2023-24 NCAC Swimming & Diving Coaching Staff Honors

CLEVELAND, OH – The Kenyon and Denison coaches have been named Men's and Women's Diving Coaching Staffs of the Year, while the Oberlin and DePauw 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.

Stan Randall, in his first year with the Owls, has earned the Men's Diving Coaching Staff of the Year award after senior Israel Zavaleta (Mexico City, Mexico Universidad del Valle de Mexico) was named the 2024 NCAC Men's Diver of the Year. Zavaleta won both the one-meter and three-meter boards at the 2024 conference championships, posting a regional qualifying score in the three-meter on Wednesday (644.20) before resetting the national and NCAC records on the one-meter board with 629.20 points. Kenyon placed two divers in the top four in both the one-meter and the three-meter competitions, with both divers posting regional qualifying scores.

Russ Bertram claims his second-consecutive and sixth overall Women's Diving Coaching Staff of the Year award in 2024 as Denison won both the one-meter and three-meter events at the 2024 NCAC Championship. Junior Kerstyn Johnson (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) was named NCAC Women's Diver of the Year after winning the one-meter event (452.60) and placing second in the three-meter event (473.85), while sophomore Lu-si Minnich (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence Central) earned gold on the three-meter board (474.00). The Big Red swept places 1-3 in the one- and three-meter competition, with all three divers posting regional qualifying scores. Bertram has also earned Men's Diving Coach of the Year honors four times in his 11-year career at Denison.
 
Alex de la Peña, in his sixth year with the Yeomen, along with assistant coach Jessica Padilla have earned their first-career NCAC Men's Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year honor. The Yeomen posted a fifth-place finish in the 2024 NCAC championship while logging four all-conference finishes. Oberlin earned one silver and three bronze medals at the conference meet, which included junior Erik Fendorf (Stanford, CA/Henry M. Gunn) claiming second in the 100 fly (48.66), the highest finish of any male swimmer in program history since 1993, and third in the 50 free (20.57), while the 200-medley (1:30.73) and 400-medley (3:20.57) relays collected third-place finishes. The Yeomen broke nine school records over the four-days of conference action.

Tracy Menzel, in her fourth year with the Tigers, along with assistant coach Ryan Collins have earned their first-career NCAC Women's Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year honor. The Tigers were led to a third-place finish in the 2024 NCAC championship and posted a program record 1,313 points at the meet. Over the four-days of conference competition, the Tigers logged 56 top-20 finishes and earned three all-conference certificates with third-place showings in the 200-free (1:36.91), 400-free (3:31.99) and 200-medley (1:45.26) relays. DePauw’s 200-medley relay also reset the program record.

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