NCAA DIII Champs Day 2: Prelims Continue to Set up Emory, Kenyon Well For Finals

It’s the second prelims session at the Division III National Championship meet in Indianapolis. After last night, the Denison men lead by a wide margin after 3 meter diving. On the women’s side, Emory is in clear control, but Johns Hopkins, Denison and Kenyon are all in the battle for second, with only three points separating second place JHU from fourth place Kenyon.

While we wait for the finals session to begin, here are the morning results.

Men

 200 Freestyle Relay

It’s a bit of a surprise to see them at the top, but TCNJ’s prelims relay anchored itself as the top qualifier for finals tonight, posting a 1:20.83 for the honor. Stephen Gibson, who anchored the TCNJ relay tied with Emory’s Ross Spock for the fastest split of the morning – both came home in 19.69. The only other man sub 20 on any leg of the race was Conn’s Sam Gill, going a 19.96. For the time being, I’ll say the NCAA record of 1:18.06 is quite safe.

A finalists: TCNJ (1:20.83), CMS (1:21.23), Gettysburg (1:21.32), Keen St (1:21.70), Conn (1:21.72), Kenyon (1:21.73), JHU (1:21.92), Emory (1:22.01)

B finalists: Denison (1:22.16), DePauw (1:22.39), Trinity (1:22.41), MIT (1:22.49), Chicago (1:22.63), Ithaca (1:22.73), St Olaf (1:22.75), Williams (1:22.85)

Alternates: Albion and Wheaton IL

400 IM

The NCAA record holder in this event is Mary Washington junior Alex Anderson, who is coming into finals as the fifth seed. He was three seconds off his record in prelims, but don’t count him out when the swimming gets fast. Currently sitting as the top seed, is junior at Kenyon Harrison Curley, who swam a 3:52.10 in prelims to take the top spot. Curley is joined by three additional Lords in the top eight, for a very purple heat. Tied for second prior to finals are freshman Trevor Manz and senior Andrew Chevalier, with freshman Ian Reardon seeded sixth. The 200 IM victor from last night, junior Jeff Depew from Redlands, is currently fourth. Rounding out the top eight are Denison yearmates, the seniors Al Weik and Jackson Humphrey.

Top 8 cut line: 3:54.79

Qualifying for the B final: Denison freshman Jackson Lindell, Williams junior Tim Lattimer, Williams freshman Colin Hogan, Kenyon sophomore Mark Newell, Kenyon freshman Arthur Conover, MIT sophomore Alex Lednev, IWU senior Marcus Duval and CMS sophomore Conrad Shabb.

Top 16 cut line: 4:00.31

Alternates: Stephens (Emory) and Turpin (Wash U)

100 Butterfly

Conn senior Sam Gill pretty much ran away with the show in the prelims, taking up the first seed going into finals tonight with a 48.02. The only question now is how much time he’ll drop at finals. Ubellacker’s 47.34 NCAA record might be out of reach, but a strong sub 48 certainly isn’t. Second seed for finals is Reed Dalton, a sophomore from Wash I. Ian MacKay a senior at Middlebury is third. Amherst senior Perrin Bulakul is fourth. St Thomas’ Michael Lanz is fifth. Karl Mering the Whitman junior is worth keeping an eye on, considering he was top seed with a 48.2 coming into the event. Orion Martin from Rose-Hulman is seventh. Sophomore from Kenyon Christian Josephson rounds out the field. 

Top 8 cut line: 48.98

Qualifying for the B final: Emory junior Hayden Baker, Whitworth junior Wesley Tatum, Denison sophomore Andrew Rich, Kenyon and Chicago sophomores Ryan Funk and Matt Veldman tied, MIT sophomore Sean Corcoran, Williams freshman Ben Lin, and JHU junior Greg Kogut.

Top 16 cut line: 49.35

Alternates: Dunn (TCNJ) and Wuorinen (Denison)

200 Freestyle

The College of New Jersey keeps having surprises in store for us. The top seed for the 200 freestyle is Stephen Tarnowski coming in with a 1:37.35 with a 25.0 final 50. He’s going to be in for a race with the defending champion Austin Caldwell from Kenyon seated as the second seed, and tonight’s race should be quick. Maybe even fast enough to take down one of the two NCAA records – either the National or Meet (1:36.63 and 1:36.98, respectively). Seated in third to add to the mix is Denison senior Carlos Maciel. The two JHU seniors, Will Kimball and Anthony Lordi are seeded fourth and sixth, respectively. DePauw’s Casey Hooker is fifth. Amherst junior Connor Sholtis is seventh and Keene St senior Drew Ledwith rounds out the field as the eighth seed.

Top 8 cut line: 1:38.89

Qualifying for the B final: Gettysburgh junior Ashton Leyens, Denison sophomore Bart Brunk, Kenyon sophomores Percy Gates and Joey Duronio, St Olaf junior Tanner Roe, Ithaca sophomore Adam Zelehowsky, and tied Chicago freshman Mantim Lee with Denison senior Spencer Fronk.

Top 16 cut line: 1:39.78

Alternates: Vitabile (TCNJ) and Potter (Gettysburg)

400 Medley Relay

MIT is seated happily on top of a pile of 3:17+ times with the 3:16.41 it put together in prelims. Seeded in first going into finals by over a second, it’s a question of what the lineup they put together for tonight for success. And maybe that NCAA record of 3:15.09 isn’t out of the question, either, no matter what team ends up on top of the podium.

Qualifying for the A final: MIT (3:16.41), Denison (3:17.42), Emory (3:17.46), Kenyon (3:17.61), JHU (3:17.70), CMS (3:17.79), Williams (3:17.89), St Olaf (3:18.39)

Qualifying for the B final: Wash U (3:18.50), TCNJ (3:18.68), Conn (3:19.30), Chicago (3:21.51), Calvin (3:22.91), NYU (3:22.97), Union (3:23.14), DePauw (3:23.53)

Alternates: Ithaca and Stevens

Women

200 Freestyle Relay

In a relay, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The Denison women taking top seed didn’t have any 22 splits on their way to the top seed for finals, but their consistency negated any need for flash. At 1:33.31, they’re more than three tenths ahead of the second seed Emory, whose anchor Nancy Larson posted a 22.82. JHU is third in the standings, despite having two sub 23 legs from Ana Bogdanovski (22.69) and Kylie Ternes (22.99). If JHU has a different leg to play, it may be a whole ‘nother ball game tonight, and they could conceivably walk away with the title.

Qualifying for the A final: Denison (1:33.31), Emory (1:33.67), JHU (1:33.71), MIT (1:33.883), Gustavus (1:34.10), Kenyon (1:34.42), Conn (1:34.43), and CMS (1:334.58)

Qualifying for the B final: Williams (1:35.44), Chicago (1:35.51), DePauw (1:35.98), Wash U (1:36.14), Springfield (1:36.22), Rochester (1:36.29), NYU (1:36.37), and Geneseo (1:36.42).

Alternates: Hope and Stevens Point

400 IM

Emory junior Megan Beach put herself out there in the prelims session and qualified nearly two seconds ahead of her next closest competition. Her final 100 outsplit almost everyone else, and her 4:21.12 the time to beat this evening. She is joined in the finals by teammate Michele York as the seventh seed. Sitting as the second seed tonight is Denison junior Michelle Howell. She and Beach will be duking it out on the breaststroke leg for supremacy, so don’t be surprised about come-from-behind attempts. Bates freshman Sara Daher is seeded third. Cathleen Pruden, a sophomore from Mount Holyoke is in fourth. The top seed coming into the meet was freshman Megan Pierce, swimming for Williams. If this morning’s swim was a chill one, she may have something special for us tonight; hard to tell with freshmen. Wash U junior Sara Taege will be sixth going into the finals, and Stevens junior Brittany Geyer rounds out the top eight.

Top 8 cut line: 4:26.36

Qualifying for the B final: Wheaton IL sophomore Katherine Deysher, JHU junior Samantha Fox, Denison sophomore Taylor Johns, Wash U senior Anh Chi Pham, Emory senior Brooke Woodward, Trinity sophomore Kara Beauchamp, Kenyon freshman Eli Crawford and Grove City sophomore Megan Bilko.

Top 16 cut line: 4:29.70

Alternates: Newlon (DePauw) and Hu (Chicago)

100 Butterfly

After winning the event last year, Kirstin Nitz is back on top after prelims. The 53.20 she posted is only a hair off what she went in finals at last year’s NCAA meet, and bodes well for her finals tonight. If she drops tonight the way she did last year, she may take down the record Todhunter set in 2011 at 52.84. Second seed is Taylor Kitayama, the senior from JHU. Margaret Rosenbaum is a senior from Hamilton, in third. Fourth for AMherst is sophomore Sarah Conklin. Case Western’s Maggie Dillione is fifth. Chicago freshman Abby Erdmann is sixth. NYU junior Emily Doerner is seventh and Jourdan Cline, a Kenyon junior, rounds out the top eight.

Top 8 cut line: 56.11

Qualifying for the B final: CMS senior Michele Kee, Rochester junior Lauren Bailey, JHU freshman Shirley Chan, Williams senior Alyssa Levine, Emory junior Nina Zook, JHU freshman Abigail Brown, Emory freshman Marcela Sanchez-Aizcorbe and Colorado sophomore Olivia Dilorati. 

Top 16 cut line: 56.57

Alternates: Ternes (JHU) and Crews (CMU)

200 Freestyle

Only three women were under the 1:50 marker this morning, but we should be in for quite a race tonight. Defending champion in the event, Sarah Thompson the Williams junior, is only seeded third after prelims. The top seed goes to JHU junior Ana Bogdanovski who has been having a fantastic meet so far, and looks to continue that streak by improving on her 1:48.26 from prelims. Second seed going into finals is Kenyon senior Hillary Yarosh. Denison freshman Campbell Costley is sitting in fourth. Emory has two in the top eight: junior Nancy Larson and freshman Marissa Bergh in fifth and sixth, respectively. Kellie Pennington for Springfield is seventh with Wash U sophomore Kristalyn McAfee rounding out the top eight.

Top 8 cut line: 1:51.07

Qualifying for B final: Geneseo junior Abigail Max, Chicago freshman Alison Wall, DePauw sophomore Caroline Bridges, Conn sophomore Samantha Pierce, Emory sophomore Carolyn Bonfield, Denison junior Molly Willinghman, Emory senior Courtney McDermott, and JHU senior Sarah Rinsma. 

Top 16 cut line: 1:51.86.

Alternates: Holt (Emory) and Bradford (Denison)

400 Medley Relay

After watching this relay, I kind of want to pick and choose different legs from prelims to put together a super relay. Imagine JHU’s Taylor Kitayama with a 53.6 lead off leg to the 1:01.7 breaststroke split from Whitewater’s Amy Spaay, with Kirstin Nitz (Wheaton IL) on fly putting up that 53.0 and finishing off with another JHU 49.8 free leg from Ana Bogdanovski! It would be phenomenal. That being said, two of those top splits go with JHU, and that’s who is sitting pretty in the top spot by over a second at 4:43.69. Depending if NCAA champ Celia Oberholzer shakes out a competitive leg on her backstroke, or if Katie Kaestner can drop some time tonight, they may be heartily in the mix.

Qualifying for A final: JHU (3:43.69), Kenyon (3:44.93), Emory (3:45.93), Emory (3:45.26), Denison (3:45.81), Wheaton (3:47.57), Gustavus (3:48.18), Amherst (3:48.60), MIT (3:$9.07)

Qualifying for B final: Williams (3:49.26), Chicago (3:49.77), Wash U (3:49.81), Luter (3:50.10), CMU (3:50.16), CMS (3:50.17), Middlebury (3:50.55), Springfield (3:51.03)

Alternates: Rochester and St Thomas

1 Meter Diving

After prelims, it’s the sophomore from Kenyon, Maria Zarka in the lead for point totals going into finals. However, Macalester senior Renee Jordan will be diving last because from prelims she had the highest total score. The championship final will consist of the following athletes: Hope College sophomore Sarah Sheridan, Amherst senior Kaitlyn Linsmayer who was runner up in this event last year, Springfield senior Jen Thompson, Williams senior McKenzie Murdoch, Eau Claire sophomore Sara Axness and the field is completed by Trinity senior Katie Sheldon. 

B finalists in order of finals placing: Williams’ Michelle Higgins (411.60), Emory’s Sarah Greene (397.70), Fredonia’s Ashley Keller (394.85), Trinity’s Ashley Heline (389.70), Cortland’s Miranda Fergus (389.35), WPI’s Veronica Nikolaki (388.70), Ithaca’s Nickie Griesemer (380.50) and Whitewater’s Sierra becker (365.75). 

For live meet results, click here.