Denison Men & Kenyon Women Lead After Night Two

GRANVILLE, OH - The Denison men and Kenyon women currently lead the team standings following the second full day of competition at the 2026 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships at the Trumbull Aquatics Center on the campus of Denison University. The Big Red won three events on night two to remain in first place with 708.5 points, while the Owl women captured four titles to take sole possession of the team lead with 719.0 points.
 
Kenyon sits in second in the men’s standings with 597.5 points after winning one event on Thursday evening, followed by John Carroll (360.0), DePauw (350.0), Wabash (318.0), Oberlin (260.0), Wooster (249.0), Ohio Wesleyan (179.0) and Wittenberg (97.0). In the women's competition, Denison sits in second with 602.0 points after winning one event on the night, followed by DePauw (475.0), John Carroll (325.0), Wooster (256.0), Wittenberg (226.0), Oberlin (213.0) and Ohio Wesleyan (174.0).

To start the night off, Denison collected 94 points in the men’s team standings with three top-five finishers in the 500 freestyle, highlighted by sophomore George Goins (Charlotte, NC/McCallie School) taking gold in an NCAA “B” cut time of 4:26.22. Kenyon pulled within two points of the Big Red in the team standings, 328-326, following the 500 free thanks to four top-eight finishes, while Wabash remained ahead of DePauw in third, 221-215. Denison junior Jack Hill (Leighton Buzzard, U.K./Cedars Upper) earned the Big Red their fourth straight 200 IM title, posting an NCAA “B” cut time of 1:47.02. Denison padded its lead with 160 points in the event, moving 103 points ahead of second-place Kenyon, 488-385, while DePauw moved into third with 255 points over Wabash’s 254. In the 50 free, Kenyon senior Djordje Dragojlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Nada Dimic) defended his title in an NCAA “B” cut time of 19.96. Denison remained in first overall with 638.5 points, followed by the Owls at 535.5, while John Carroll took over third with 299 points. The Denison men closed the night with a first-place finish in the 400 medley relay, as first-year Ben Bevill (Chattanooga, TN/McCallie School), junior Liam Nelson (Pakkret, Thailand/International School Bangkok), first-year Sam Hibbert (Toronto, Canada/Crestwood Prep), and Hill touched the wall in an NCAA “B” cut time of 3:12.79.

In the first women’s event of the evening, Kenyon brought the 500 freestyle title back to Gambier and collected 188 points to take sole possession of the team lead over Denison, 320-231, highlighted by senior Molly Haag (Middleton, WI/Middleton) winning gold in an NCAA “B” cut time of 4:51.06. Kenyon sophomore Kelsey Van Eldik (Newcastle, Australia/Merewether) earned the Owls their sixth-straight 200 IM title with an NCAA “B” cut time of 2:03.72. Following the event, Kenyon remained in first with 410 points, Denison totaled 320, and DePauw added 109 points to pull within 32 points of the Big Red at 288. Kenyon senior Lisa Torrecillas-Jouault (Le Mans, France/CENS) helped the Owls maintain their lead by winning the 50 free in an NCAA “B” cut time of 23.21. Denison earned 159 points in the event to close within 25 points of Kenyon, 504-479, while DePauw remained in third with 375 points after adding 133 from the race. In the diving well, Denison senior Lu-Si Minnich (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence Central) captured the Big Red’s fourth-consecutive one-meter title with a regional-qualifying score of 421.30, while the Kenyon women collected 145 points on the board to extend their lead to 109 points (649-540). Kenyon closed out night two with a victory in the 400 medley relay, as the quartet of senior Gwen Eisenbeis (Okemos, MI/Williamston), Van Eldik, first-year Nora Kortuem (Northfield, MN/Northfield), and Torrecillas-Jouault finished in an NCAA “B” cut time of 3:40.97.

The 2026 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships continue through Saturday evening. Preliminary events start at 9:30 a.m., while finals begin at 6:00 p.m.
 

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