Denison Men Hold Slim Lead Ahead of Kenyon; Emory Women Leading After Day Two at D3s

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INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, March 20. THE men’s team title race remained razor thing at the NCAA Division III Championships after the second day of action, while the women’s team race heated up with four teams still within striking distance but Emory getting a bit of a lead.

The Denison men built up enough of a lead to withstand a huge day from Kenyon, as Denison remained in the lead 282-272 after day two. Emory (153), Johns Hopkins (130) and MIT (102) stood third through fifth after Thursday night. TCNJ (101), CMS (91), Chicago (85), Keene State (80) and St. Olag (77) made up the rest of the top 10.

The Emory women, meanwhile, pushed their lead to 41 points ahead of Johns Hopkins, 273-232. Kenyon (213) and Denison (208) also broke the 200s to remain in contention for the team titles.

Williams (140), Amherst (100), Washington U (82), Gustavus Adolphus (79), Wheaton (62) and MIT (59) completed the top 10 on the women’s side.

TCNJ kicked off the evening with an exciting victory in the men’s 200-yard free relay as Joseph Dunn (20.74), Philip Hawley (20.07), Brett Pedersen (19.95) and Stephen Gibson (19.71) clocked a 1:20.47 for the title. Emory’s Ross Spock (20.29), Jacob Stephens (20.23), Matt Kuhlik (20.74) and Ryan Bass (19.70) placed second in 1:20.96, while Johns Hopkins’s William Kimball (20.67), Joseph Acquaviva (20.41), Greg Kogut (20.19) and Anthony Lordi (19.79) placed third in 1:21.06.

In the ever-important team competition, Kenyon picked up some points with a fifth-place finish in 1:21.44, while Denison felt the wrath of missing the A final with a ninth-place time of 1:21.08 that would have placed them a spot ahead of Kenyon. Instead of gaining points on Kenyon, Denison lost a few but still led 191-132.

Gettysburg (1:21.07), Connecticut (1:21.45), Keene State (1:21.55) and CMS (1:21.78) rounded out the championship heat.

Johns Hopkins’ Sarah Rinsma (23.69), Taylor Kitayama (23.29), Anastasia Bogdanovski (22.63) and Kylie Ternes (22.77) raced their way to a winning time of 1:32.38 in the women’s 200-yard free relay as JHU continues to pressure the top four teams in the overall team title race with some stellar swims.

Kenyon’s Jourdan Cline (23.28), Haley Twonsend (23.64), Hillary Yarosh (23.18) and Jenner McLeod (22.71) snagged second in 1:32.81 with Denison’s Carolyn Kane (23.56), Mary Van Leuven (23.15), Ashley Yearwood (23.20) and Morgan Nuess (22.92) placing third in 1:32.83. Emory wound up fifth in 1:33.33, but still held the lead with 155 points against JHU (140), Kenyon (131) and Denison (131).

Gustavus Adolphus (1:33.27), MIT (1:33.67), CMS (1:34.50) and Connecticut (1:34.56) also competed in the finale to finish fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth overall.

Mary Washington’s Hugh Anderson put a charge into the crowd by lowering his NCAA D3 record in the men’s 400-yard IM with a scorching 3:49.25. That’s more than a second faster than his previous record of 3:50.55 to win the title a year ago.

The other big story in the 200 IM proved to be Kenyon’s ridiculous depth as it took four spots in the finale with Harrison Curley (3:50.81), Travor Manz (3:51.98), Andrew Chevalier (3:52.76) and Ian Reardon (3:55.61) taking second, third, fourth and seventh overall. Additionally, Mark Newell (3:58.04) and Arthur Conover (4:01.60) placed 11th and 16th in the consolation heat as Kenyon cut into Denison’s lead 224-199.

Denison offset the blow a bit with Allen Weik (3:55.27) and Jack Humphrey (3:56.89) taking sixth and eighth. Meanwhile, Redlands’ Jeffrey Depew also vied for the national title with a fifth-place 3:54.53.

Williams’ Megan Pierce clinched the women’s 400-yard IM victory in 4:19.94, while Emory’s Megan Beach (4:20.34) and Denison’s Michelle Howell (4:20.96) placed second and third in the finale.

Mount Holyoke’s Cathleen Pruden (4:22.83), Bates’ Sara Daher (4:23.84), Washington U’s Sara Taege (4:27.25), Stevens’ Brittany Geyer (4:28.82) and Emory’s Michelle York (4:28.84) completed the finale in the distance medley.

Denison had a strong event, moving ahead of Johns Hopkins for second behind Emory 188-156. JHU (146) and Kenyon (132) made up the rest of the four contenders after the IM.

Whitman’s Karl Mering touched out Connecticut’s Samuel Gill, 47.91 to 47.92, for the men’s 100-yard fly crown, just half-a-second off Wyatt Ubellacker’s 2013 NCAA D3 record of 47.34. Middlebury’s Ian MacKay finished third in 48.10.

Washington U’s Reed Dalton (48.37), Amherst’s Perrin Bulakul (48.62), St. Thomas’ Michael Lanz (48.81), Rose-Hulman’s Orion Martin (49.33) and Kenyon’s Chris Josephson (49.49) also scored big final points for their squads. Following the 100 fly, Denison still held a slight 226-211 lead ahead of Kenyon.

Another NCAA D3 mark took a tumble as Wheaton’s Kirsten Nitz blazed her way to a 52.64 to win the women’s 100-yard fly. That effort undercut Logan Todhunter’s 2011 mark of 52.84 set for Williams. Hamilton’s Maggie Rosenbaum (54.35) and Johns Hopkins’ Taylor Kitayama (54.89) comprised the rest of the top three in the sprint fly event.

Chicago’s Abby Erdmann (55.67), Kenyon’s Jourdan Cline (55.70), Amherst’s Sarah Conklin (55.72), Case Western’s Maggie Dillione (56.09) and NYU’s Emily Doerner (56.30) touched fourth through eighth in the finale.

Emory was the first team to break 200 points on the women’s side with 202 after the 100 fly. Johns Hopkins moved back into second with 170 points against Denison (156) and Kenyon (146).

Kenyon’s Austin Caldwell picked off Denison’s Carlos Maciel, 1:37.16 to 1:37.59, in the men’s 200-yard freestyle finale as Dennis Mulvilhill’s historic 1988 NCAA D3 record of 1:36.63 will live to see another day barring a fast 200 free leadoff. TCNJ’s Stephen Tarnowski took third overall in 1:37.68.

Johns Hopkins’ Wiliam Kimball (1:37.77) and Anthony Lordi (1:38.10) placed fourth and fifth, while DePauw’s Casey Hooker (1:38.98), Amherst’s Connor Sholtis (1:39.11) and Keene State’s Drew Ledwith (1:39.13) picked up the rest of the 200 free finale finishes. Denison remained 14 points ahead of Kenyon after the 200 free, 254-240.

Johns Hopkins’ Anastasia Bogdanovski dominated the women’s 200-yard free finale with a time of 1:47.74, winning by more than a second. Williams’ Sarah Thompson took second overall in 1:49.24 with Kenyon’s Hillary Yarosh earning third in 1:49.47.

Springfield’s Kellie Pennington (1:50.21), Denison’s Campbell Costley (1:50.48), Washington U’s Kristal McAfee (1:50.96), Emory’s Nancy Larson (1:51.70) and Emory’s Marissa Bergh (1:53.01) placed fourth through eighth in the finale.

Emory still held the lead with 236 points, while Johns Hopkins owned second after the 200 free with a 192. Denison (176) and Kenyon (162) were still lurking as potential title contenders.

Macalester’s Renee Jordan won the women’s one-meter with a tally of 468.90, while Kenyon’s Maria Zarka took second with 463.05 points. Amherst’s Kait Linsmayer rounded out the top three with 443.50 points.

UW Eau Claire’s Sara Axness (437.80), Springfield’s Jen Thompson (433.30), Williams’ McKenzie Murdoch (424.40), Hope’s Sarah Sheridan (416.90) and Trinity’s Katie Sheldon (407.90) also competed in the diving finale.

Emory remained in the lead with 243 points after diving, while JHU (192), Kenyon (179) and Denison (176) stood second through fourth.

Emory finished the night with a men’s 400-yard medley relay victory as Ross Spock (48.28) Andrew Wilson (54.11), Hayden Baker (47.96) and Ryan Bass (44.78) posted a 3:15.13 for the win. MIT’s Bo Mattix (48.75), Michael Liao (54.37), Sean Corcoran (47.94) and Austin Fathman (44.93) finished second in 3:15.99.

Kenyon’s Harrison Curley (49.37), Trevor Manx (54.68), Christian Josephson (48.93) and Austin Caldwell (43.62) finished third to pick up more points on Denison with a 3:16.60. Denison took fifth in 3:17.45, while Johns Hopkins earned fourth in 3:16.78. Denison finished the night just 10 points ahead of Kenyo, 282-272.

CMS (3:18.06) and St. Olaf (3:18.83) placed sixth and seventh in the relay, while Williams drew a disqualification.

Powered by an amazing anchor leg of 48.48, Johns Hopkins’ Taylor Kitayama (54.19), Margaret Storm (1:04.33), Kylie Ternes (55.90) and Anastasia Bogdanovski (48.48) took home the women’s 400-yard medley relay title in 3:42.90. Kenyon’s Celia Oberholzer (54.96), Katie Kaestner (1:01.65), Jourdan Cline (56.05) and Hillary Yarosh (50.68) finished second in 3:43.34 with Denison’s Molly Willingham (56.55), Natalie Lugg (1:01.67), Michelle Howell (56.04) and Carolyn Kane (50.88) placing third in 3:45.14.

Emory (3:45.23), Gustavus Adolphus (3:46.97), Wheaton (3:47.82), MIT (3:49.59) and Amherst (3:51.45) also made the finale.

Results For: NCAA Division III Championships: Day Two

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