Denison vs Youngstown State vs Ohio Wesleyan
- Saturday, January 28, 2023
- Granville, Ohio
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Denison Athletics
GRANVILLE, Ohio (January 28, 2023) – The No. 4 Denison University women’s swimming & diving team earned a first-place finish in all 14 events in the pool to take down both Ohio Wesleyan University (254-34) and Youngstown State University (223-77) in dominating fashion during their double dual meet on Senior Day at the Trumbull Aquatics Center. Denison also earned seven NCAA Division III National “B” cut times by seven different athletes, and swept the top-three spots in 10 different events.
Senior Tara Culibrk led Denison with individual wins in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle to go along with wins in both relay events. Amber Croonquist earned the win in both the 50 butterfly and the 100 butterfly, Claire Moody was first in both the 50 backstroke and the 100 backstroke, Drue Thielking won both the 50 breaststroke and the 100 breaststroke, and Quinn Brown won both the 300 freestyle and the 500 freestyle.
Denison started off the meet by taking each of the top-three spots in the 100 medley relay as the Big Red “A” team of Christina Crane, Thielking, Phoebe Ferguson and Culibrk finished in first place with a time of 47.33 seconds. They were followed by the Denison “B” team (Moody, Esme Wright, Croonquist, Grace Kadlecik) taking second at 47.55 seconds and the “D” team (Sophie Kannee, Savannah Sargent, Emma Berdelman, Lauren Young) in third at 48.22 seconds.
The Big Red then swept the top-three spots in the first individual event as well, the 500 freestyle, as Brown took home the win with a “B” cut time of 4:56.08 and was followed by Tara Witkowski with a “B” cut time herself at 4:59.41 while Nikki Barnas was third at 5:14.85.
Denison continued its hot start by taking each of the top-four positions in the 200 freestyle, led by Taryn Wisner in first place with a “B” cut time of 1:51.49 and followed by Annie Pfeufer (1:52.87) in second, Ali Burns (1:54.51) in third and Lucy Hardart (1:56.02) in fourth.
Moody (26.93 seconds) and Crane (27.19 seconds) finished back-to-back in first and second place in the 50 backstroke, while Kannee (27.47 seconds) and Lauren Richner (27.55 seconds) finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Thielking won the 50 breaststroke with a first-place time of 29.73 seconds while Zoe Barclay (30.49 seconds) was fourth and Sargent (30.54 seconds) was fifth.
The Big Red racked up each of the top-four and six of the top-seven spots in the 100 butterfly as Croonquist was first with a “B” cut time of 55.38 seconds while Emma Pritchett was second and earned a “B” cut as well at 55.81 seconds. Next was Ferguson (56.69 seconds) in third, Berdelman (56.94 seconds) in fourth, Maria Mrosko (57.71 seconds) in sixth and Caroline Cavalier (57.89 seconds) in seventh place.
In the 50 freestyle, Culibrk was the winner with a time of 23.47 seconds and was followed by Kadlecik (23.73 seconds), Natalie English (24.00 seconds), Maja Palmroos (24.03 seconds) and Young (24.15 seconds) as Denison swept each of the top-five positions.
In the 100 freestyle, Culibrk (50.67 seconds) was first again with a “B” cut, followed by English (53.04 seconds) in second, Pfeufer (53.17 seconds) in third and Young (53.67 seconds) in fourth.
Moody won the 100 backstroke with a “B’ cut time of 56.30 seconds while Richner (58.91 seconds) was third and Burns (58.92 seconds) was fourth.
Thielking won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.77 while Sargent (1:05.79) was third, Barclay (1:06.59) was fifth and Wright (1:07.39) was sixth.
The 300 freestyle was won by Brown (2:52.15), who led a group of five Big Red swimmers in the top-six as Wisner (2:52.65) was second, Witkowski (2:55.73) was third, Hardart (3:01.98) was fifth and Barnas (3:02.24) was sixth.
In the 50 butterfly, Croonquist (25.14 seconds) took home the win while Ferguson (25.40 seconds) was second, Palmroos (25.50 seconds) was third, Pritchett (26.18 seconds) was tied for fifth, Cavalier (26.44 seconds) was seventh and Kayla Tehrani (26.48 seconds) was eighth.
In the final individual event in the pool, the 100 IM, Sargent (59.33 seconds) took home the win while Wright (59.54 seconds) was second, Berdelman (59.55 seconds) was third, Rebecca Martin (59.68 seconds) was fourth, Mrosko (1:00.76) was sixth, Tehrani (1:01.28) was seventh and Thielking (1:01.66) was ninth.
The Big Red took each of the top-four spots in the 100 freestyle relay, led by the Denison “A” team consisting of Culibrk, Kadlecik, Ferguson and Croonquist with a time of 42.46 seconds. Next was the “B” team of English, Young, Pfeufer and Wright in second with a time of 43.40 seconds, followed by the “C” team of Brown, Palmroos, Richner and Berdelman in third at 43.79 seconds and the “E” team of Cavalier, Burns, Mrosko and Tehrani in fourth at 44.97 seconds.
On the diving boards, Kerstyn Johnson (259.20) and LuSi Minnich (251.40) finished back-to-back in second and third place, respectively, in the 3-meter dive, while in the 1-meter dive, Johnson took third with a score of 244.95.
Denison returns to action at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 8, with the first of four days at the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Championship at the Trumbull Aquatics Center.
Senior Day Recap:
Emma Berdelman is a four-year team member and senior captain from Edina, Minnesota. She earned All-American honors in the 200 IM in 2021 and was a Denison national team member in 2022. Berdelman was a 2021 CSCAA Scholar All-American as well as a 2021-22 Denison Chi Alpha Sigma inductee. She is also a member of Denison’s Mission34 chapter.
Christina Crane is a three-year team member and senior captain from Evergreen, Colorado. She earned four All-American honors in 2022 and was a three-time All-NCAC performer and Denison national team member in 2022. Crane is a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American and a two-time member of the NCAC Academic Honor Roll, and was also a 2021-22 Denison Chi-Alpha Sigma inductee.
Tara Culibrk is a four-year team member and senior captain from Belgrade, Serbia. She is a nine-time All-American, including twice in the 100 free, 200 free and the 500 free. Culibrk is a five-time All-NCAC performer, including twice in the 200 free, and earned a conference championship in the 800 free relay in 2020. She was a 2020 and 2022 Denison national team member, is a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American and a two-time member of the NCAC Academic Honor Roll, and was a 2021-22 Denison Chi-Alpha Sigma inductee.
Savannah Sargent is a four-year team member and senior captain from Victor, New York. She is a three-time All-American, including twice in the 400 IM in 2020 and 2021. Sargent was a Denison national team member in both 2020 and 2022, is a two-time CSCAA Scholar All-American and a two-time member of the NCAC Academic Honor Roll, and was also a 2021-22 Denison Chi Alpha Sigma inductee.
Taylor Trapp is a four-year team member and diver from Lexington, Kentucky. She was chosen by the HESS department to receive the R.J. Mullen Sports Medicine Scholarship Award.
Lauren Young is a three-year team member from Chantilly, Virginia. She was a member of the Denison national team and was also a CSCAA Scholar All-American in 2022. Young was also a 2021-22 Denison Chi Alpha Sigma inductee and is a two-time member of the NCAC Honor Roll.
NCAA Division III National “B” cuts:
Quinn Brown – 500 freestyle – 4:56.08
Tara Witkowski – 500 freestyle – 4:59.41
Taryn Wisner – 200 freestyle – 1:51.49
Amber Croonquist – 100 butterfly – 55.38
Emma Pritchett – 100 butterfly – 55.81
Tara Culibrk – 100 freestyle – 50.67
Claire Moody – 100 backstroke – 56.30
GRANVILLE, Ohio (January 28, 2023) – Thanks to 11 wins across 16 events in the pool and on the diving boards, the No. 9 Denison University men’s swimming & diving team took down both Ohio Wesleyan University and Youngstown State University in a double dual meet on Senior Day at the Trumbull Aquatics Center. The Big Red handed OWU a 257-45 defeat and topped YSU 202-107.
Sophomore Elijah Venos led Denison with individual wins in both the 50 breaststroke and the 100 breaststroke to go along with wins in both relay races. Christian Narcelles earned the win in both the 100 freestyle and the 200 freestyle while Richie Kurlich was first in both the 100 butterfly and the 100 IM.
Denison’s “A” team of Nick Settembrine, Venos, Josh Song and Kurlich got the Big Red started off on the right foot with a win and a time of 41.00 seconds in the 100 medley relay.
In the first individual event, the 500 freestyle, Sam Myaard (4:32.49), Lucas Conrads (4:35.24) and Tyler Distenfeld (4:36.89) finished in order between second and fourth place.
The Big Red then brought home the top-four spots in the 200 freestyle as Narcelles took first with a time of 1:40.59 and was followed by Patrick Daly (1:40.71) in second, Ryan Foreback (1:42.18) in third and Christian McIntire (1:43.41) in fourth.
Denison took four of the top-five spots in the 50 backstroke as Settembrine (23.76 seconds) was first, Aidan Lane (23.83 seconds) was second, Gavin Jones (24.14 seconds) was fourth and Shea Card (24.15 seconds) was fifth.
In the 50 breaststroke, Venos claimed the top mark with a time of 25.32 seconds while Riccardo Ricciardi (26.10 seconds) was third and Franceso Assalone (26.24 seconds) was fourth.
In the 100 butterfly, Kurlich claimed first place with an NCAA Division III National “B” cut time of 47.87 seconds while Song was third at 49.74 seconds, Eric Chimes was fourth at 49.99 seconds and Max Soja was fifth at 50.04 seconds.
Owen Leary and Richie Stewart finished back-to-back in second and third place in the 50 freestyle with times of 21.19 seconds and 21.24 seconds, respectively.
Narcelles took home the win in the 100 freestyle with a winning-time of 46.43 seconds while behind him, Foreback (46.72 seconds), Stewart (47.09 seconds), George Wang (47.25 seconds), Leary (47.35 seconds) and Owen Dy (48.79 seconds) finished in order between third and seventh place.
In the 100 backstroke, Lane (50.80 seconds), Settembrine (50.96 seconds), Card (51.93 seconds), James Pastore (52.08 seconds), McIntire (52.70 seconds) and Connor Brown (53.55 seconds) finished in order between second and seventh place.
Venos earned the win with a time of 55.22 seconds in the 100 breaststroke, and was followed by Assalone (56.70 seconds) in third, Jones (57.17 seconds) in fourth, Ricciardi (57.32 seconds) in fifth and Josh Thomas (58.28 seconds) in seventh.
For the 300 freestyle, Conrads (2:40.08) finished second, Distenfeld (2:41.37) finished third, Patrick Madden (2:41.48) finished fourth, Myaard (2:41.53) finished fifth, Luke Landis (2:48.34) finished seventh, Max Hutson-Comeaux (2:49.09) finished eighth and Thomas (2:49.44) finished ninth.
Song won the 50 butterfly with a finish of 22.49 seconds.
Then in the 100 IM, Kurlich (49.54 seconds) picked up his second individual win of the day while Daly (50.50 seconds) was second, Soja (52.16 seconds) was fourth, Conrads (52.75 seconds) was sixth, Chimes (52.77 seconds) was seventh and Madden (53.03 seconds) was ninth.
Denison finished things up in the pool by sweeping the top-three positions in the 100 freestyle relay. The Big Red “B” team of Leary, Narcelles, Venos and Foreback finished first with a time of 37.60 seconds while the “A” team of Stewart, Lane, Daly and Kurlich was second at 37.75 seconds and the “D” team of McIntire, Assalone, Song and Soja was third at 39.30 seconds.
Nick Fogle won the 1-meter diving competition with a provisional regional qualifying score of 280.05 while Kristian Kowalski was third at 271.20. Then in the 3-meter dive, Brendan Stanley (298.35) earned a provisional regional qualifying score while he and Kowalski (283.43) finished back-to-back in second and third place, respectively.
Denison returns to action at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 8, with the first of four days at the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Championship at the Trumbull Aquatics Center.
Senior Day Recap:
Eric Chimes is a four-year team member from Broadview Heights, Ohio. He is a six-time All-American, a three-time All-NCAC performer, including twice in the 400 IM in 2020 and 2022, and earned a conference championship in the 200 fly in 2022 as well. Chimes was a 2020 and 2022 Denison national team member, and was a 2022 CSCAA Scholar All-American.
Brendan Downey is a five-year team member, diver and senior captain from Avon, Connecticut. In 2022, Downey was a NCAA Diving Regional qualifier and a Denison national team member before earning All-American honors in the 1-meter dive with a score of 415.60 at the NCAA National Championship. Following Denison’s season-opener this year, Downey earned NCAC Athlete of the Week honors for the first time in his career after sweeping both of the diving events at the Akron Zips Classic. He is also a member of the Denison’s Sports Career Exploration Club.
Kristian Kowalski is a two-year team member and diver from Mansfield, Ohio. He was a 2022 NCAA Diving Regional qualifier and placed 10th with a score of 421.45 in the 1-meter dive.
Richie Kurlich is a five-year team member and senior captain from Kent, Ohio. He is a 16-time All-American, including four times in the 200 breast, and is a six-time All-NCAC performer, including twice in the 200 breast. He earned three conference championship in 2022, doing so in the 100 IM, the 200 breast and the 400 medley relay. Kurlich has earned four NCAC Athlete of the Week awards in his career, including doing so this season after his performance at the Denison Invitational. He has been a Denison national team member in 2019, 2020 & 2022, and was a 2021 & 2022 CSCAA Scholar All-American.
Luke Landis is a three-year team member and senior captain from Upper Arlington, Ohio. He earned All-American honors in the 500 free and the 1,650 free in 2021, was all-conference in both events in 2022, and earned an NCAC Championship in the 1,650 free last year as well before going on compete with the Big Red at nationals. On campus, Landis is a member of Denison’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (DSAAC) and Mission34 Chapter.
Aidan Lane is a four-year team member and senior captain from Barrington, Rhode Island. He was a 2022 CSCAA Scholar All-American and a 2021-22 Denison Chi Alpha Sigma inductee. He was also named a Denison Top-50 Scholar-Athlete and a member of the NCAC Academic Honor Roll in both 2019-20 and 2021-22.
Patrick Madden is a four-year team member from Richmond, Virginia. He earned four All-American honors in 2021 and was also a 2021 CSCAA Scholar All-American. At the 2020 NCAC Championship, Patrick finished in third place to earn all-conference honors in the 200 back with a time of 1:49.52. On campus, he works for Denison’s on-campus radio station, the Doobie, is a Writing Center Consultant, and is also a CA for the Residential Community.
David Niehaus is a four-year team member from Milford, Ohio. He is the swim ambassador for Mission34 who also does breast cancer research for the Denison biology department and recently received the Biology Department’s Annual Research Award.
NCAA Division III National “B” cuts:
Richie Kurlich – 100 butterfly – 47.87
Nick Fogle – 1-meter diving – 280.05
Brendan Stanley – 3-meter diving – 298.35
Courtesy: YSU Sports
Granville, Ohio – The Youngstown State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams defeated Ohio Wesleyan but fell to Denison in a double dual at the Trumbull Aquatic Center on Saturday.
The men defeated Ohio Wesleyan 250-43, and the women earned the victory 254-34. The Denison women, ranked fourth in Division III, defeated YSU 223-77. Ranked ninth in Division III, the Denison men defeated the Penguins 202-107.
Gavin Webb earned victories in both the men’s 300 and 500 free with times of 2:39.28 and 4:31.48, respectively. Rares Druga also earned a victory for the Penguins, clocking a 21.03 in the 50 free for first. Soma Albert finished first in the 100 back, swimming a 50.37. Albert was also third in the 50 back with a time of 24.02.
Simon Iwanonkiw led the men’s diving squad earning the victory in the three-meter with an impressive, personal best score of 298.95. He also finished second in the one-meter with a score of 277.50.
Freshman James Slessor picked up two second-place finishes in the breaststroke events. He clocked a 25.99 in the 50 breast and a 56.43 in the 100 breast in his runner-up finishes.
Gavin Redden finished second in the 50 fly with a time of 22.54 while Wilson Cannon was third, clocking a 22.96.
Darren Laing earned a second-place finish in the 100 free with a time of 46.71. Aleksa Radenovic was second in the 50 fly with a time of 49.56 and also picked up a third-place finish in the 100 IM, clocking a 51.88.
The 100 medley relay team of Druga, Slessor, Cannon, and Radenovic also picked up a second-place finish, swimming a time of 41.35.
For the women, Kayla Wrasman swept both women’s diving events. She delivered impressive performances in the one- and three-meter dives in her victories. She scored a 270.00 in her victory in the three-meter and a 258.83 in the one-meter.
Ellen Linscheid finished second in the women’s one-meter with a score of 245.93.
Chiara Vetter, a recent addition to the swimming squad, turned in noteworthy performances in her Penguin debut. She finished second in the 100 breast with a time of 1:05.61, which ranks sixth-best in YSU history, as well as placed third in the 50 breast, clocking a 30.44.
Isabelle Hanson impressed in the backstroke events finishing second in the 100 back with a time of 57.99, which is the fourth-fastest time in YSU history, and third in the 50 back, clocking a 27.20.
Oliwia Kaniak picked up a runner-up finish in the 50 breast with a time of 30.02.
Next for the Penguins, a group of swimmers will compete at the Butler Invitational on Sunday which is set to begin at noon at Fishers High School in Fishers, Ind.
Courtesy: Ohio Wesleyan Athletics
Senior Evelyn VanderVelde (Holland, Mich.) recorded Ohio Wesleyan’s best individual finishes in a double-dual meet against fourth-ranked Denison and NCAA Division I entity Youngstown State on Saturday in Granville.
VanderVelde finished eighth in the 50 breaststroke and ninth in the 100 breaststroke.
Other standouts for the Bishops included senior Alyssa O’Sullivan (Hilliard/Bishop Watterson), who placed ninth in the 50 and 100 backstroke events; sophomore Josephine Stark (Sandusky/Margaretta), who was 10th in the 200 freestyle and the 100 backstroke; and junior Siarra Hoover (Frazeysburg/Newark Licking Valley), who finished 10th in the 50 and 100 breaststroke events.
Senior Ezra Ferguson (New Bremen) and senior Owen Kennedy (Columbus/Bishop Hartley) registered Ohio Wesleyan’s best individual finishes in a double-dual meet against ninth-ranked Denison and NCAA Division I entity Youngstown State on Saturday in Granville.
Ferguson placed eighth in the 50 breaststroke and ninth in the 100 breaststroke, while Kennedy was eighth in the 100 backstroke and 10th in the 50 backstroke.
Other standouts for the Bishops included freshman Evan Lucas (Cincinnati/Loveland), who placed ninth in the 50 and 100 butterfly events; freshman Chase Ellis (Hilliard/Darby), who finished 10th in the 50 and 300 freestyle events; senior Aamir Motiwala (Karachi, Pakistan/Karachi Grammar School), who placed 10th in the 500 freestyle; and sophomore Jon Walker (Maineville/Little Miami), who was 10th in the 50 butterfly.
Denison Men fell off