By Brian Savard
OXFORD, Ohio, March 20. "DO not think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm," reads the Kenyon team banner at the diving well end of the Corwin M. Nixon Natatorium.
The main focus of the banner is a temple with a sun in the lower end of the background with an array of oranges and yellows as if the sun was either fading or intensifying.
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The Lords made it known on the first day that this sun far from represents a sun setting on the Kenyon dynasty, which is unparalleled in any of the three NCAA divisions in any sport.
200 freestyle relay
Kenyon started things off with the quartet of Blair Withington, Joshua Mitchell, Matthew Harris and Marc Christian, clocking a first-place 1:20.70 in the 200 freestyle relay, which was the fastest time swum in the past three years at the Division III level. Denison took second in the event with a 1:21.36 time while the men from John's Hopkins rounded out the top three, touching third. St. Olaf won the consolation final heat with a 1:23.86.
500 freestyle
David Curtis of Denison swam under record pace for the first half of the 20-lap freestyle event, and he finished up his final 250 just slower than Elliot Rushton of Kenyon's 2005 record swim (4:22.95) with a 4:23.61 time. Curtis' swim set a pool record.
Curtis said that his 500 swim was his best-ever short course yard time.
"I knew going into the race that I was going for the record," Curtis said. "I had wanted to go out fast."
Curtis unleashed a 49.47 100 split and a 1:42.39 200 split, putting himself far in front of the field early in the race.
"Toward the end of the race, I could faintly hear people cheering," Curtis said. "It definitely helped."
Alexander Rantz from Kenyon emerged out of a close-knit pack of seven fighting for second, clocking a 4:28.93. Matt Stewart of Gustavus Adolphus took third (4:29.84). Tom Irgens from Kenyon earned the consolation final win in the event with a 4:31.71.
200 IM
St. Olaf's Nelson Westby successfully defended his title in the event with a scorching 1:48.54 swim in finals. He split a 22.61 in his butterfly, clocked a 27.79 in his backstroke, turned out a 30.84 breaststroke and then brought the race home in a 27.30 freestyle. Gary Simon of Clairmont-Mudd-Scripps' 1998 record of 1:46.97 remained unscathed. Ted Marschall of Carleton went under 27 seconds in the freestyle leg, ensuring a second-place berth (1:50.06). Blair Withington of Kenyon placed third with a 1:51.47. Alexander Stoyel from Kenyon came out of lane one in the consolation finals to take ninth place overall with a 1:51.83.
50 freestyle
The first NCAA record of the meet came when Alex Sweet of Washington & Lee improved upon his 19.99 morning swim with a 19.85 time in finals. His swim eclipsed the 1999 record of 19.90 set by Aaron Cole of Denison. Joshua Mitchell, who fell just short of breaking the 20-second barrier, clocked a second-place 20.01 time. Tim Whitbeck from Grove City pounded the wall third with a time of 20.23. In the consolation final heat, Andrew Lardiere dropped .3 off of his morning performance in a heat-winning time of 20.46.
1-meter diving
Kai Robinson from Amherst beat out the diving competition with a 499.75 score. Jacob Chadderdon of Wisconsin-Oshkosh nabbed the second-place spot in the event with a 465.90 score while Bryan Carlisle from Rowan earned third with a 451.20 score.
400 medley relay
Kenyon entered finals as the third-seeded relay, but the Lords' quartet of Mitchell, Stoyel, Harris and Christian punched in with a time of 3:17.44. Despite a 43.83 comeback effort from Brad Test, the top-seeded Johns Hopkins relay took second (3:18.43). Denison, with the help of relay sprint threat Peter Geissinger, outlasted St. Olaf for third with a 3:20.59 time.
Team scores
Kenyon stands well out in front at the end of the first day with a point total of 201. There is a back-and-forth battle for second, as Johns Hopkins is in second with 110 points. Denison currently has the third-place spot with 105 points.
Day two's jam-packed menu includes the 200 medley relay, the 400 IM, the 100 butterfly, the 200 freestyle, the 100 breaststroke, the 100 backstroke and the 3-meter diving trials.
Results: Men's Division III Championships
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