DIII Round-up: 18 Top-Times in One Weekend

Many of the top Division III teams were in action this past week, posting a number of top 25 times ahead of most mid-season invites.

Chicago’s D3 Shootout Produces 13 Division-Leading Times

The University of Chicago hosted the third edition of the D3 Shootout. Each of the eight participating teams entered 8-9 athletes per gender to compete in a high-energy environment. While Chicago walked away with the team titles, there were fast times across the board.

Neely Burns of Trinity (Texas) posted the top times in the nation in the 200 breast (2:17.82), 200 IM (2:04.40), and 400 IM (4:21.40). The sophomore made A-final appearances in all three events at last year’s NCAAs, where she set her best times.

Pomona-Pitzer’s Alex Turvey, last year’s Elite 90 winner, also posted some top times. She is now ranked 1st in the 100 fly (55.27) and 100 free (50.95). She is the defending runner-up in the 100 fly, and after champion Lily Klinginsmith’s transfer to Brown University, is now in a position to pick up her first NCAA title as a senior. Turvey also swam a 23.54 in the 50 free to rank 2nd behind MIT’s Ella Roberson (23.47), who posted that time at MIT’s season opener against Northeastern.

Other top times came from Karen Zhao (Chicago) in the 200 free (1:50.33), Sara Kraus (Hope) in the 200 back (2:01.22), Kyla Foxhoven (Trinity) in the 100 breast (1:04.08), and Alesha Kelly (Chicago) in the 200 fly (2:02.56).

There weren’t as many top times on the men’s side, but Alex McCormick of WashU established himself as the early leader in both the 100 back (48.43) and 200 back (1:46.06). He tied for 2nd in the 200 at last year’s NCAAs and is the top returner this year.

The rest of the top times came from Jonathan Tang (Chicago) in the 100 free (45.45) and Larry Yu (Pomona-Pitzer) in the 400 IM (3:55.43).

Kenyon vs. Dension

NCAC rivals and national heavyweights Kenyon and Denison’s annual dual meet ended in a split. The Denison women, defending national champions, were victorious over Kenyon (3rd).

Kenyon first-year Bengisu Caymaz led the Owls with two wins in the 200 free (1:52.30) and 500 free (4:57.51) that are ranked 6th and 3rd in the national rankings. That appears to be the first SCY times she’s logged in those events; she is a member of the Turkish national team and holds the 4x200m relay record (SCM).

The points race was even closer in the men’s dual, with the Kenyon men edging Denison by only four points. There weren’t many eye-popping times on the men’s side, but the finish bodes well for Denison who slipped to 8th at NCAAs last March, their lowest place since 1983. The Kenyon men took 2nd behind Emory.

Emory Fall Invite

The Eagles, the last of the “big three” in D3, were also in action this week, hosting a fall invite against D2 schools Wingate and Carson-Newman, and D1 Georgia-Southern.

Jake Meyer, the defending champ in the 100 breaststroke, asserted himself atop the rankings going into mid-season invites. He punched a 53.50 in the 100 breast, less than a second off his personal best and winning time from last season of 52.87. He was further off his best in the 200 (1:59.17), but it was still enough to be the first man under 2:00 and 2:01 this season in D3.

Megan Jungers clocked a 55.40 in the 100 back to top the rankings. She’s the top returner this season having finished 2nd to Olivia Smith, who now swims for Georgia as a graduate student.

The Rest

While we’ve seen a number of top D3 talent use their Covid-19 fifth year at D1 schools, Derek Maas made headlines this summer when he announced he would swim for NYU while beginning medical school after spending his undergraduate career at Alabama. He took on the 100 breast (54.60), 200 breast (2:01.00), and 200 IM (1:48.11) at NYU’s Fall Invite this weekend, ranking 2nd, 2nd, and 1st in the nation respectively. While he’s still a ways off from his best times, he’s already posted times that would have led NYU last year, and it’s not even mid-season yet.

The only top time set this weekend that didn’t come from an invite-style meet came courtesy of sophomore DJ Lloyd (CMU). In a dual meet against Gettysburg College, Lloyd blasted a 20.28 in the 50 free. That’s a best time by 0.12 and nearly half a second faster than his collegiate best. The time would have missed finals by just 0.01 at last year’s NCAAs, an impressive improvement from an athlete who was a relay-only swimmer last season.