NCAA Division III Championships, Day 1 Prelims: Garrett Clasen, Derek Maas Set for IM Showdown

Photo Courtesy: NCAA Media

NCAA Division III Championships, Day 1 Prelims: Garrett Clasen, Derek Maas Set for IM Showdown

It’s only Day 1 of the NCAA Division III Championships, but already a showdown is set between one of the meet’s top returnees and the nation’s most notable newcomer.

The University of Chicago’s Garrett Clasen is chasing a three-peat in the men’s 200 IM. But to get there, he’ll have to go through Alabama grad transfer Derek Maas, the NYU fifth-year with his eyes set on an NCAA record.

All the action from the opening day of the meet at the Greensboro Aquatic Center:

Men’s 500 freestyle

Last year’s runner-up Justin Finkel secured the top seed in 4:25.42. The junior from Connecticut College was second to Pat Pema of Emory last year. He’s followed by another Emory swimmer in Benjamin Thorsen, who finished second in 4:25.79. Brandeis’s Samuel Dienstag and Connor Vincent of NYU also broke 4:26.

Kellen Roddy of John Hopkins is in the A final for the second straight year in fifth, as is Williams’ Alexander Atherton. Eight teams have A finalists, with Denison augmenting Lucas Conrads in sixth with three B finalists.

vent 1  Men 500 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         4:20.26  A A-cut
         4:31.63  B B-cut
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Finkel, Justin   JR Conn College      4:24.66    4:25.42 B      
         r:+0.73              50.21 ( )
                                1:44.52 ( )
        2:11.57 (27.05)     2:38.48 (26.91)
        3:05.56 (27.08)     3:32.35 (26.79)
        3:59.26 (26.91)     4:25.42 (26.16)
  2 Thorsen, Benjam  JR Emory             4:28.26    4:25.79 B      
    r:+0.67  23.80        50.25 (26.45)
        1:16.94 (26.69)     1:43.86 (26.92)
        2:11.19 (27.33)     2:38.31 (27.12)
        3:05.28 (26.97)     3:31.62 (26.34)
        3:58.54 (26.92)     4:25.79 (27.25)
  3 Dienstag, Samue  SR Brandeis          4:25.83    4:25.88 B      
    r:+0.72  23.86        49.87 (26.01)
        1:16.38 (26.51)     1:42.99 (26.61)
        2:09.93 (26.94)     2:36.99 (27.06)
        3:04.27 (27.28)     3:31.78 (27.51)
        3:59.00 (27.22)     4:25.88 (26.88)
  4 Vincent, Connor  JR NYU               4:26.91    4:25.96 B      
    r:+0.70  24.19        50.30 (26.11)
        1:16.84 (26.54)     1:43.86 (27.02)
        2:11.17 (27.31)     2:38.57 (27.40)
        3:05.90 (27.33)     3:33.28 (27.38)
        4:00.23 (26.95)     4:25.96 (25.73)
  5 Roddy, Kellen    SR Johns Hopkins     4:25.23    4:26.48 B      
    r:+0.66  24.42        50.52 (26.10)
        1:17.09 (26.57)     1:43.90 (26.81)
        2:10.69 (26.79)     2:37.51 (26.82)
        3:04.44 (26.93)     3:31.72 (27.28)
        3:59.29 (27.57)     4:26.48 (27.19)
  6 Conrads, Lucas   JR Denison           4:29.99    4:27.35 B      
    r:+0.65  24.26        50.90 (26.64)
        1:18.00 (27.10)     1:44.75 (26.75)
        2:11.55 (26.80)     2:38.65 (27.10)
        3:05.85 (27.20)     3:33.38 (27.53)
        4:00.56 (27.18)     4:27.35 (26.79)
  7 Shafi, Rafae     FR Tufts             4:25.12    4:27.70 B      
    r:+0.57  24.06        50.24 (26.18)
        1:17.13 (26.89)     1:44.12 (26.99)
        2:11.29 (27.17)     2:38.50 (27.21)
        3:05.83 (27.33)     3:33.18 (27.35)
        4:00.85 (27.67)     4:27.70 (26.85)
  8 Atherton, Alexa  JR Williams          4:27.70    4:28.39 B      
    r:+0.68  24.29        50.58 (26.29)
        1:17.21 (26.63)     1:44.17 (26.96)
        2:11.12 (26.95)     2:37.99 (26.87)
        3:05.22 (27.23)     3:32.82 (27.60)
        4:00.72 (27.90)     4:28.39 (27.67)

Women’s 500 freestyle

Many of last year’s medalists are back this year, with one notable exception.

Caitlin Marshall led the way in prelims, the NYU junior going 4:52.67. She was nearly a second up on Emory’s Penelope Helm. Tara Witkowski of Denison was third. She’s finished third each of the last two years.

But absent from the A final is Denison’s Taryn Wisner. The 2022 champion and 2023 runner-up finished 15th in prelims, more than four seconds behind her seed time.

Denison is the only team with two A finalists, sophomore Quinn Brown in sixth. Kristin Cornish of Johns Hopkins was fourth. Madeline Dunn of Tufts (9th) and Molly Haag of Kenyon (11th) both finished in prelims where they landed in finals last year.

Event 2  Women 500 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         4:45.33  A A-cut
         5:00.37  B B-cut
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Marshall, Caitl  JR NYU               4:49.89    4:52.67 B      
    r:+0.71  25.98        54.56 (28.58)
        1:23.93 (29.37)     1:53.94 (30.01)
        2:23.91 (29.97)     2:53.97 (30.06)
        3:23.85 (29.88)     3:53.88 (30.03)
        4:23.75 (29.87)     4:52.67 (28.92)
  2 Helm, Penelope   SR Emory             4:55.72    4:53.51 B      
    r:+0.78  26.75        55.85 (29.10)
        1:25.26 (29.41)     1:54.85 (29.59)
        2:24.34 (29.49)     2:53.53 (29.19)
        3:22.87 (29.34)     3:52.95 (30.08)
        4:23.27 (30.32)     4:53.51 (30.24)
  3 Witkowski, Tara  SR Denison           4:50.35    4:53.52 B      
    r:+0.67  27.25        56.14 (28.89)
        1:25.60 (29.46)     1:55.25 (29.65)
        2:24.95 (29.70)     2:54.64 (29.69)
        3:24.34 (29.70)     3:54.19 (29.85)
        4:24.09 (29.90)     4:53.52 (29.43)
  4 Cornish, Kristi  JR Johns Hopkins     4:54.93    4:53.58 B      
    r:+0.76  25.90        54.48 (28.58)
        1:24.10 (29.62)     1:54.07 (29.97)
        2:24.11 (30.04)     2:54.12 (30.01)
        3:24.41 (30.29)     3:54.78 (30.37)
        4:24.71 (29.93)     4:53.58 (28.87)
  5 Caymaz, Bengisu  FR Kenyon            4:49.26    4:54.16 B      
    r:+0.72  26.43        55.04 (28.61)
        1:24.37 (29.33)     1:54.23 (29.86)
        2:24.02 (29.79)     2:53.99 (29.97)
        3:24.54 (30.55)     3:54.89 (30.35)
        4:24.81 (29.92)     4:54.16 (29.35)
  6 Brown, Quinn     SO Denison           4:51.82    4:55.13 B      
    r:+0.66  27.22        56.61 (29.39)
        1:25.96 (29.35)     1:55.24 (29.28)
        2:25.06 (29.82)     2:54.97 (29.91)
        3:25.09 (30.12)     3:55.19 (30.10)
        4:25.36 (30.17)     4:55.13 (29.77)
  7 Kelley, Maeve    FR Amherst           4:51.48    4:56.00 B      
    r:+0.65  26.95        56.32 (29.37)
        1:26.27 (29.95)     1:56.33 (30.06)
        2:26.35 (30.02)     2:56.65 (30.30)
        3:26.82 (30.17)     3:56.98 (30.16)
        4:26.75 (29.77)     4:56.00 (29.25)
  8 Katz, Chloe      JR Middlebury        4:56.36    4:56.62 B      
    r:+0.78  27.06        56.06 (29.00)
        1:25.94 (29.88)     1:56.13 (30.19)
        2:26.28 (30.15)     2:56.62 (30.34)
        3:26.89 (30.27)     3:57.15 (30.26)
        4:27.62 (30.47)     4:56.62 (29.00)

Men’s 200 individual medley

Garrett Clasen is vying for a third straight 200 IM title. He’s the top seed in the final, but he’ll face a push from a new face. The University of Chicago senior went 1:45.84 to grab the middle lane in prelims. But Derek Maas, the NYU fifth-year and Alabama grad transfer, will be hot on his heels. Maas went 1:44.23 in-season, which is .05 off Andrew Wilson’s NCAA record.

Maas was the second seed in 1:45.91.

There’s a full second between the third seed, Brayden Morford of Carnegie Mellon in 1:46.26, and fourth seed Patrick Daly of Denison. Daly joins fifth seed Oliver Schalet of Williams and seventh seed Alex McCormick of Washington in returning to the A final from last year.

Event 3  Men 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
         1:45.47  A A-cut
         1:50.64  B B-cut
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Clasen, Garrett  SR Chicago           1:46.08    1:45.84 B      
    r:+0.68  22.85        49.81 (26.96)
        1:19.25 (29.44)     1:45.84 (26.59)
  2 Maas, Derek      5Y NYU               1:44.23    1:45.91 B      
    r:+0.68  22.40        48.43 (26.03)
        1:18.39 (29.96)     1:45.91 (27.52)
  3 Morford, Brayde  FR Carnegie Mellon   1:47.67    1:46.26 B      
    r:+0.71  22.60        49.31 (26.71)
        1:20.27 (30.96)     1:46.26 (25.99)
  4 Daly, Patrick    JR Denison           1:46.89    1:47.35 B      
    r:+0.62  23.08        49.95 (26.87)
        1:20.59 (30.64)     1:47.35 (26.76)
  5 Schalet, Oliver  JR Williams          1:46.63    1:47.40 B      
    r:+0.69  23.14        50.40 (27.26)
        1:21.29 (30.89)     1:47.40 (26.11)
  6 Yu, Larry        SR Pomona-Pitzer     1:46.79    1:47.53 B      
    r:+0.67  22.85        49.84 (26.99)
        1:20.90 (31.06)     1:47.53 (26.63)
  7 McCormick, Alex  SR Wash U. MO        1:47.32    1:47.70 B      
    r:+0.71  23.11        49.43 (26.32)
        1:21.26 (31.83)     1:47.70 (26.44)
  8 Yburan, Jaeden-  JR NYU               1:47.73    1:48.29 B      
    r:+0.70  23.48        50.46 (26.98)
        1:21.69 (31.23)     1:48.29 (26.60)

Women’s 200 individual medley

Greta Gidley is looking to unseat Sophia Verkleeren from atop the podium. Gidley, a junior from Hope who finished second at the NCAA Division III Championships last year, owns the top seed in 1:59.79. She’s a second ahead of the reigning champ Verkleeren, a junior from Williams, who went 2:00.96. Verkleeren holds the top in-season time in 1:59.8.

Kenyon has two A finalists, with Jennah Fadely third and Jordan Herrera seventh. Fadely was ninth last year. Trinity’s Neely Burns and Mary Washington’s Kinsey Brooks are both repeat A finalists.

Event 4  Women 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
         1:58.27  A A-cut
         2:05.76  B B-cut
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Gidley, Greta    JR Hope              2:00.79    1:59.79 B      
    r:+0.63  25.93        56.71 (30.78)
        1:30.45 (33.74)     1:59.79 (29.34)
  2 Verkleeren, Sop  JR Williams          1:59.48    2:00.96 B      
    r:+0.75  26.10        55.43 (29.33)
        1:30.93 (35.50)     2:00.96 (30.03)
  3 Fadely, Jennah   JR Kenyon            2:02.06    2:01.93 B      
    r:+0.67  26.16        57.12 (30.96)
        1:32.16 (35.04)     2:01.93 (29.77)
  4 Thiele, Sammi    SR Austin            2:03.03    2:02.89 B      
    r:+0.63  27.37        58.83 (31.46)
        1:33.92 (35.09)     2:02.89 (28.97)
  5 Burns, Neely     SO Trinity U.        2:02.59    2:03.11 B      
    r:+0.67  27.60        59.46 (31.86)
        1:33.89 (34.43)     2:03.11 (29.22)
  6 Brooks, Kinsey   SR Mary Washington   2:03.87    2:03.55 B      
    r:+0.66  26.28        58.44 (32.16)
        1:33.39 (34.95)     2:03.55 (30.16)
  7 Herrera, Jordan  JR Kenyon            2:05.78    2:03.64 B      
    r:+0.80  26.76        58.04 (31.28)
        1:34.44 (36.40)     2:03.64 (29.20)
  8 Augustyn, Kate   JR MIT               2:02.77    2:03.86 B      
    r:+0.79  26.99        57.09 (30.10)
        1:34.52 (37.43)     2:03.86 (29.34)

Men’s 50 freestyle

Tobe Obochi of MIT set the pace in prelims in 19.66 seconds. The senior had been eighth last year and 15th the year before. He entered as the third seed and one of seven swimmers to break 20 seconds in season.

Prelims brought surprises. Top seed Maximillian Cory of Bates went 20.12. He’s in the B final in 10th. Fifth seed James Collishaw of Ithaca won’t get a second swim, having gone 20.30 for 18th.

Emory’s Nicholas Goudie, who tied for bronze last year, finished second in 19.80. The person he was tied with last year, TCNJ’s James McChesney, is in the A final for the third straight year in fourth, the last of the swimmers to break 20 seconds. The other is Nathaniel Taft of Hamilton in third. Colby’s Neil Mortimer, up from 21st place, and Kenyon’s Djordje Dragojlovic are both A finalists for the second straight year.

Women’s 50 freestyle

There’s a generational change in the sprint field, with eight freshmen in the top 16, including sixth A finalists. The vets are still on top, though.

Leading the way in prelims was Alexandra Turvey of Pomona-Pitzer in 22.70. She was .02 ahead of the reigning champ Kaley McIntyre of NYU, whose 22.60 is the top time in the nation this year. McIntyre is the lone holdover from last year’s A final.

Two swimmers have taken huge jumps from last year. Third is Hannah Fathman of Albion, third in 23.01 after finishing 39th last year. Fourth was Tatum Zupnik of Bowdoin in 23.02, a .41-second drop from her seed. She was 30th last year.

Three freshmen are in the top eight: Ella Roberson of MIT in fifth, Alexandra Sotek of SUNY Geneseoin sixth and Genine Collins of Swarthmore in eighth.

Men’s 200 medley relay

All the main contenders got through prelims fine. NYU is the top seed in 1:27.47, a tenth slower than their seed time and a tenth ahead of Emory. Derek Maas, Emmett Ralston, Ajay Watakanun and Greg Wehbe comprise the squad.

Emory, the top seed entering the meet, was safely through. Kenyon and Williams tied for third in 1:27.90. The only surprise was Calvin, which had a seed time of 1:27.60 that was sixth, barely making the B final in 16th.

Event 8  Men 200 Yard Medley Relay
====================================================================
         1:29.91  B B-cut
    School                           Seed    Prelims              
====================================================================
                       === Preliminaries ===                        
 
  1 NYU                           1:27.37    1:27.47 B      
     1) Maas, Derek 5Y                2) r:0.22 Ralston, Emmett FR    
     3) r:0.14 Watanakun, Ajay JR     4) r:0.19 Wehbe, Greg FR        
    r:+0.92  21.42        46.12 (24.70)
        1:07.65 (21.53)     1:27.47 (19.82)
  2 Emory                         1:25.95    1:27.57 B      
     1) Soh, Ryan SR                  2) r:0.38 Meyer, Jake SR        
     3) r:0.25 Echols, Jeff JR        4) r:0.25 Bjornstad, Caden SO   
    r:+0.61  22.91        46.36 (23.45)
        1:07.37 (21.01)     1:27.57 (20.20)
  3 Kenyon                        1:28.45    1:27.90 B      
     1) Kosian, Yurii SR              2) r:0.33 Dobric, Aleksa JR     
     3) r:0.46 Krtinic, Marko SR      4) r:0.24 Brooks, Daniel SR     
    r:+0.73  22.10        46.46 (24.36)
        1:08.17 (21.71)     1:27.90 (19.73)
  3 Williams                      1:26.85    1:27.90 B      
     1) Nichol, Richard SR            2) r:0.30 Grover, Michael SO    
     3) r:0.52 Heritage, Barrett JR   4) r:0.37 Randall, Theodore FR  
    r:+0.69  21.81        46.38 (24.57)
        1:07.91 (21.53)     1:27.90 (19.99)
  5 Carnegie Mellon               1:27.51    1:28.31 B      
     1) Deshpande, Arnav SO           2) r:0.18 Lee, Aaron FR         
     3) r:0.22 Tarczynski, Alender 5Y 4) r:0.28 Lloyd, David SO       
    r:+0.79  22.23        47.04 (24.81)
        1:08.67 (21.63)     1:28.31 (19.64)
  6 Chicago                       1:27.04    1:28.48 B      
     1) Tritter, Hudson SR            2) r:0.25 Starbuck, Jason SR    
     3) Ssengonzi, Jesse SR           4) r:0.45 Kruep, Rylan FR       
    r:+0.67  22.48        49.98 (27.50)
        1:08.12 (18.14)     1:28.48 (20.36)
  7 MIT                           1:27.72    1:28.52 B      
     1) Chen, Theo SO                 2) r:0.10 Luo, Jaden SR         
     3) r:0.17 Roberts, Bryce FR      4) r:0.27 Obochi, Tobe SR       
    r:+0.68  22.71        47.57 (24.86)
        1:09.09 (21.52)     1:28.52 (19.43)
  8 TCNJ                          1:28.28    1:28.70 B      
     1) Kidchob, Andrew SO            2) r:0.17 Vandeveen, Ryan JR    
     3) r:0.16 McChesney, James SR    4) r:0.12 Kahler, Dixon 5Y      
    r:+0.60  22.84        47.60 (24.76)
        1:08.33 (20.73)     1:28.70 (20.37)

Women’s 200 medley relay

Denison is the pacesetter, having gone 1:41.10 to lead prelims. MIT and Williams tied for second. NYU made a big jump of 1.5 seconds to get to fourth. Only Tufts and Emory even broke 1:43.

Event 9  Women 200 Yard Medley Relay
====================================================================
         1:44.99  B B-cut
    School                           Seed    Prelims              
====================================================================
                       === Preliminaries ===                        
 
  1 Denison                       1:40.97    1:41.10 B      
     1) Park, Jasmine FR              2) r:0.34 Tofflemire, Riley FR  
     3) r:0.43 Ferguson, Phoebe SO    4) r:0.20 Kadlecik, Grace JR    
    r:+0.67  26.33        54.30 (27.97)
        1:18.45 (24.15)     1:41.10 (22.65)
  2 MIT                           1:41.00    1:41.39 B      
     1) Augustyn, Kate JR             2) r:0.34 Chen, Edenna 5Y       
     3) r:0.43 Naveen, Annika SO      4) r:0.21 Roberson, Ella FR     
    r:+0.82  25.63        54.02 (28.39)
        1:18.86 (24.84)     1:41.39 (22.53)
  2 Williams                      1:40.79    1:41.39 B      
     1) Verkleeren, Sophia JR         2) r:0.21 Wager, Amanda SR      
     3) r:0.30 Kilcoyne, Samantha SR  4) r:0.41 Dimter, Emma FR       
    r:+0.77  26.00        54.14 (28.14)
        1:18.25 (24.11)     1:41.39 (23.14)
  4 NYU                           1:43.43    1:41.93 B      
     1) Ma, Emily SR                  2) r:0.23 Le Fauve, Jolie SR    
     3) r:0.01 Xayaveth, Hope FR      4) r:0.30 Oldham, Isabel JR     
    r:+0.74  26.01        54.71 (28.70)
        1:18.48 (23.77)     1:41.93 (23.45)
  5 Tufts                         1:41.30    1:41.96 B      
     1) Harrison, Elena FR            2) r:0.24 Wheeler, Quinci SO    
     3) r:0.24 Foltenyi, Jade SO      4) r:0.11 Cudney, Jillian SR    
    r:+0.66  26.09        54.32 (28.23)
        1:19.29 (24.97)     1:41.96 (22.67)
  6 Emory                         1:42.35    1:42.60 B      
     1) Jungers, Megan SR             2) r:0.31 Cohen, Katie FR       
     3) r:0.02 McDonald, Maren FR     4) r:0.26 Sanderson, Jane SO    
    r:+0.68  25.76        54.49 (28.73)
        1:19.35 (24.86)     1:42.60 (23.25)
  7 Pomona-Pitzer                 1:41.79    1:43.07 B      
     1) Liao, Abigail SR              2) r:0.44 Coppo, Francesca FR   
     3) r:0.27 Turvey, Alexandra SR   4) r:0.29 Mello, Valerie JR     
    r:+0.68  26.48        55.80 (29.32)
        1:20.02 (24.22)     1:43.07 (23.05)
  8 Kenyon                        1:44.86    1:43.18 B      
     1) Wukitch, Caleigh SR           2) r:0.20 Fadely, Jennah JR     
     3) r:0.38 Eisenbeis, Gwen SO     4) r:0.28 Geboy, Sydney JR      
    r:+0.67  26.74        54.42 (27.68)
        1:19.80 (25.38)     1:43.18 (23.38)

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