Brennan Ford, Asst. Sports Editor–
The Denision men’s swimming and diving team won the NCAC championship and the women’s team placed second at the conference meet, which was Feb. 12-15 at Denison.
The men’s team finished with 2,061.5 points, more than 400 better than second-place Kenyon (1,642).
The Big Red dominated the relay races earning first in the 200, 400, and 800 freestyle relay, as well as in the 200 and 400 medley relay. Patrick Daly ‘25 took first in both the 100 and 200 individual medley relay races, with his fellow Denison teammates taking second in the event. Daly also beat the previous NCAC times in both events.
In the diving competition, the team swept the podium as Nick Fogle ‘26, Brenden Stanley ‘26, and Brock Butcho ‘28 finished first, second, and third place respectively for both the one-meter diving and three-meter diving event.
Fogle won Diver of the Year while George Goins ‘28 received the Newcomer of the Year award. Additionally, the men’s program won Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year and Diving Coaching Staff of the Year.
The women’s swim and dive team recorded 1,929 total points as Kenyon (2,040) earned the title.
Grace Kadlecik ‘25 and Quinn Brown ‘26 dominated the freestyle races with Kadlecik winning in the 50 and 100 freestyle while Brown took first for the 200 and 500 freestyle, and third for the 1650.
The women’s divers also performed well, as Kerstyn Johnson ‘25 and Lu-Si Minnich ‘26 both had first and second-place finishes for one-meter and three-meter diving while Alexis Radhakrishnan ‘25 placed third for both events.
The women’s team was awarded the Diving Coaching Staff of the Year award, and Johnson took home the Diver of the Year award.
Both the men’s and women’s teams qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships where they look to continue their success at the national level. The NCAA Division III Championships are March 19-22 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
