2022 NCAA Division III Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2022 NCAA Division III Championships

• Wednesday, March 16 – Saturday, March 19, 2022
• IUPUI IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, IN
• Defending Champs: Emory women (10x) & Denison men (2x) – (2019 Results)
• Live Stream
• Live Results
• Official Psych Sheet

Day 2 of the 2022 NCAA DIII Championships will kick off with the 200 free relay, and then go to the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free. and 400 medley relay. On the men’s side, Emory is currently in the lead with 101 points, 6 points ahead of defending champion Denison. On the women’s side, there is a close battle between Kenyon, Denison, and Emory, with Kenyon being ahead of Denison by six points and defending champion Emory

Williams’ Jamie Lovette, who broke the DIII record in the 200 free twice at NESCAC championships last month, is set to race again and have a shot at breaking his own record and comes in as the top seed tonight. Men’s 100 fly record holder, David Fitch, is also the number one seed in his own event, swimming a prelims time just four-tenths off of his old record. In addition, Crille Hart is coming off red-hot from her 200 IM record last night, and looks to win a title in the 100 fly where she is seeded sixth coming into finals.

Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay – Finals

• NCAA Record: Kenyon (2012): 1:18.06

Podium:

1. MIT –  1:19.10
2. Emory/Rowan – 1:19.56
3. NONE

MIT dropped half a second from their top seeded prelims time, winning the event in a time of 1:19.10. They benefitted from a blistering 19.15 split from Kryi Chen, who put them in the lead in the third leg. Rowan tied for second with Emory with the fastest leaadoff split of 19.59 from Kevin Gilooly, just a few hundreths off his time to win the 50 free individual final, which was a 19.50. Denison and Johns Hopkins were also under 1:20, finishing fourth and fifth with times of 1:19.70 and 1:19.71 respectively.

Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay – Finals

• NCAA Record: Emory (2017): 1:30.52

Podium:

1. Kenyon – 1:30.39
2. Emory- 1:30.44
3. Ponoma-Pitzer- 1:31.93

Kenyon, the top seed heading into finals, dropped 1.57 seconds from their prelims time to take first with a time of 1:30.39 from their prelims time of 1:31.96. The relay was a new DIII record for Kenyon, taking down Emory’s 2017 record of 1:30.52. This is their second relay record of the meet, as they set the DIII record in the 200 medley relay last night. The fastest split from their team came from Crile Hart, who swam the third leg in a time of 21.98. Hart, who is coming off of a DIII record in the 200 IM, swam the only sub-22 split of the field. Emory also dropped massive time from prelims, going 1:30.44 compared to 1:32.34 in prelims, which is 1.9 seconds faster. Their time was also under the teams’s old record from 2017. Ponoma-Pitzer rounded out the top three with a 1:31.93 time, going 0.39 seconds faster than their prelims time of 1:31.93.

Men’s 400 Individual Medley – Finals

• NCAA Record: Harrison Curley (Kenyon, 2015): 3:46.62

Podium:

1. Bryan Fitzgerald, Kenyon- 3:47.62
2. Jack Wadsworth, Ithaca- 3:49.26
3. Eric Chimes, Denison- 3:54.45

Kenyon’s Bryan Fitzgerald and Ithaca’s Jack Wadsworth were far ahead of the rest of the field, and the race was practically a two-man race. Wadsworth, the top seed in prelims, went out fast in the fly leg, before increasing his lead to a body length in the backstroke. Fitzgerald caught up on breaststroke, and then widened his lead in freestyle to take the win. Wadsworth split 51/.03/57.63 compared to Fitzgerald’s 52.15/58.64 in butterfly and backstroke, but then on the back half, Wadsworth was 1:06.89/53.71 compared to Fitzgerald’s 1:05.10/51.73. Fitzgerald, who won the 500 free last night, also utilized his back half very well in the race, only taking the lead at the 250-yard part.

Eric Chimes of Denison, who was close with the field in the first 100, faded to take third with a time of 3:54.45.

Women’s 400 Individual Medley – Finals

• NCAA Record: Caroline Wilson (Williams, 2012): 4:13.14

Podium:

1. Molly Craig, Williams- 4:16.83
2. Augusta Lewis, Claremont-Mudd- 4:18.06
3. Gabby Wei, Kenyon- 4:20.50

Williams’ Molly Craig was off to a strong start in the 400 IM, gaining a body-length lead over the field in the first 200 yards. Craig won the national title in 2018 and finished second in the event in 2019. Claremont-Mudd’s Augusta Lewis caught up to her in the breaststroke leg and was about even with her in the first 50 of the freestyle. However, in the last 50, Molly Craig split 29.4 to pull ahead of Lewis and win in a 4:16.83. Lewis was just over a second slower, going a time of 4:18.06. Gabby Wei dropped 3.7 seconds from her prelims time to finish third with a 4:24.20.

Men’s 100 Butterfly – Finals

• NCAA Record: David Fitch (Kenyon, 2021): 46.46

Podium:

1. Jesse Ssengonzi, Chicago- 46.77
2. David Fitch, Kenyon- 46.86
3. Liam McDonnell, John Carroll- 47.13

Chicago’s Jesse Ssengonzi upset NCAA record holder and 2019 champion David Fitch to win the 100 fly, coming home in a 24.79 to get past Fitch, who closed in 25.77 after leading the field in the first 50. Fitch came in second with a time of 46.86. Ssengonzi dropped nearly seven tenths from his prelims time of 47.42, and his swim from finals took down Fitch’s meet record of 46.88 from this morning. Fitch also broke his old meet record in his finals swim. John Carroll’s Liam McDonnell also pulled through in the back half of the race, splitting 25.56 to take third with a time of 47.13.

Women’s 100 Butterfly – Finals

• NCAA Record: Kirsten Nitz (Wheaton [IL], 2014): 52.64

Podium:

1. Crile Hart, Kenyon- 53.31
2. Samantha Kilcoyne, Williams- 54.30
3. Taylor Leone, Emory- 54.40

Crile Hart won her second individual title by over a second, dominating the field to win by nearly a second. She was the only woman under 54 with a time of 53.31. Hart won the race out of lane seven, as she was seeded sixth following prelims this morning with a time of 54.95. Williams’ Samantha Kilcoyne came home hard to finish second in a 54.30, closing in a 28.43 that was just off Hart’s closing split of 28.40. Taylor Leone of Emory came in third just a tenth behind Kilcoyne with a time of 54.40, just a bit off of her prelims time of 55.14.

Men’s 200 Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA Record: Jamie Lovette (Williams, 2022): 1:35.52

Podium:

1. Jamie Lovette, Williams- 1:36.00
2. Jaden Luo, MIT- 1:36.10
3. Nicholas Goudie- 1:36.24

Jamie Lovette wasn’t able to break the DIII record in the 200 free tonight, but he did get the win in a time of 1:36 flat that is just half a second off his record. However, the race was not easy for him, as Nicholas Goudie and Jaden Luo were right on him. Lovette opened the first 100 with a 46.75, while Goudie was just behind him in 46.76 and Luo split 46.85. In contrast, in the second half, Luo and Lovette had identical splits of 49.25 while Goudie split 49.48. That back half was enough for Luo to take second with a 1:36.10, while Goudie finished third with a 1:36.24

Women’s 200 Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA Record: Kendra Stern (Amherst, 2011): 1:44.82

Podium:

1. Claire Brennan, Tufts- 1:48.46
2. Lydia Dacorte, Wheaton – 1:48.92
3. Taryn Wisner, Denison- 1:49.17

The field was extremely close in the 200 free, with four women under the 1:50 mark. Claire Brennan came out victorious in a time of 1:48.42, taking an early lead with a 27.35 opening split and being in first from start to finish. Lydia Dacorte was not far behind, negative splitting her race 27.72/26.67 to place second with a 1:48.92. Freshman Taryn Wisner was third in a time of 1:49.17, shedding a few tenths off her lifetime best of 1:49.36 from a few months ago.

Women’s 1 Meter Diving – Finals

• NCAA Record: Danica Roskos, TCNJ- 515.90

Podium:

1. Elizabeth Cron, Chicago- 487.40
2. Cynthia Tang, Chicago- 460.75
3. Ava Lowell, Ithaca- 443.95

Elizabeth Cron won the 1-meter diving finals with a score of 487.40 after finishing sixth the last time she competed at NCAAs in 2019. Her teammate, freshman Cynthia Tang, came in second with a 460.75 score. Ava Lowell came in third with a score of 443.95

Men’s 400 Medley Relay – Finals

• NCAA Record: Emory (2017): 3:10.51

Podium:

1. Chicago – 3:11.99
2. Claremont – 3:12.34
3. Johns Hopkins – 3:12.45

In one of the most anticipated races of the night, where Williams, Denison, Kenyon, and Johns Hopkins all went 3:14 in prelims, the finals just got a lot faster. In fact, only one out of the top four seeds even made it into the top three, with Chicago and Claremont being seeded fifth and eighth respectively. Nick Tekielli gave Claremont an early lead by splitting 47.19 on backstroke, three tenths ahead of the rest of the field. Johns Hopkins’ Max Chen split 52.46 on breaststroke, which was nearly a second faster than the rest of the field. Claremont held the lead during the breaststroke leg, but a massive fly split from 100 fly individual champion Jesse Ssengonzi put Chicago fourth-hundreths ahead at the 300-yard mark. A 43.22 split from Johns Hopkins’ Nat Davenport and a massive 42.66 from MIT’s Tobe Obochi put them in contention for the podium as well. MIT ended up finishing just off the podium with a time of 3:12.47 in fourth.

Kenyon, who got DQed last night in the 400 medley relay, was DQed again tonight. However, their time of 3:12.25 would have finished second.

Fastest Splits:

• Backstroke: Nick Tekielli, Claremont- 47.19
• Breaststroke: Max Chen, Johns Hopkins- 52.46
• Butterfly: Jesse Ssengonzi, Chicago- 46.27
• Freestyle: Tobe Obochi, MIT- 42.66

Women’s 400 Medley Relay – Finals

• NCAA Record: Emory (2017): 3:39.57

Podium:

1. Kenyon – 3:38.05
2. Emory – 3:38.38
3. Williams – 3:40.52

The Kenyon women made it three DIII records in three relays, destroying a 2017 Emory record by 1.52 seconds to win the 400 medley relay in a time of 3:38.05. Megan Junger‘s 53.71 backstroke split gave Emory a lead of nearly a second, being the only woman under 54. Then, a blazing 58.96 breaststroke split from Edenna Chen put MIT from fourth to first with a time 1:54.09 during the halfway mark, m0re than 1.5 seconds ahead of all the other relays. However, Crile Hart, who is already coming off of being the fastest woman on the 200 free relay and a 100 fly title, split 53.10 on fly to put Kenyon back into the lead. Emmie Mirus closed in a 49.28, and although Emory’s Caroline Maki closed in a 49.24, it was not enough to defeat Kenyon. However, their time of 3:38.38 was also under the old DIII record. MIT ended up falling back into fourth with a time of 3:40.63.

Fastest Splits:

• Backstroke: Megan Jungers, Emory- 53.71
• Breaststroke: Edenna Chen, MIT- 58.96
• Butterfly: Crile Hart, Kenyon – 53.10
• Freestyle: Caroline Maki, Emory –  49.24

Men’s Scores After Day Two:

 1. Emory                             243   2. Denison                           171
  3. Johns Hopkins                     170   4. Williams                          161
  5. Chicago                           153   6. Mit                             138.5
  7. Claremont MS                      130   8. Kenyon                          121.5
  9. John Carroll                       80  10. Wash U MO                          73
 11. Rowan                              70  12. Carnegie Mellon                    59
 13. Calvin                             52  14. Franklin & Marshall                45
 15. Nyu                                43  16. Pomona-Pitzer                      38
 17. UW Eau Claire                      35  18. Trinity University                 29
 19. Tcnj                               20  20. Coast Guard                        18
 21. Ithaca                             17  21. Bates                              17
 21. Tufts                              17  24. Westminster                        13
 25. Whitman                            12  26. Cal Lutheran                       11
 26. Rhodes College                     11  28. Suny Geneseo                        9
 29. Whitworth                           8  30. Birmingham Southern                 6
 31. Hope College                        5  31. Springfield College                 5
 33. Swarthmore                          3  33. Franklin College                    3
 35. Bowdoin                             2  35. Colby                               2
 37. Gustavus                            1  37. Roger Williams                      1

Women’s Scores After Day Two:

1. Kenyon                            248   2. Denison                         245.5
  3. Emory                             215   4. Williams                          149
  5. Pomona-Pitzer                     134   6. Chicago                           114
  6. Tufts                             114   8. Mit                               104
  9. Claremont MS                       95  10. Johns Hopkins                    82.5
 11. Amherst                            68  12. Bates                              58
 12. St. Kate's                         58  14. Nyu                                56
 15. Bowdoin                            42  16. Wheaton MA                         41
 17. Conn College                       26  18. Nazareth                           25
 19. Wash U MO                          18  20. Ithaca                             16
 21. Wittenberg                         14  21. Hope College                       14
 23. Mary Washington                    12  24. Caltech                            11
 25. Trinity University                  9  26. Gustavus                            8
 26. Middlebury                          8  28. Colby                               7
 29. Ursinus                             6  29. Centre                              6
 31. Albion                              5  32. Uw-Stevens Point                    2
 33. Suny Cortland                       1  33. Wellesley                           1