from last year’s ‘B’ final, getting back into the big heat with a 1:27.76 from Benjamin Bevill (22.22), Elijah Venos (24.15), Christian Narcelles (21.86), and Nick Hensel (19.53) as the Big Red looks to cement its lead in the team standings.

It came down to the touch in the last heat, as Hensel withstood a 19.08 split from Bates’ Max Cory to get his hand on the wall first. Bates also qualified for the championship heat, with Timothy Johnson (22.71), Marrich Somridhivej (24.40), and Nathaniel Oppenheim (21.78) holding down the first three legs.

Emory, the defending champions, qualified second-fastest as Nolan Lahmann (22.22), Henri Bonnault (23.84), Jeffrey Echols (20.95), and Dylan Yin (20.00) won heat two in 1:27.01.

Notably, Kenyon missed out on the ‘A’ final, placing ninth in 1:28.32. The Owls hold a two-point advantage over Chicago in the men’s team standings and a 4.5 point lead over NYU. As both schools—and the fifth-place Emory—made the ‘A’ final, the door is open for them to gain important ground on Kenyon tonight.

Women’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Prelims 

• Division III Record: 1:55.66, Logan Todhunter (Williams), 2012
• 2023 Champion: 1:58.50, Caitlin Marshall (NYU)

Finals Qualifiers: 

1. Nicole Ranile (NYU), 1:59.85
2. Caitlin Marshall (NYU), 1:59.89
3. Emily Harris (DEN), 2:00.35
4. Maeve Kelly (AMHE), 2:01.49
5. Amelia Stevenson (KEN), 2:02.12
6. Belise Swartwood (MIT), 2:02.30
7. Mackenzie Mitchell (CMS), 2:02.36
8. Alise Hale (GEN), 2:02.55
9. Elodie Mitchell (EMOR), 2:02.62
10. Reina Gomez (NYU), 2:03.01
11. Ollie Bream (WOO), 2:03.11
12. Bethany Spangler (NYU), 2:03.19
13. Quinn Weygandt (SWAT), 2:03.40
14. Kiana Tanizaki-Hudson (CU), 2:03.93
15. Sun Young Byun (CMS), 2:04.04
16. Emma Pritchett (DEN), 2:04.44

Defending champion Caitlin Marshall was the first swimmer to dip under the 2:00 barrier this morning. Marshall swam a 1:59.89 to win heat five, adding 1.10 seconds from her seed time of 1:58.79 as she prepares to defend her title this evening.

She’ll go head-to-head with teammate Nicole Ranile in the final. Ranile, this year’s UAA champion (1:58.64), won the final heat in 1:59.85, stopping the clock four-hundredths faster than Marshall.

Last year, the Violets put four swimmers into the 200 butterfly ‘A’ final. It’s just Ranile and Marshall in the championship final this year, but a 1-2 finish would be big for the Violets as they aim to maintain the lead in the women’s team standings. Further, they have two more finalists in the ‘B’ final with Reina Gomez (2:03.01) and Bethany Spangler (2:03.19) earning second swims.

It was a slower final heat, as only Ranile and eighth-place qualifier Alise Hale made the ‘A’ final out of heat six. Keyon’s Amelia Stevenson had an excellent swim in lane one of heat five. She swam 2:02.12, chopping 1.56 seconds off the lifetime best she swam earlier this season.

Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Prelims 

• Division III Record: 1:43.21, Justin Finkel (Connecticut College), 2024
• 2024 Champion: 1:43.21, Justin Finkel (Connecticut College)

Finals Qualifiers: 

1. Cooper Costello (CHIC), 1:44.36
2. Justin Finkel (CONN), 1:45.44
3. Avery Clapp (JHU), 1:46.17
4. Harrison Thorsen (EMOR), 1:46.31
5. Marco Minai (WSTL), 1:46.33
6. Noah Reice (CGA), 1:46.73
7. Kyle Huang (PP), 1:46.83
8. John Drumm (CWRU), 1:47.02
9. Ryan Nunez (WILL), 1:47.54
10. Ethan Schreier (TUFT), 1:47.55
11. Alexander Volin (ROWA), 1:47.56
12. Max Lough (DEN), 1:47.65
13. Jaden-hans Yburan (NYU), 1:47.95
14. Maxwell Soja (DEN), 1:47.96
15. Ethan Manske (KEN), 1:48.06
16. Grant Hu (MIT), 1:48.06

Sophomore Cooper Costello swan a steady prelims race in the final heat of the men’s 200 butterfly. He clocked 1:44.36, just five-hundredths off his seed, to claim the top seed for tonight’s final. Costello won the 100 butterfly last night in 45.97, becoming the first man in division history to break the 46-second barrier.

He’s riding a wave of momentum into the final. There, he’ll face off against Connecticut senior Justin Finkel, the defending champion and DIII record holder. Finkel won last year’s title by setting the division mark at 1:43.21. Both he and Costello will chase that time tonight and both are already individual NCAA champions this week (Finkel won the 500 free on the first night of the meet).

Avery Clapp was third last year and holds onto that position heading into this year’s final. He dropped .66 seconds from his season-best with a 1:46.17 to touch second behind FInkel in heat three. Emory sophomore Harrison Thorsen is back in the 200 butterfly ‘A’ final again, qualifying fourth in 1:46.31. He’s been as fast as 1:45.84 this season, already well under the 1:46.87 he swam for sixth last season.

Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Prelims 

• Division III Record: 53.29, Kate Augustyn (MIT), 2025
• 2024 Champion: 53.41, Kate Augustyn (MIT)

Finals Qualifiers: 

1. Kate Augustyn (MIT), 53.76
2. Elisabella Forest (CHIC), 54.46
3. Sydney Smith (MIT), 54.61
4. Gwenyth Eisenbeis (KEN), 54.96
5. Elizabeth Pennington (ROWA), 54.99
6. Braelyn Wilson (KEAN), 55.10
7. Irene Yang (WILL), 55.35
8. Anna Durak (LORA), 55.36
9. Megan Jungers (EMOR), 55.37
10. Clementine Robins (WILL), 55.40
11. Jasmine Park (DEN), 55.42
12. Annika Naveen (MIT), 55.54
13. Isabelle Yoon (PP), 55.56
14. Nona Coates (CLBY), 55.73
15. Kennedy Lee (JHU), 55.78
16. Penelope Celtnieks (EMOR), 55.95

Augustyn, the defending champion and DIII record holder, sailed to a 53.76 in the final heat of the women’s 100 backstroke prelims this morning. Last year, Augustyn won in a DIII record of 53.41, which she broke with a 53.29 earlier this season. She’s in a strong position to repeat as the champion; no other swimmer broke 54 seconds this morning.

Chicago’s Elisabella Forest claimed lane five for tonight, but Augustyn will have a teammate on her other side, as Smith, her fellow Engineer, qualified third in 54.61. The swim is a lifetime best for Smith, who won the 100 butterfly title yesterday. She placed seventh in this race at 2024 NCAAs.

The other returning ‘A’ finalists from last season, Megan Jungers and Penny Celtnieks, qualified for the ‘B’ final. Jungers placed ninth this morning in 55.37, a hundredth of a second behind Anna Durak (55.36). Meanwhile, Celtnieks snuck into the finals in sixteenth (55.95).

Tapping back into the team race, MIT has three finalists in this race (2 A/1B), Kenyon has one (1 A), and Emory has two (2 B) while NYU has none.

Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Prelims 

• Division III Record: 45.75, Tanner Filion (Whitman), 2023
• 2024 Champion: 46.90, Djordje Dragojlovic (Kenyon)

Finals Qualifiers: 

1. Eric Lundgren (TUFT), 47.36
2. Kyle Wolford (WSTL), 47.38
3. Brayden Morford (CMU), 47.39
4. Keith Quaid (NYU), 47.45
5. Djordje Dragojlovic (KEN), 47.84
6. Zachary Spicer (EMOR), 48.05
7. Nathan Kim (MIT)/Jack Watson (ROWA), 48.07
8. —
9. James Schwenk (SMCM), 48.23
10. Colin Kalkman (HOPE), 48.24
11. Aitor Arrese-Igor (MIT), 48.26
12. Benjamin Bevill (DEN), 48.34
13. Charles Platt (CALV), 48.39
14. Jeremy Tan (CMS), 48.43
15. Nolan Lahmann (EMOR), 48.46
16. Arnav Deshpande (CMU), 48.62

The top three qualifiers in this race are separated by just three-hundredths of a second, and the top eight by .71 seconds, promising a great race in tonight’s men’s 100 backstroke final. Lundgren showed his form earlier this session, leading off Tufts’ 200 medley relay in 22.13 and helping the Jumbos qualify first for the relay.

He was .08 seconds off his season-best this morning in the 100 backstroke heats, clocking 47.36 out of heat two. He got his hand on the wall two-hundredths ahead of Wash U fifth-year Kyle Wolford, who dropped .51 seconds from his lifetime best with a 47.38. Those swims held up as the fastest of the morning, as Brayden Morford, the new 200 IM champion, won heat four in 47.39 and Emory freshman Zachary Spicer took heat three in 48.05.

Spicer is far from the only freshman that will be in tonight’s ‘A’ final. NYU’s Keith McQuaid swam 47.45, dropping .49 seconds from his seed time for fourth-place. MIT freshman Nathan Kim had a bigger drop, improving from his seed time by .62 seconds to tie Jack Watson for seventh place.

Defending champion Djordje Dragojlovic qualified fifth for tonight’s final, swimming a solid 47.84 that added about a half-second from his seed time. Expect him to be more involved at the front of the race tonight.

Women’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Prelims 

• Division III Record: 59.62, Jennah Fadely (Kenyon), 2025
• 2024 Champion: 59.80, Jennah Fadely (Kenyon)

Finals Qualifiers: 

1. Jennah Fadely (KEN), 1:00.61
2. Gabby Wei (KEN), 1:00.98
3. Kelsey Van Eldik (KEN), 1:01.29
4. Drue Thielking (DEN), 1:01.78
5. Charlotte Wishnack (WILL), 1:02.03
6. Nina Lamb (SPRI), 1:02.16
7. Sarah Bernard (MIT), 1:02.31
8. Katie Cohen (EMOR), 1:02.37
9. Quinci Wheeler (TUFT), 1:02.41
10. Sarah Palmer (BATE), 1:02.50
11. Mattie Smith (ALBC), 1:02.72
12. Anna Li (NYU), 1:02.74
13. Alicia Soosai (CHIC), 1:02.95
14. Kellen Mitti (CLBY), 1:02.97
15. Madison Lu (EMOR), 1:03.15
16. Riley Tofflemire (DEN), 1:03.17

Kenyon’s breaststroke group runs deep; the Owls held the top three seeds on the psych sheet and maintained that grip on the event in this morning’s prelims. The team posted the fastest three swims of the morning, led by DIII record holder Jennah Fadely. Fadely set the record at 59.62 in January and posted a 1:00.61 this mornign in Greensboro.

She’s the defending champion in this race and sits just over three-tenths ahead of her teammate Gabby Wei. Wei took third in this race last season. She swam a lifetime best 1:00.98 this morning, breaking 1:01 for the first time as her previous best was a 1:01.05 from January. Freshman Kelsey van Eldik rounded out Kenyon’s top three swims in 1:01.29, a lifetime best of her own.

Drue Thielking, from Kenyon’s NCAC rival Denison, was the only swimmer to join the Owls under 1:02 seconds this morning. She qualified fourth in 1:01.78. Williams senior Charlotte Wishnack returns to the ‘A’ final with a 1:02.03 qualifying time for fifth.

Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Prelims 

• Division III Record: 50.94, Andrew Wilson (Emory), 2017
• 2024 Champion: 51.83, Derek Maas (NYU)

Finals Qualifiers: 

1. Henri Bonnault (EMOR), 53.11
2. Zachary Erb (BC), 53.19
3. Elijah Venos (DEN), 53.64
4. Patrick Daly (DEN), 54.06
5. Lincoln Hall (CLU), 54.12
6. Marrich Somridhivej (BATE), 54.16
7. Emmett Adams (TUFT)/Caleb Einold (GRO), 54.21
8. —
9. Ryan Vandeveen (TCNJ), 54.28
10. Evan Deedy (CMS), 54.37
11. Liyang Sun (EMOR), 54.41
12. Liam Nelson (DEN), 54.53
13. Jonathan Wang (JHU), 54.58
14. Gavin Jones (DEN), 54.64
15. Nick Hensel (DEN), 54.72
16. Christopher Xia (CHIC), 54.73

There’s been a lot of turnover from the men’s 100 breaststroke ‘A’ final from last season. With top three finishers from last year graduated, it’s Henri Bonnault, the 2024 7th place finisher, who leads the way with a 53.11. He’s been as fastas 52.71 this season.

After not racing this event at NCAAs last year, BC sophomore Zachary Erb is the second-fastest qualifier, posting a 53.19 that puts him right in the mix with Bonnault. Like the Emory junior, Erb has been faster this season, bringing a 53.01 into the meet.

Elijah Venos took fourth last year and looks set to move up from that placement after swimming a 53.64 for fourth place. The Big Red have a pair of ‘A’ finalists, as Patrick Daly moves from from last year’s ‘B’ final and joins Venos. Denison has three more swimmers in the ‘B’ final, giving them five finalists in the event.

Seven of the eight ‘A’ finalists added from their seed time this morning. The exception is Tufts senior Emmett Adams, who improved by .86 seconds, hitting 54.21. He tied Caleb Einolf for seventh-place, making this the second men’s event in a row with a tie for seventh, narrowly avoiding a swim-off.

Women’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals (Early Heats)

• Division III Record: 7:13.51, Emory (F. Muir, J. Wawer, M. Taylor, C. Cheng), 2018
• 2024 Champion: 7:16.20, NYU (N. Ranile, A. Wala, C. Marshall, K. McIntyre)

Fastest Morning Swims:

1. Johns Hopkins, 7:23.96
2. Wash U, 7:26.97
3. Amherst, 7:27.97
4. Hope, 7:28.33
5. Swarthmore, 7:31.92
6. Case Western, 7:32.06
7. Tufts, 7:32.28
8. Trinity (TX), 7:34.07

After a 4.92-second from drop their seed time, the Johns Hopkins quartet of Melissa Er (1:51.75), Taylor Rohovit (1:50.44), Alexandra Wilson (1:50.90), and Julia Tuinman (1:50.87) hold the fastest time in the women’s 800 freestyle relay so far. The squad posted a 7:23.96, giving them a 3.01-second lead over the rest of the field. With the top eight teams still to swim in finals, Johns Hopkins must now wait to see if they’ll earn All-American honors. Last year, 7:29.89 earned a top 8 placement.

Men’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals (Early Heats)

• Division III Record: 6:26.98, Emory (N. Goudie, B. Thorsen, J. Hamilton, P. Pema), 2023
• 2024 Champion: 6:29.05, Williams (A. Atherton, R. Nunez, C. Anderson, O. Schalet)

Fastest Morning Swims: 

1. Tufts, 6:33.96
2. Kenyon, 6:35.01
3. Wash U, 6:36.83
4. MIT, 6:37.01
5. Rowan, 6:41.11
6. TCNJ, 6:41.17
7. Hope, 6:41.38
8. Case Western, 6:42.91

Tufts closed out a strong session by posting the time to beat in the men’s 800 freestyle relay. With one heat remaining, the Jumbos are in first after Rafae Shafi (1:37.69), Ron Lyubman (1:38.30), Sikka (1:39.44), and Eric Lundgren (1:38.53) swam 6:33.96. The Jumbos finished 14th last year and now can do no worse than 9th.

Kenyon is sitting second after swimming 6:35.01, which is under the 6:35.71 it took to place top eight last year. However, if Kenyon misses out on the top eight in this event, they’ll have missed the top eight in both of the day’s relays. Earlier this session, they placed 9th in the 200 medley relay prelims.