Max Cory Scorches 42.88 100 Freestyle, Breaks Seven-Year-Old NCAA Division III Record

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
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Two nights after finishing as the 50 freestyle NCAA DIII runner-up, Bates junior Max Cory claimed the 100 free title (42.88) in record-setting fashion. He edged out the previous record of 42.98, set by Emory’s Oliver Smith in 2018.

Cory was out nearly dead even with 2024 champion Djordje Dragojlovic at the 50 turn (20.23 to 20.24), but closed hard to break 43 and take exactly a tenth off the national record.

The Bates junior’s splitting tonight was heavily focused on the back half, as he opened 0.18 slower than the record pace and finished an impressive 0.28 faster than Smith in the final split. See a full splits comparison between Cory’s new record and Smith’s previous record below. 

Splits Comparison:

Last season, Cory was unable to advance to any final in the 100 free, as he placed 21st in the prelims with a time of 44.84. However, he finished 10th in the country in the 50 free, where he posted a time of 20.12 in the prelims before swimming a 20.18 in the final.

This year, in addition to his new record-setting swim, Cory was runner-up in the 50 free final, touching in 19.60 to James Schwenk‘s 19.53. Schwenk, a senior at St. Mary’s, will graduate, so Cory will be the top returning swimmer at next year’s championships. Of note, Cory was 19.56 in prelims, marginally quicker than his finals swim.

Men’s 100 Freestyle ‘A’ Final Results:

1. Max Cory (Bates) – 42.88 Division III Record
2. David Bajwa (Calvin) – 43.25
3. Djordje Dragojlovic (Kenyon) – 43.32
4. Sebastien Vernhes (Chicago) – 43.59
5. Matthew Peitler (CMU) – 43.63
6. Jack Hill (Denison) – 43.63
7. Colin Twiss (Coast Guard) – 43.86
8. Nathaniel Taft (Hamilton) – 44.38