Denison Men Come From Behind, Big Red Women Roll To Victory At Denison Invitational

2022 DENISON INVITATIONAL

• December 1-3, 2022
• Granville, Ohio
• SCY (25 yards)
• Full Results (PDF)

Courtesy: Denison Athletics

Women’s Recap

GRANVILLE, Ohio (December 3, 2022) – For the second year in a row and for the third time in four years, the No. 5 Denison University women’s swimming & diving team won the Denison Invitational, doing so this time around with a three-day team total of 2,177.5 points. The Big Red won the event by 323 points over No. 2 Emory University in second place with 1,854.5 points while NCAA Division I Eastern Michigan University checked in third with 1,753 points, followed by No. 6 Johns Hopkins University (968) and then No. 20 Washington University-St. Louis (819).

After amassing 26 NCAA Division III National “B” cuts over the first two finals sessions of the invitational, the Big Red capped off an outstanding weekend with 16 more National “B” cuts during the finals on Saturday.

For the second year in a row, Tara Witkowski and Taryn Wisner both earned an NCAA Division III National “B” cut in the 1650 freestyle while Tara Culibrk did so in the 100 freestyle and Esme Wright did it in the 100 breaststroke.

In the women’s 1-meter dive, Anya Ferner (254.05), Maggie Seftenberg (250.10) and Kerstyn Johnson (244.40) all earned a provisional regional qualifying score and finished in order between seventh and ninth place, respectively.

Entering the night’s finals, Denison held a 145-point lead over Eastern Michigan (1,481-1,336) and was 252 points up on Emory (1,229) in third place.

In the 1650 freestyle, Denison had three National “B” cuts in all as Witkowski (16:58.63) finished in third while Wisner (17:06.00) was sixth and Quinn Brown (17:10.22) was eighth.

In the 200 backstroke, Claire Moody won the “B” final and was 10th overall with a “B” cut time of 2:02.08; and then Culibrk finished in second place in the 100 freestyle with a “B” cut of 50.71 seconds.

The Big Red then made their move with four National “B” cuts in the 200 breaststroke as Drue Thielking (2:17.46) finished second, Savannah Sargent (2:18.77) finished fourth and Wright (2:18.84) finished fifth while in the “B” final, Christina Crane (2:19.80) tied for first (T10th overall).

Then, in the final individual event of the invitational, the 200 butterfly, Maria Mrosko (2:05.01) and Kayla Tehrani (2:05.02) finished back-to-back in second and third place, only .01 seconds away from each other and both with “B” cuts, as Denison increased its lead to as much as 331 points over Emory (2,115.5-1,784.5).

The meet was wrapped up by a pair of top-five performances and National “B” cuts in the 400 freestyle relay as Denison’s “A” group of Wright, Natalie English, Phoebe Ferguson and Culibrk was second with a time of 3:24.83 while the “B” team of Lauren Young, Annie Pfeufer, Avery Vogen and Grace Kadlecik was fifth at 3:29.34.

In all, Denison racked up 35 NCAA Division III National “B” cuts by 22 different student-athletes and eight relay groups throughout the meet. Leading the Big Red with three “B” cuts over the weekend were Brown, Witkowski, Sargent, Wright and Culibrk.

In lieu of admission to the Denison Invitational, donations and non-perishable food items were collected at the gate. Throughout the three days, over $1,800 and 529 food items were collected. Donations will be made to the Market Street Pantry and the Licking County Food Pantry.

NCAA Division III National “B” cuts:
Anya Ferner – 1-meter diving finals – 254.05
Anya Ferner – 1-meter diving prelims – 252.70
Maggie Seftenberg – 1-meter diving finals – 250.10
Maggie Seftenberg – 1-meter diving prelims – 248.85
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter diving finals – 244.40
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter diving prelims – 250.0
Tara Witkowski – 1650 freestyle – 16:58.83
Taryn Wisner – 1650 freestyle – 17:06.00
Quinn Brown – 1650 freestyle – 17:10.22
Claire Moody – 200 backstroke finals – 2:02.08
Tara Culibrk – 100 freestyle finals – 50.71
Tara Culibrk – 100 freestyle prelims – 50.47
Drue Thielking – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:17.46
Drue Thielking – 200 breaststroke prelims – 2:19.70
Savannah Sargent – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:18.77
Savannah Sargent – 200 breaststroke prelims – 2:19.03
Esme Wright – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:18.84
Esme Wright – 200 breaststroke prelims – 2:20.48
Christina Crane – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:19.80
Maria Mrosko – 200 butterfly finals – 2:05.01
Kayla Tehrani – 200 butterfly finals – 2:05.02
Esme Wright, Natalie English, Phoebe Ferguson and Tara Culibrk – 400 freestyle relay finals – 3:24.83
Lauren Young, Annie Pfeufer, Avery Vogen and Grace Kadlecik – 400 freestyle relay finals – 3:29.34

Men’s Recap

GRANVILLE, Ohio (December 3, 2022) – Trailing by 160.5 points entering the final day of competition, the No. 5 Denison University men’s swimming & diving team moved up two spots in the team standings to win the Denison Invitational for the fourth year in a row. In the end, Denison totaled 1,846 points to the win event by just 4.5 points over No. 1 Emory University in second place with 1,841.5 points. Third place went to No. 7 Washington University-St. Louis with 1,823 points, just 23 points behind the Big Red, while fourth place belonged to No. 3 Johns Hopkins University with 1,350.5 points.

After earning a combined four wins and 10 NCAA Division III National “B” cuts during the first two finals sessions of the invitational, the Big Red came racked up seven more National “B” cut times during the finals on Saturday.

For the second year in a row, Lucas Conrads, Tyler Distenfeld and Sam Myaard all earned an NCAA Division III National “B” cut in the 1650 freestyle while Eric Chimes, Richie Kurlich and Max Soja all did so for the second year in a row in the 200 butterfly.

On the 3-meter dive, Brendan Downey earned first place with a provisional regional qualifying score of 302.55 points.

Entering the night’s finals, Denison had pulled to within only 7.5 points of Emory (1,269.5-1,262) and was 84 points up on WashU (1,178) in third place.

Conrads finished third in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 15:37.32, and was followed by Distenfield (15:51.23) in fifth and Myaard (15:59.79) in eighth. All three times were good for a National “B” cut as the Big Red overtook first place in the team standings over WashU (1,363-1,318) while Emory (1,298.5) dropped to third place at the time.

In the 200 backstroke, James Pastore (1:50.65) and Shea Card (1:52.40) finished back-to-back in seventh and eighth place as Denison (1,495 points) expanded its lead to 79.5 points while Emory moved up into second place with 1,415.5 points.

However, after the 100 freestyle in which Patrick Daly finished fourth with a time of 45.36 seconds, Emory overtook the Big Red for first place (1,601.5-1,587). That would not, however, be the final lead change of the meet.

In the “B” final of the 200 breaststroke, Franceso Assalone (2:02.75), Gavin Jones (2:03.62), Christian Narcelles (2:04.86) and Josh Thomas (2:04.93) finished in order between second and fifth (11th-14th overall), and then Denison made its move in the final individual event of the invitational, the 200 butterfly, as Kurlich took second place with a National “B” cut time of 1:47.42 while Chimes (1:48.69) was third and Max Soja (1:50.53) was sixth, both of which were “B” cuts as well. That was enough to put the Big Red back into first place by just 20.5 points over Emory (1,792-1,771.5) with only the 400 freestyle relay remaining.

The Big Red capped off the win with a sixth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay as Dhinal Weerasinghe, Daly, Aidan Lane and Chimes worked together to put up a time of 3:03.57.

In all, Denison accumulated 18 NCAA Division III National “B” cuts by 10 individual student-athletes throughout the meet, led by four from Kurlich and three by both Conrads and Chimes.

In lieu of admission to the Denison Invitational, donations and non-perishable food items were collected at the gate. Throughout the three days, over $1,800 and 529 food items were collected. Donations will be made to the Market Street Pantry and the Licking County Food Pantry.

NCAA Division III National “B” cuts:
Brendan Downey – 3-meter diving finals – 302.55
Brendan Downey – 3-meter diving prelims – 292.35
Lucas Conrads – 1650 freestyle – 15:37.32
Tyler Distenfeld – 1650 freestyle – 15:51.23
Sam Myaard – 1650 freestyle – 15:59.79
Richie Kurlich – 200 butterfly finals – 1:47.52
Richie Kurlich – 200 butterfly prelims – 1:48.69
Eric Chimes – 200 butterfly finals – 1:48.69
Eric Chimes – 200 butterfly prelims – 1:48.56
Max Soja – 200 butterfly finals – 1:50.83
Max Soja – 200 butterfly prelims – 1:49.95

Fourth Annual Denison Invitational Day 3 Results
Fourth Annual Denison Invitational Combined Results

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

Women

1. Denison, 2,177.5
2. Emory, 1,854.5
3. Eastern Michigan, 1,753
4. Johns Hopkins, 968
5. Wash U, 819

Men

1. Denison, 1,846
2. Emory, 1,841.5
3. Wash U, 1,823
4. Johns Hopkins, 1,350.5