Welcome to The Week That Was In College Swimming, where every week we’ll take a look at some of the highlights from around the NCAA in all three divisions.
With most teams done with their midseason invites and shifting focus to winter training, it was a quieter week in the NCAA. There’s no shortage of fast swimming by college stars though: Jordan Crooks is tearing it up at SC Worlds in Melbourne, Australia, as are plenty of other NCAA stars. That said, here we’re keeping our focus stateside, but we’ve got plenty of coverage for SC Worlds if you want to keep an eye on what the likes of Crooks, Carson Foster, and Maggie MacNeil are up to.
Alec Enyeart Keeps Dropping Time
We’ve also made it a general rule here to stick to only NCAA competitions. Rules are made to be broken though, and we’re taking our first detour from the NCAA down to Austin, Texas, where Winter Juniors – West was held last week. Simply put, the swimming at Winter Juniors was insanely fast, but in this recap, we want to highlight Texas freshman Alec Enyeart–specifically, his improvement trajectory in the 500-yard freestyle since he’s arrived at Texas.
Through his first semester at Texas, Enyeart has swum four lifetime bests, cutting a whopping 6.75 seconds from his lifetime best prior to arriving on campus.
Enyeart’s 500 Free Best Time Progression, Fall 2022
| Date | Meet | Time | Time Drop |
| 12/8/21 | 2021 Winter Juniors (pre-Texas) | 4:20.49 | – |
| 10/6/22 | Texas v. TCU | 4:19.61 | -0.88 |
| 11/3/22 | Texas v. UVA | 4:16.29 | -3.32 |
| 12/1/22 | Minnesota Invite | 4:14.21 | -2.08 |
| 12/8/22 | 2022 Winter Juniors | 4:13.74 | -0.47 |
To see what his progression in a 12-month span looks like in action, watch the data visualization of his 2022 and 2021 Winter Juniors races below.
It’s a steep improvement trajectory for the freshman, who now holds a lifetime best that would qualify him for the ‘B’ final of 2022 NCAAs. While we’ll likely have to wait until the post-season to see if Enyeart can lower him time even more, the safe bet would be that he’s not done yet.
Henderson State Shows Off Sprint Skills
At the Delta State University Christmas Invitational, Henderson State sprinters put their speed on full display. Before heading to represent the Bahamas at Short Course World Championships, junior Lamar Taylor fired off a sizzling 19.24 in prelims of the 50 freestyle.
He scratched his second swim, but he was the only swimmer to break 20 seconds not only in prelims, but also in finals as the event win went to Incarnate Word’s Fabio Fasolo in 20.06. It’s a huge lifetime best for Taylor, cutting .34 seconds off the previous lifetime best he swam in February 2022.
It was his only individual event of the meet, but he also split 1:37.67 on HSU’s 800 free relay and 22.06 on the backstroke leg of the 200 medley relay.
On the women’s side, it was sophomore Kiara Pozvai who brought the heat, winning the 50 freestyle in 22.78. She was .03 faster in prelims, where she blazed 24.75. These swims mark the first times that she’s broken 23 seconds, as her previous best time was 23.22 from 2022 Division II NCAAs.
Pozvai wasn’t done though, as she led off the 200 free relay in 22.62, once again lowering her best time. That marks a .71 second drop over the course of the meet. Her relay lead-off time also vaults her to the third fastest time in D2 this season. Last season, she finished 12th, but now, she’s established herself as one of the top contenders in the race.
Pozvai also won the 200 freestyle, dropping 3.77 seconds from her entry time to break 1:50 for the first time with a 1:49.93. On the last day of the meet, she completed the sprint sweep, winning the 100 free in 49.05, just two-hundredths slower than her prelims time.
Sophia Verkleeren Shines In NESCAC Season Debut
Williams, a perennial threat both in the NESCAC conference and nationally in Division III–opened their intra-conference competition at the Weselyan Quad Meet. Ephs sophomore Sophia Verkleeren highlighted their meet, collecting wins in the 100 back, 200 back, and 400 IM.
A backstroke specialist, Verkleeren posted 54.78 in the 100 and 1:58.40 in the 200. The 100 back time checks in as fourth-fastest in D3 so far, while her 200 back time takes over as the top time in the division this season. According to USA Swimming’s database, she’s the only D3 swimmer to crack 1:59 this year, as MIT’s Kate Augustyn previously held the fastest time in 1:59.35.
1:58.40 is just two-tenths off the lifetime best 1:58.21 she swam at 2022 D3 NCAA’s for second behind Keyon’s now graduated superstar Crile Hart. If she wasn’t before, Verkleeren has announced herself as the swimmer to beat.
Additionally, her winning 400 IM time of 4:19.94 chopped 6.79 seconds off her previous lifetime best from December 2021.
Industry Notes
- After a 15 year hiatus, Kutztown University–a Division II school in northeastern Pennsylvania–has announced that they will reinstate their men’s swim team in 2024-25. Additionally, they will increase the women’s roster from 15 to 20 athletes. Tim Flannery, who coached the men’s team from 1996 through 2009 and is currently in his 26th season as the women’s swim coach, will lead both programs.
- The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Michigan State in the ongoing legal battle over whether the school violated Title IX when they cut their swim programs at the end of the 2020-21 season. This means they must complete a court-ordered compliance plan within the next two weeks. In January 2021, 11 swimmers on the women’s team filed a lawsuit which is set to go to trial next month.
