Too Hot to Handle: Fire Alarm Interrupts the Victory Proceedings at the DIII NCAA Champs; Final Wrap Up

During the final announcements of point totals and the team celebrations, the fire alarm went off in the IUPUI Natatorium, forcing all visitors and athletes alike to vacate the building. No word officially on what happened, but the fire department and police did appear on the scene, leading one to believe it was not a drill. With many people having left during the fire alarm, it’s possible some people missed the final exciting moments of the 2014 NCAA championship once everyone returned inside. As a final recap of the four day meet at the NCAA championships, here’s a run down of how it all went down: Kenyon Lords have won their second title since Denison broke the 31 year streak. Emory has attained the fifth straight national championship on the women’s side.

Kenyon swimmers and alumni group together outside during the fire drill that shunted all spectators and athletes into the cold at the 2014 NCAA Champs in Indy. Photo courtesy of AJ Mast.

Things of Note

• Johns Hopkins’ women won every single relay on their way to a third place finish, the highest in the school’s history.
• Emory’s sole national champion this year was Elizabeth Aronoff who led a 1-2-3 sweep of the 200 breaststroke with a school record time of 2:14.37.
• During the course of the meet, Conn College men’s added a number of school records to its year long record breaking spree; the end result being 20 of 22 school records taken down over the course of the year. The 200 butterfly and 50 back were the only school records remaining unbroken.
• Both Chicago’s men’s and women’s teams finished with school record high placings in tenth.
• The College of New Jersey’s men’s team matched the highest placing ever in school history with a 6th place finish after winning the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. This is only their fourth time in the top 10 at the NCAA meet.
• With only six swimmers, Gustavus (10th last year) recorded the highest finish in school history coming in 7th. They graduate Alisa Tinklenberg this year, the most decorated swimmer in Gustavus history (12 All-Americans).

Emory’s Eagle women on the podium. This marks the fifth consecutive year that the Eagles have won the NCAA title. Photo courtesy of Emory Athletics.

NCAA Records Broken

• Connor Dignan of Denison took down the Men’s 3 meter diving meet record set in 2011 by Nicholas Halbach of USMMA. Dignan’s 613.90 was still 30-ish points shy of the NCAA record he set in February of this year, though.
• Alex Anderson of Mary Washington took down the 400 IM record which he set himself last year. Anderson’s 3:49.25 is the first time a DIII swimmer has been under the 3:50 mark.
• In the 100 breaststroke, both Michael Lagieski of Wash U and Andrew Wilson of Emory were under the old meet record set in 2009 by Pavel Buyanov from Staten Island. As Lageiski won the event, however, his time of 54.10 stands as the finals meet record. The NCAA record is still held by Denison’s Damon Rosenburg from earlier this season. 
  
• While not precisely a record, Al Weik of Denison claimed victory in the men’s 1650 freestyle for the fourth year running – the only swimmer yet to do so.

The Kenyon Lords circle up to count off their national championships. As of this year, the total is 33. Photo courtesy of AJ Mast.

Swimmers, Divers and Coaches of the Meet

• Alex Anderson of Mary Washington won Male Swimmer of the Meet
• Brian Bishop from The College of New Jersey won Men’s Coach of the Year
• Johann Schmidt of Tufts won Male Diver of the Meet
• Russ Bertram from Denison won Men’s Diving Coach of the Year
• Ana Bogdanovski of Johns Hopkins won Female Swimmer of the Meet
• George Kennedy from Johns Hopkins won Women’s Coach of the Year
• Maria Zarka of Kenyon won Female Diver of the Meet
• Andy Scott of Kenyon won Women’s Diving Coach of the Year for the second year running