2025 NCAA Division III Championships: Day 1 Finals 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
  • Day 1 Prelims

It’s the first finals session of the 2025 NCAA Division III Championships and we’ve already seen a national record fall in prelims. NYU’s Kaley McIntyre scorched 22.30 in the 50 free this morning to slice over a tenth of a second off her own record and qualify first by almost exactly half a second. She also split 48.36 anchoring the Violets’ 400 medley relay, which is seeded 1st. Their seed time is less than two tenths off the NCAA record set at the 2022 edition of this meet, so it’s possible we see another

The men’s 50 is just as exciting. 10 men broke 20-seconds this morning, likely a first for D3. The field is led by Max Cory of Bates, who split a historically fast 18.59 anchoring the 200 medley relay at NESCACs. He hit a new best time this morning and split 42.12 on the 400 medley (likely also a historically fast split), so we could be in store for something big.

Opening the session is the 500 free, where Natalie Garre leads the women’s event. Garre has made huge strides in her freshman campaign at Bowdoin, having entered college with a best time of 5:12.59. She’s now in position to vie for the first national title.

The men’s 500 is shaping up to be an intriguing race. Defending champion Justin Finkel sits in 3rd, over four seconds back of his winning time from 2024. Coast Guard’s Sean Lyman will swim in the middle lane after lowering his time from the NEWMAC Championships.

In the 200 IM, defending champion Sophia Verkleeren became the fifth woman in D3 to break 1:59 with her prelims swim. Patrick Daly qualified first in the men’s event.

Tonight will also feature the final for men’s 3-meter diving, where Centre College has three divers in the final. They are led by top qualifier Avery Balch.

Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 4:43.37, Kendra Stern (Amherst), 2011
• 2024 Champion: 4:48.65, Bengisu Caymaz (Kenyon)

Top 8:

1. Natalie Garre (Bowdoin) – 4:44.90
2. Bengisu Caymaz (Kenyon) – 4:46.67
3. Penelope Helm (Emory) – 4:51.02
4. Quinn Brown (Denison) – 4:51.20
5. Aanya Wala (NYU) – 4:52.74
6. Madeline Dunn (Tufts) – 4:53.35
7. Nora Lee Brown (Kenyon) – 4:53.40
8. Clementine Robins (Williams) – 4:56.18

Before this season, Natalie Garre had not swam a best time in the 500 free since February of 2022. Now, she’s an NCAA champion. The freshman grabbed hold of the lead from the start and never let go, despite a challenge from 2024 champion Bengisu Caymaz (Kenyon). Caymaz hung at her hip through the halfway point, but Garre held onto her pace. She kept increasing her lead off the wall, eventually extending that lead to a body length. Garre didn’t split above 29.17 the entire race and hit the wall in 4:44.90. That makes Garre the #2 performer in D3 history behind only Kendra Stern.

Quinn Brown (Denison) briefly looked like she was tracking down Caymaz for 2nd, but faded just as quickly. That gave fifth-year Penelope Helm (Emory) enough room to pull past her in the final 50, splitting a field-best 28.02 to secure a 3rd-place finish.

Molly Haag (Kenyon) won the B final, improving her best time by 0.06-seconds (4:49.11).

Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 4:18.35, Arthur Conover (Kenyon), 2017
• 2024 Champion: 4:21.32, Justin Finkel (Connecticut College)

Top 8:

1. Justin Finkel (Connecticut College) – 4:22.43
2. Ryan Nunez (Williams) – 4:24.40
3. Lucas Lang (CMS) – 4:24.54
4. Connor Vincent (NYU) – 4:24.77
5. Sean Lyman (Coast Guard) – 4:25.15
6. Tyler Distenfeld (Denison) – 4:25.51
7. Grant Hu (MIT) – 4:25.76
8. Alexander Schwartz (Chicago) – 4:26.19

By the 200 mark, the heat looked in lockstep down the pool. Lucas Lang (CMS) started to build a slight lead, but NEWMAC competitors Sean Lyman (Coast Guard) and Grant Hu (MIT) kept him in their sights. Still, no one was separating themselves from the field.

That is until the final 150, which is when defending champion Justin Finkel decided to make his move. The senior descended the second 300 of his race, but most impressively his final three 50 splits were 26.42/25.36/24.59. No other athlete split under 27-seconds after the 150 mark. The Camel senior successfully Finke(l)’d the field, hitting the wall almost two seconds ahead of Ryan Nunez (Williams) who upset him for the NESCAC title earlier this season. Lang narrowly hung on for 3rd.

The B final went to George Goins, a freshman from Denison. His time of 4:23.37 would have been good for 2nd in the championship final.

Women’s 200 Yard IM – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:57.76, Crile Hart (Kenyon), 2022
• 2024 Champion: 1:59.59, Sophia Verkleeren (Williams)

Top 8:

1. Sophia Verkleeren (Williams) – 1:59.93
2. Jennah Fadely (Kenyon) – 2:00.09
3. Kate Augustyn (MIT) – 2:01.35
4. Greta Gidley (Hope) – 2:01.40
5. Gabriella Wei (Kenyon) – 2:02.06
6. Phoebe Ferguson (Denison) – 2:02.22
7. Emily Harris (Denison) – 2:02.33
8. Mackenzie Mayfield (CMS) – 2:04.00

Kate Augustyn (MIT) rocketed out to an early lead, opening in 25.85/29.03 to lead the field by over a second. Sophia Verkleeren (Williams) and Jennah Fadely (Kenyon) brought her back to earth in the back-half, reeling her in through the breaststroke and dropping the hammer in the 50. While Fadely split 28.40 to Verkleeren’s 29.17, it wasn’t enough to deny the Eph her third straight title in the event.

Fadley’s time was a new personal best, creeping closer to the 2:00 barrier (2:00.09). Augustyn hung on for 3rd (2:01.35) despite a charge from Greta Gidley of Hope (2:01.40).

Allison Greeneway won the consolation final, swimming 2:01.85 which would have placed 5th in the A.

Men’s 200 Yard IM – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:42.97, Derek Maas (NYU), 2024
• 2024 Champion: 1:42.97, Derek Maas (NYU)

Top 8:

1. Brayden Morford (CMU) – 1:45.50
2. Patrick Daly (Denison) – 1:46.26
3. Cooper Costello (Chicago) – 1:46.53
4. Kirill Sidorko (Kenyon) – 1:46.56
5. Devin Testin (Denison) – 1:47.67
6. Max Nechydyuk (NYU) – 1:47.68
7. Jaeden-Hans Yburan (NYU) – 1:47.75
8. Oliver Schalet (Williams) – 1:48.01

Brayden Morford (CMU) won his first national title in the 200 IM, setting a new best time in the process. Cooper Costello (Chicago) was first to the 50 (22.25), but Morford was in hot pursuit (22.40). The Tartan sophomore leaned on his backstroke prowess to pull away from the field, though Patrick Daly (Denison) exactly matched his split of 26.95. Daly snuck ahead after the breaststroke, clocking a field-best 30.04, but Morford used a big underwater coming off the final wall to secure his win (1:45.50). Morford’s swim is Carnegie Mellon’s first national title since 2007, and first in the 200 IM since 2002.

Daly settled for 2nd (1:46.26), while Costello ran out of room to run him down (1:46.53). In turn, Kirill Sidorko also gave chase to Costello, finishing just three-hundredths back (1:46.56).

The B final went to McKee Thorsen, who clocked 1:48.13 to win by just 0.05-seconds.

Women’s 50 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 22.30, Kaley McIntyre (NYU), 2025
• 2024 Champion: 22.46, Kaley McIntyre (NYU)

Top 8:

1. Kaley McIntyre (NYU) – 22.15 Division III Record
2. Ava Kennedy (Emory) – 22.66
3. Genine Collins (Swarthmore) – 22.79
4. Annika Naveen (MIT) – 22.89
5. Francesca Coppo (Pomona-Pitzer) – 22.91
6. Ella Roberson (MIT) – 22.97
7. Hannah Fathman (Albion) – 23.11
8. Grace Kadlecik (Denison) – 23.18

Kaley McIntyre had already impressed this morning when she lowered her own national record by 0.16-seconds. She found another gear in finals, slicing almost exactly the same margin (0.15-seconds) to lower it again (22.15). She turned just behind Grace Kadlecik at the 25 (10.85 to 10.89), but stormed home to make it a three-peat.

Ava Kennedy (Emory) and Genine Collins (Swarthmore) both improved on their prelims efforts to finish 2nd and 3rd. MIT had two swimmers in the championship final, led by Annika Naveen (22.89) who broke 23 seconds for the first time in her career. Francesa Coppo (Pomona-Pitzer) and Ella Roberson (MIT) also turned in 22-point swims, making it six in the championship final compared to four last year.

Fifth-year Alex Turvey (MIT) matched her teammate’s time to win the B final (22.89).

Men’s 50 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 19.37, Oliver Smith (Emory), 2018
• 2024 Champion: 19.66, Tobe Obochi (MIT)

Top 8:

1. Luke Schwenk (St. Mary’s) – 19.53
2. Max Cory (Bates) – 19.60
3. Djordje Dragojlovic (Kenyon) – 19.61
4. David Bajwa (Calvin) – 19.75
5. Casey Jacobs (Pomona-Pitzer) – 19.76
6. Kyle Reitan (UC Santa Cruz) – 19.95
7. Nathaniel Taft (Hamilton) – 19.99
8. Jacob Dzurica (St. Vincent) – 20.08

Unlike the women’s race, there wasn’t a clear leader in the men’s 50 free. The athletes looked dead even coming under the flags, and it was Luke Schwenk (St. Mary’s) who got his hand on the wall first. His time makes him the 7th fastest performer in D3 history, surpassing 2024 champion Tobe Obochi’s time from December.

Top qualifier Max Cory (Bates) couldn’t quite match his time from this morning, but still managed to out-touch last year’s runner-up Djordje Dragojlovic (Kenyon).

Seven of the eight A finalists broke 20 seconds, as did B final winner Dylan Yin of Emory (19.94).

Men’s 3-Meter Diving — Finals

• Division III Record: 645.70, Connor Dignan, Denison, 2014
• 2024 Champion: 606.65, Israel Zavaleta (Kenyon)

Top 8:

1. Trent Makowiec (Geneseo) – 558.35
2. Avery Balch (Centre) – 555.35
3. Rowan Fitzsimmons (Centre) – 505.75
4. John Beuerlein (Rhodes) – 497.00
5. Justin Toth (Centre) – 495.45
6. Gellert Kish (RIT) – 492.65
7. Conor Compton (Alfred State) – 485.65
8. Nick Fogle (Denison) – 482.85

For the first time since 2022, Division III crowned a new men’s diving champion. Trent Makowiec of SUNY Geneseo took home the title by just three points over Centre College’s Avery Balch. Centre also claimed 3rd and 5th with Rowan Fitzsimmons and Justin Toth respectively.

Women’s 400 Yard Medley Relay – Finals

• Division III Record: 3:38.05, Kenyon (O. Smith, J. Fadely, C. Hart, E. Mirus), 2022
• 2024 Champion: 3:39.17 Williams (S. Verkleeren, A. Wager, S. Kilcoyne, E. Dimter)

Top 8:

1. MIT (Augustyn, Bernard, Smith, Turvey) – 3:38.48
2. NYU (Ranile, Li, Xayaveth, McIntyre) – 3:38.56
3. Kenyon (Eisenbeis, Fadely, Ford, Geboy) – 3:39.75
4. Chicago (Forest, Soosai, Xu, Zhao) – 3:40.50
5. Denison (Park, Thielking, Ferguson, Vogen) – 3:41.75
6. Williams (Robins, Wishnack, Verkleeren, Roebuck) – 3:42.03
7. Emory (Jungers, Cohen, Greeneway, Crysel) – 3:42.27
8. Hope (Kraus, Ryle, Gidley, Wasiniak) – 3:44.44

MIT women fielded two of the fastest legs to win their second relay title in team history, after their 200 medley win on day 1 in 2024.

Leading off with NCAA record-holder Kate Augustyn, the Engineers grabbed an early lead (53.61). No other backstroker swam faster than 54 seconds. Augustyn handed things off to first-year Sarah Bernard, who split 1:01.81.

By that point, Jennah Fadely had given the Kenyon women almost a second lead (59.30), but the fly leg turned that around. Sydney Smith scorched 53.70 to swing the momentum back into MIT’s favor.

NYU was running 3rd, over a second back of the leaders, but that quickly changed when anchor Kaley McIntyre hit the water. Despite the junior splitting 47.76, it wasn’t enough to catch MIT anchor Alex Turvey (49.36), who stopped the clock just 0.08-seconds ahead of the Violets.

Winning that race will be key in the Engineers’ hunt for a team title, as they now lead NYU by single digit points.

Tufts won the B final with the quartet of Elena Harrison (55.70), Quinci Wheeler (1:02.18), Angel Smyrniou (55.56), and Jillian Cudney (50.98).

Men’s 400 Yard Medley Relay – Finals

• Division III Record: 3:09.78, Kenyon (Y. Kosian, A. Dobric, M. Krtinic, D. Dragojlovic), 2024
• 2024 Champion: 3:09.78, Kenyon (Y. Kosian, A. Dobric, M. Krtinic, D. Dragojlovic)

Top 8:

1. CMU (Deshpande, Lanuza, Morford, Peitler) – 3:10.84
2. Emory (Lahmann, Bonnault, Echols, Zexter) – 3:12.01
3. Bates (Johnson, Somridhivej, Oppenheim, Cory) – 3:12.09
4. Denison (Hill, Venos, Beduschi, Hensel) – 3:12.74
5. Kenyon (Green, Tumbasz, Savage, Dragojlovic) – 3:12.84
6. Tufts (Lundgren, Adams, Sikka, Euvrard) – 3:13.46
7. Calvin (Platt, Gemmen, Campbell, Bajwa) – 3:14.22
8. Connecticut College (Morris, Shea, Finkel, Holovacs) – 3:16.38

Before this session, Carnegie Mellon had not won a national title since 2007. Now, they end the night with two. Arnav Deshpande (47.87), Christian Lanuza (53.68), Brayden Morford (46.60), and Matthew Peitler (42.69) combined to win the Tartans’ first relay title in program history (3:10.84).

Deshpande was one of two backstrokers in the top heat to split 47-point. He trailed Tufts’ Eric Lundgren at the exchange (47.28). Tufts continued to lead through the 200 after a 53.40 effort from Emmett Adams, but Emory’s Henri Bonnault lifted the Eagles into 2nd.

Morford, fresh off his win in the 200 IM earlier in the session, out-split Emory flier Jeff Echols by about a quarter of a second, but the Eagles were still leading by over half a second at the exchange.

It came down to the anchors, as Matthew Peitler and Colin Zexter hit the water for CMU and Emory respectively. Peitler passed Zexter at the 75 and didn’t look back, speeding to the wall in the second fastest split of the field behind Max Cory (42.24). Cory’s swim secured a 3rd place finish for Bates.

Team Scores Through Day 1

Women (Top 10)

1. Kenyon – 104
2. MIT – 93
3. Denison – 87
4. NYU – 86
5. Emory – 80
6. Williams – 60
7. Hope – 37
8. Tufts – 33
9. Pomona-Pitzer – 32
10. Chicago – 30

Men (Top 10)

1. Denison – 115
2. CMU – 60
3. Kenyon – 59
4. Emory – 58
5. NYU – 54
6. Bates – 49
7. Connecticut College – 42
8. Calvin – 39
9. Chicago – 37
10. Williams – 35