2024 Division III NCAA Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2024 NCAA DIII Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 20-23, 2024
• Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• Times: Prelims 10:00 AM / Finals 6:00 PM (ET)
• Defending Champs: Denison women (1x) & Emory men (2x)
• Psych Sheet
• Live Streaming on NCAA.com
• Live Results

The 2024 NCAA Division III Championships in Greensboro will see their first day of finals tonight, with the men’s and women’s 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 200 medley relay, plus the men’s 3-meter diving event.

Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 4:18.35, Arthur Conover (Kenyon), 2017
• 2023 Champion: 4:20.41, Pat Pema (Emory)

Top 8:

1.  Justin Finkel (CONN) – 4:21.32
2. Samuel Dienstag (Brandeis) – 4:21.86
3. Connor Vincent (NYU) – 4:24.58
4. Kellen Roddy (Johns Hopkins) – 4:25.23
5. Ryan Nunez (Williams) -4:25.51
6. Rafae Shafi (Tufts) – 4:25.78
7. Benjamin Thorsen (Emory) – 4:26.34
8. Tyler Distenfeld (Denison) – 4:27.20

Brandeis’ Samuel Dienstag went out hard through the first 400 yards, taking an early lead and holding it through most of the race. However, Connecticut College’s Justin Finkel began to creep up on Dienstag at the 400 yard mark, slowly inching his way into title contention. At the 450 yard mark, it was anyone’s race with the pair flipping almost simulatneously. However, Finkel closed in a 24.54, easily overtaking Dienstag over the closing yards of the race as Dienstag split a 26.27.

In the end, Finkel, the defending National Runner-Up, came out of the race victorious with his final time of 4:21.32, wwith Sienstag holding on for a second place finish with a time of 4:21.86. NYU’s Connor Vincent rounded-out the podium with a time of 4:24.58 to take third after finishing 4th in prelims.

Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 4:43.37, Kendra Stern (Amherst), 2011
• 2023 Champion: 4:48.38, Kristin Cornish (Johns Hopkins)

Top 8:

1. Bengisu Caymaz (Kenyon) – 4:48.65
2. Caitlin Marshall (NYU) – 4:49.46
3. Tara Witkowski (Denison) – 4:51.10
4. Maeve Kelly (Amherst) – 4:51.53
5. Quinn Brown (Denison) – 4:52.26
6. Penelope Helm (Emory) – 4:55.03
7. Chloe Katz (Middlebury) – 4:55.79
8. Kristin Cornish (Johns Hopkins) – 4:55.90

Similar to the men’s race, the women’s 500 free featured a very close finish between the top 2 finishers. NYU’s Caitlin Marshall was out fast, hitting the wall first through the opening yards of the race. However, Kenyon’s Bengisu Caymaz began to creep into the lead at the 200 mark. By the 400 mark, the two swimmers were almost in a dead-heat with one another. Caymaz propelled herself into the lead after that, closing with a final 100 split over a second faster than Marshall to touch first in a winning time of 4:48.65.

Marshall remained ahead of the field with a runner-up performance, posting a 4:49.46. She was followed by Denison’s Tara Witkowski (4:51.10), with Witkowski’s performance marking her 3rd-consecutive 3rd place finish in this event.

Men’s 200 Yard IM – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:44.18, Andrew Wilson (Emory), 2018
• 2023 Champion: 1:45.65, Garret Clasen (Chicago)

Top 8:

1. Derek Maas (NYU) – 1:42.97 (NCAA DIII Record)
2. Garrett Clasen (Chicago) – 1:45.23
3. Brayden Morford (CMU) – 1:46.51
4. Oliver Schalet (Williams) – 1:46.64
5. Alexander McCormick (Wash U) – 1:47.01
6. Patrick Daly (Denison) 1:47.06
7. Larry Yu (Pomona-Pitzer) – 1:47.21
8. Jaeden-hans Yburan (NYU) – 1:48.97

After already coming close to Andrew Wilson‘s NCAA Division III Record of 1:44.18 at the UAA Championships, where he posted a 1:44.72 for the victory, Derek Maas took down the record in a massive fashion here. Swimming a time of 1:42.97, Maas broke Wilson’s record by over a second, while also besting the field by over 2.5 seconds.

Maas, who competed for Alabama as an undergrad, is completing his 5th year of eligibility while attending medical school at NYU. His career best time stands at a 1:42.59.

Behind Maas, the race was a little closer. Chicago’s Garrett Clasen, the defending champion in this event, took 2nd in a time of 1:45.23,faster than his winning time from last year. CMU’s Brayden Morford finished in 3rd with a 1:46.51 to round-out the podium.

Women’s 200 Yard IM – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:57.76, Crile Hart (Kenyon), 2022
• 2023 Champion: 1:59.47, Sophia Verkleeren (Williams)

Top 8:

1. Sophia Verkleeren (Williams) – 1:59.59
2. Greta Gidley (Hope College) – 2:00.45
3. Jennah Fadely (Kenyon) – 2:01.72
4. Sammi Thiele (Austin) – 2:01.86
5. Kate Augustyn (MIT) – 2:01.91
6. Neely Burns (Trinity) – 2:02.20
7. Kinsey Brooks (UMW) – 2:02.60
8. Jordan Harrera (Kenyon) – 2:04.24

Defending champion, Sophia Verkleeren managed to hold off the field, claiming her 2nd consecutive title in this event with a time of 1:59.59. She was the only swimmer in the field to break the 2:00-barrier, doing so by the slimest of margins. Hope College’s Greta Gidley, the top seed out of prelims, stayed in contention for the majority of the race, dropping a 2:00.45 for 2nd place, off of her prelims time of 1:59.79.

Kenyon’s Jennah Fadley held off Austin’s Sammi Thiele for third place, coming into the wall with times of 2:01.72 and 2:01.86, respectively.

Men’s 50 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 19.37, Oliver Smith (Emory), 2018
• 2023 Champion: 19.48, Noah Holstege (Calvin)

Top 8:

1. Tobe Obochi (MIT) – 19.66
2. Djordje Dragojlovic (Kenyon) – 19.69
3. Nicholas Goudie (Emory) – 19.78
4. James McChesney (TCNJ) – 19.82
5. James Schwenk (SMCM) – 19.83
6. Nathaniel Taft (Hamilton) – 19.96
7. David Bajwa (Calvin) – 20.01
8. Neil Mortimer (Colby) – 20.04

Tobe Obochi matched his prelims time to take first place, coming into the wall with a time of 19.66. Obochi, a senior at MIT, appeared content with his swim after the race as he held off Kenyon’s Djordje Dragojlovic. After just making it back in 8th place this morning, Dragojlovic dropped a huge time of 19.69 for second, chopping nearly a half second off of his time from prelims (20.06).

Emory Nicholas Goudie was close behind for a third place finish with a 19.78. He led a slew of other sub-20 second swims, as 6 out of the top 8 finishers in the race broke 20.

Women’s 50 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 22.48, Fiona Muir (Emory), 2018
• 2023 Champion: 22.78, Kaley McIntyre (NYU)

Top 8:

1. Kaley McIntyre (NYU) – 22.46 (NCAA DIII Record)
2. Alexandra Turvey (Pomona-Pitzer) – 22.58
3. Hannah Fathman (ALBC) – 22.85
4. Ella Roberson (MIT) – 22.97
5. Alexandra Sotek (GEN)/Jillian Cudney (Tufts) – 23.11
6. –
7. Tatum Zupnik (Bowdoin) – 23.12
8. Genine Collins (Swathmore) – 23.27

Defending NCAA Champion Kaley McIntyre made NYU 2-for-2 on NCAA Records tonight, as she took down Fiona Muir’s 50 freestyle record of 22.48 by .02, posting a 22.46 for the victory. McIntyre finished significantly faster than the 22.78 that she won this same race with last season, but she wasn’t without a challenge as Pomona-Pitzer’s Alexandra Turvey finished 2nd with another huge time of 22.58. ALBC’s Hannah Fathman claimed 3rd with a time of 22.85.

Men’s 200 Yard Medley Relay – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:25.85, Emory (R. Soh, J. Meyer, J. Echols, C. Lafave), 2023
• 2023 Champion: 1:25.85, Emory (R. Soh, J. Meyer, J. Echols, C. Lafave)

Top 8:

1. Emory (Soh, Meyer, Echols, Bjornstad) – 1:26.14
2. NYU (Maas, Ralston, Watanakun, Wehbe) – 1:26.72
3. Chicago (Tritter, Starbuck, Ssengonzi, Vernhes) – 1:26.96
4. Kenyon – 1:26.98
5. Williams – 1:27.44
6. Carnegie Mellon – 1:27.46
7. MIT – 1:27.95
8. TCNJ – 1:29.68

The Emory team of Ryan Soh, Jacob Meyer, Jeffery Echols, and Caden Bjornstad combined for a time of 1:26.14, taking down the field in the 200 medley relay by over a half second. NYU was off to a fast start once-again, as Derek Maas split 21.54 on the opening backstroke leg to lead the field by .4. However, the Emory men slowly inched past NYU over the following legs, with Meyer throwing down a blistering 23.40 breaststroke leg. He was followed by a 20.94 butterfly leg from Echols, the 2nd-fastest in the field. Bjornstad closed in a 19.89 to secure the victory.

NYU held-on for second, largely thanks to the strong lead-off from Maas as they finished with a time of 1:26.72. Chicago’s Jesse Ssengonzi dropped a field-leading 20.81 split on the butterfly, carrying the team to a narrow third place finish over Kenyon in a time of 1:26.96.

Women’s 200 Yard Medley Relay – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:39.55, Emory (M. Jungers, A. Glowniak, T. Leone, C. Maki), 2023
• 2023 Champion: 1:39.55, Emory (M. Jungers, A. Glowniak, T. Leone, C. Maki)

Top 8:

1. MIT (Augustyn, Chen, Naveen, Roberson) – 1:39.67
2. Denison (Park, Tofflemire, Gergusom, Kadlecik) – 1:40.40
3. Williams (Verkleeren, Wager, Kilcoyne, Dimter) – 1:40.63
4. Tufts – 1:41.13
5. Kenyon – 1:41.18
6. NYU – 1:41.42
7. Emory – 1:41.62
8. Pomona-Pitzer – 1:42.74

MIT pulled off a relatively surprising victory in the women’s 200 medley relay, taking down defending champion Denison in the process. The MIT team of Kate Augustyn, Edenna Chen, Annika Naveen, and Ella Roberson combined for a time of 1:39.67, nearly taking down Emory’s DIII Record of 1:39.55 from last year. Augustyn led-off the race with a huge 25.15 backstroke leg, giving MIT a nearly half-second lead from the start of the race. From there, Chen took over with a 27.67 breaststroke leg, the 2nd-fastest in the field behind Kenyon’s Jennah Fadley (27.24). Naveen split a 24.36 on butterfly to hand it off to Roberson, who closed in a time of 22.48.

Denison ended up in a tight battle for second with Williams, as Williams saw a 23.83 butterfly leg from Samatha Kilcoyne, the 2nd fastest split in the field. However, Grace Kadlecik managed to hold on, dropping a 22.36 freestyle split to give Denison an edge into the finish.

Men’s 3-Meter Diving — Finals

• Division III Record: 645.70, Connor Dignan, Denison, 2014
• 2023 Champion: 595.15, Israel Zavaleta (Kenyon)

Top 8:

1. Israel Zavaleta (Kenyon) – 606.65
2. Trent Makowiec (GEN) – 552.85
3. Avery Balch (BSC) – 546.45
4. Rowan Fitzsimmons (CEN) – 532.55
5. Conor Compton (ASC) – 517.60
6. Gellert Kish (RIT) – 506.45
7. John Beuerlein (RHO) – 497.10
8. Haochen Liu (Williams) – 470.55

Defending champion Israel Zavaleta from Kenyon managed to retain his title in the men’s 3M diving event. He bested his score from last year with a total of 606.65 points.

SUNY Geneseo’s Trent Markowiec finished 2nd with a score of 552.85, coming in ahead of Birmingham Southern’s Avery Balch, who finished 3rd with 546.45 points.