CLEVELAND, OH -- Kenyon and Denison coaches have been named Men's and Women's Diving Coaching Staffs of the Year, while Wooster and Denison coaches have been named Men's and Women's Swimming Coaching Staffs of the Year. Both sets of awards were announced today after voting by the conference's head coaches.

Ron Kontura, in his sixth year with the Owls, earns his third consecutive, and fourth overall, Men's Diving Coaching Staff of the Year award after junior Israel Zavaleta (Mexico City, Mexico Universidad del Valle de Mexico) claimed NCAC Men's Diver of the Year honors. Zavaleta won both the one-meter and three-meter boards at the 2023 conference championships, posting NCAA regional qualifying scores in both events, totaling 586.60 points in the one-meter and 610.05 in the three-meter competition. He also posted an NCAA-record 610.20 in the preliminary round of the one-meter competition. The Owls swept places 1-4 on the three-meter board, with all four divers posting regional qualifying scores.

Russ Bertram claims his fifth Women's Diving Coaching Staff of the Year award in 2023 as Denison won both the one-meter and three-meter events at the NCAC Championship. Sophomore Kerstyn Johnson (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) was named NCAC Women's Diver of the Year after winning both the one-meter event (427.70) and the three-meter board (479.30) with regional qualifying scores. Big Red divers also posted third- and fourth-place finishes on the one-meter and a second-place finish on the three-meter. Bertram has also earned Men's Diving Coach of the Year honors four times in his 10-year career at Denison.

After leading the Fighting Scots to a third-place finish, their highest since 2003, Rob Harrington and his staff earned a second Men's Swimming Coaching nod. Assistant coach Kyle Garase rounds out the current Scots swim staff. Wooster accumulated 1,124.5 points to post the highest finish on the men's side under Harrington in his 20-year career at Wooster. The points total is also the highest ever for the Scots - just the second time the team posted more than 1,000 points (1,013, 2019). The Scots have accumulated 15 top-five finishes in Harrington's tenure. He has also earned Women's Swimming Coach of the Year honors three times in his Wooster career.

Gregg Parini, in his 36th year with the Big Red, along with his staff earns a 10th career Women's Swimming Coaching honor after leading the squad to the 2023 NCAC championship. The Big Red posted 2,007 points to earn their 11th overall conference crown, all of which have been earned under the guidance of Parini. Associate coaches Kellen Beckwith, Kim Lloyd, and assistant coach Noah Houskeeper round out the current Big Red swim staff. Over the four-days of competition this winter, Denison swimmers logged 10 event wins at the championship out of 21 total events, collected 31 all-conference finishes and recorded 51 national "B" cut times. The Big Red's point total is the second highest in NCAC women's swimming championship history, falling only slightly behind their 2,044 total from 2020. Parini has also earned Men's Swimming Coach of the Year 10 times in his Denison career.