- Dates: Wednesday, February 19 – Saturday, February 22
- Location: Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, Iowa, IA
- Defending Champions: Denver Women 11x, Denver men 3x
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide
- Teams: Denver, South Dakota, Omaha, South Dakota State, St Thomas, Southern Indiana, Eastern Illinois
- Live stream: Summit League Network
- Results: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Full Meet
- 2025 Swimming and Diving Championships – The Summit League
- Recaps: Day 1| Day 2 | Day 3
Women’s Recap
Final Team Scores
- Denver – 1078
- South Dakota – 712
- Omaha – 568.5
- St. Thomas – 395
- South Dakota State – 325.5
- Southern Indiana – 272
- Eastern Illinois – 184
Beginning the final session with a lead of more than 250 points over South Dakota, the Denver women made sure to put an exclamation point on their 12th consecutive title since joining the conference in 2014. They had at least three swimmers in every ‘A’ final, rounded off with a podium sweep in the 200 fly, and smashed through the 1000 point barrier.
Freshman Paige Reilly got them off to a fantastic start in the longest event on the schedule, swimming a PB of 16:44.53 to rank 8th all-time on Denver’s 1650 freestyle rankings and beat out last year’s winner Nika Spehar, who was third with a 17:01.55. Mina Ada Solaker kept the good times rolling, dropping half a second from her personal best as she swam 1:57.72 and improving on her fourth-place finish from last year. She led a 1-3-4-7 finish for Denver and was less than a second off the NCAA ‘B’ cut, as the Pioneer women raked in 63 points from the event. Nika Spehar, swimming a brutal 1650 free-200 back double for the second year in a row, was 15th in 2:06.17.
The 100 freestyle was the only individual event of the night where Denver didn’t top the podium, as South Dakota’s Emily Kahn dropped over a second from her prelims time in a 49.39. That was just over half a second from the championship record and quicker than her winning time last year, as Payton Easley also joined her under 50 seconds (49.95). The Coyotes started the day in second place but fewer than 100 points ahead of Omaha, and Kahn and Carson White (who finished sixth) gave them crucial points in this battle.
The 200 breaststroke was a return of Denver’s dominance, as Jessica Maeda led a 1-2 finish along with Peyton Mullowney, 2:11.46 to 2:13.53, also claiming an NCAA ‘B’ cut. This was a fourth title in four years for Maeda, as the Senior beat her teammate by over two seconds, and Taylor Buhr who swam a 2:16.72 to finish third by more than five .
The Pioneers, now mathematically assured of the title, showed out with their best performance of the night in the 200 fly. Mia Moulden led them to a 1-2-3 finish in a 2:00.38 to claim her third conference title in this event, as Sabrina Rachjaibun made it back-to-back runner up finishes but improved her time from last year by more than a second to 2:01.08.
Although they couldn’t get near Denver for the overall title, South Dakota were able to win a nail-biting 400 free relay to close off the championships. Emily Kahn’s 49.58 lead-off was the difference maker, as Denver clawed their way back to within three-tenths of a second with 100 to go but anchors Carson White and Angela Wyand split identical 50.08s as South Dakota went 3:21.74 to Denver’s 3:22.04.
Day 4 Champions
- Paige Reilly, Denver – 1650 freestyle (16:44.23)
- Mina Ada Solaker, Denver – 200 backstroke (1:57.72)
- Emily Kahn, South Dakota – 100 freestyle (49.39)
- Jessica Maeda, Denver – 200 breaststroke (2:11.46) [NCAA B-Cut]
- Mia Moulden, Denver – 200 butterfly (2:00.38)
- South Dakota – 400 freestyle relay (3:21.74)
Summit Women’s Championship Awards
- Swimming Championship MVP: Jessica Maeda, Denver
- Diving Championship MVP: Savanna Berry, Denver
- Newcomer of the Championships: Emily Diprospero, South Dakota
- Co-Scholar of the Championship presented by JLG Architects: Christina Spomer, South Dakota
- Co-Scholar of the Championship presented by JLG Architects: Katie Pattee, South Dakota State
- Diving Coach of the Year: Aaron D’Addario, Denver
- Swimming Coach of the Year: Alicia Hicken-Franklin, Denver
Men’s Recap
Final Team Scores
- Denver – 975
- South Dakota – 697.5
- South Dakota State – 544
- Omaha – 507.5
- St. Thomas – 352
- Southern Indiana – 268
- Eastern Illinois – 193
After finishing night 3 with a disqualification in the 400 medley relay (which they won by a second), Denver came out swinging, going 1-2-3-5-6 in the 1650. They were led by Junior Joseph Hancock (15:09.03) and Senior Kieran Watson (15:13.62) who both swam NCAA ‘B’ cuts. Denver took 81 points from this event, growing their lead over South Dakota to more than 150. This was also just the first of their six swimming event wins on the night, as they swept every event including the 3-meter diving, won by Zyad Morsy as he repeated as champion and made the NCAA zone cut.
Dylan Wright was the class of the field in the 200 backstroke to win by over two seconds in 1:42.52, ahead of Denilson Cyprianos (1:44.77) and Joaquin Contreras-Fallico (1:45.59). Wright has been as fast as 1:41.80 from December 2023, but last night’s swim was still fast enough for an NCAA ‘B’ cut. He was out strong, the only man under 50 in 49.64, and then had the fastest back half to pull far away from the field.
The 100 freestyle was won by Frank Tirone who beat teammate Hamish McLellan 44.02 to 44.32, as Denver’s only two finalists in the event went 1-2. Tirone had earlier won the 50 free in a 19.62, and completed the sprint freestyle sweep here.
Whilst the 200 breaststroke was won by Denver Senior Marco Nosack in a 1:57.54, as he won his first title in this event since his freshman year, it was a big event for South Dakota State. Underclassmen Cody Vertin (1:58.04) and Nikolas Keuser (1:59.87) went 2-4, which along with 15th-place David Bosch gave them 34 crucial points in their battle for third with Omaha.
Brandon Chapman wrapped up a hugely successful night individually for Denver, going 1:45.69 to win his third career title in the event and lead Denver to a 1-4-8 finish. The real excitement at this point though was that battle between South Dakota State and Omaha. The Jackrabbits had a huge event here, with six finalists bringing in 60 points between them to put them unassailably into third. This event and the 200 breaststroke together were responsible for a whopping 17% of their total points.
Putting the cherry on top, Denver sprinted to victory in the 400 freestyle relay in a 2:56.17 to lead Omaha (2:57.58) and South Dakota State (2:58.17). Frank Tirone led off in 43.95 to just beat out his winning time in the 100 freestyle earlier in the night and clip his 43.99 PB. Denver then had two of the three flying spits under 44 on the night from Hamish McLellan (43.65) and Brandon Chapman (43.77) with the other coming from South Dakota State anchor Zavier Kranz (43.81) as they took third.
Day 4 Champions
- Joseph Hancock, Denver -1650 freestyle (15:09.03) [NCAA B-Cut]
- Dylan Wright, Denver – 200 backstroke (1:42.52) [NCAA B-Cut]
- Frank Tirone, Denver – 100 freestyle (44.02)
- Marco Nosack, Denver – 200 breaststroke (1:57.54)
- Brandon Chapman, Denver – 200 butterfly (1:45.69)
- Zyad Morsy, Denver – 3 Metre dive (371.75) [NCAA Standard]
- Denver – 400 freestyle relay (2:56.17)
Summit Men’s Championship Awards
- Swimming Championship MVP: Brandon Chapman, Denver
- Diving Championship MVP: Zyad Morsy, Denver
- Newcomer of the Championships: Hamish McLellan, Denver
- Scholar of the Championship presented by JLG Architects: Nolan Wallace, Eastern Illinois
- Diving Coach of the Year: Aaron D’Addario, Denver
- Swimming Coach of the Year: Alicia Hicken-Franklin, Denver
