NCAA Diving Regionals Concluded on Saturday

KALAMAZOO, MI – The NCAA Division III Diving Regionals concluded on Saturday, February 28, at Kalamazoo, as nine North Coast Athletic Conference divers competed for a chance to move on to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the swimming & diving national championships.
 
In the men's one-meter competition, Kenyon first-year Chase Smith (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) posted 494.65 points to take first to win the men’s one-meter board. Denison senior Nick Fogle (Corcoran, MN/Providence Academy) recorded 493.30 points to take second, while Big Red senior classmate Brendan Stanley (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) took third with 471.70 points. Denison sophomore Seamus McCann (Silver Spring, MD/ Bethesda Chevy Chase) recorded 448.00 points for fifth, Kenyon sophomore James Lackner (La Grange, KY/Oldham County) took 14th with 374.15 points and Denison sophomore Colton Butchko (Silver Spring, MD/Einstein) posted a score of 357.45 points for 19th in the one-meter competition.
 
In day two of the women's competition on the three-meter board, Denison senior Lu-Si Minnich (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence Central) finished in sixth, compiling a score of 425.90, while Kenyon junior Lucy Cassell-Kelly (Ann Arbor, MI/Community) placed 12th with 384.90 points and Owl sophomore Nadia Milovich (Westlake, OH/Westlake) recorded 377.25 points for 14th.
 
The qualifiers to the National Championships will be determined by first-place finishers from each board, using two of the allocated spots. If the same person finishes first on both boards, only one allocation will be used for that diver. Next, second-place finishers from each board will be selected, using two of the allocated spots. If the same person finishes second on both boards, or one/both of the athletes have already been selected, only one or no allocations will be used. This will continue with each finishing spot (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) until all the allocated spots have been assigned for each region. If there is one allocation left and two divers who have not been selected are up for qualification, finishing in the same ranking on each board, the committee will use the diver's combined score made up of their one-meter and three-meter scores. The competitor who has the highest score will be invited to the meet, earning the final allocation.
 
The 2026 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships will be held over a four-day period, March 18-21, at the IU Natatorium on the campus of IU Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana.
 

NCAC Divers Compete at Diving Regionals on Friday

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Nine North Coast Athletic Conference divers took center stage during day one of the NCAA Division III Diving Regional on Friday, February 27, at Kalamazoo College.
 
In the men's three-meter competition, Denison senior Nick Fogle (Corcoran, MN/Providence Academy) claimed first place with 491.15 points, while Kenyon first-year Chase Smith (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) finished just behind Fogle in second with 491.00  points and  Big Red senior Brendan Stanley (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) followed in third with 482.40 points. Denison sophomore Seamus McCann (Silver Spring, MD/ Bethesda Chevy Chase) placed 12th with 407.75 points, Kenyon sophomore James Lackner (La Grange, KY/Oldham County) finished 14th with 402.65 points and Big Red sophomore Colton Butchko (Silver Spring, MD/Einstein) took 15th with 397.45 points.
 
In the women's one-meter competition, Kenyon junior Lucy Cassell-Kelly (Ann Arbor, MI/Community) finished in ninth, compiling a score of 394.25. Denison senior Lu-Si Minnich (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence Central) placed 12th with 374.45 points and Kenyon sophomore Nadia Milovich (Westlake, OH/Westlake) was just behind Minnich in 13th with 374.35 points.
 
NCAA Regional Diving will conclude on Saturday, February 28, at Kalamazoo College with the men’s one-meter and women’s three-meter diving.
 
The qualifiers to the National Championships will be determined by first-place finishers from each board, using two of the allocated spots. If the same person finishes first on both boards, only one allocation will be used for that diver. Next, second-place finishers from each board will be selected, using two of the allocated spots. If the same person finishes second on both boards, or one/both of the athletes have already been selected, only one or no allocations will be used. This will continue with each finishing spot (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) until all the allocated spots have been assigned for each region. If there is one allocation left and two divers who have not been selected are up for qualification, finishing in the same ranking on each board, the committee will use the diver's combined score made up of their one-meter and three-meter scores. The competitor who has the highest score will be invited to the meet, earning the final allocation.
 
The 2026 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships will be held over a four-day period, March 18-21, at the IU Natatorium on the campus of IU Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana.

 

Nine NCAC Divers Selected for NCAA Regionals

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - The NCAA has announced the list of participants for the 2026 NCAA Division III Diving Regional events, with nine student-athletes from the North Coast Athletic Conference qualifying to compete in one of the four regional competitions across the country. Divers from Denison and Kenyon will be competing at the Region I event in both the men’s and women’s competitions on Friday-Saturday, February 27-28, at Kalamazoo College’s Natatorium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
 
On the women's side, Denison will be represented by senior Lu-Si Minnich (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence Central), while Kenyon will be represented by junior Lucy Cassell-Kelly (Ann Arbor, MI/Community) and sophomore Nadia Milovich (Westlake, OH/Westlake).
 
For the men, the NCAC will be represented by Big Red seniors Nick Fogle (Corcoran, MN/Providence Academy) and Brendan Stanley (Fort Collins, CO/Fort Collins) and sophomores Colton Butchko (Silver Spring, MD/Einstein) and Seamus McCann (Silver Spring, MD/ Bethesda Chevy Chase) along with Owl sophomore James Lackner (La Grange, KY/Oldham County) and first-year Chase Smith (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield).
 
To qualify for participation in the regional diving meets, a diver must achieve the qualifying standard at least twice on the same board during the qualification period. More specifically, the two qualifying scores on the same board (i.e., 1-meter or 3-meter) must be achieved on two different dates of competition (one of which may be a conference championship) during the qualification period.
 
Each regional meet will be given a fixed number of qualifiers. This number will be determined by the number of divers eligible to compete in a given region who have also submitted all necessary information to compete in regional competition. At the end of the qualification period, all divers eligible to compete in a regional qualifier will be determined by the criteria listed above. The number of eligible divers at each region will be divided by the number of eligible divers at all regions and then multiplied by 24 for men and 29 for women to determine the ratio for the number of assigned qualification spots. Regardless of ratios, no region will have less than two qualifiers.
 
The qualifiers to the National Championships will be determined by first-place finishers from each board, using two of the allocated spots. If the same person finishes first on both boards, only one allocation will be used for that diver. Next, second-place finishers from each board will be selected, using two of the allocated spots. If the same person finishes second on both boards, or one/both of the athletes have already been selected, only one or no allocations will be used. This will continue with each finishing spot (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) until all the allocated spots have been assigned for each region. If there is one allocation left and two divers who have not been selected are up for qualification, finishing in the same ranking on each board, the committee will use the diver's combined score made up of their one-meter and three-meter scores. The competitor who has the highest score will be invited to the meet, earning the final allocation.
 
The 2026 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships will be held over a four-day period, March 18-21, at the IU Natatorium on the campus of IU Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Related Stories

Related Videos

Now Playing: