NCAC Teams Secure Five Titles, One National Record & Three Runner-Up Finishes

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Five NCAA titles, a new NCAA Record and 27 All-American nods highlighted the efforts of North Coast Athletic Conference student-athletes on the opening night of the 2026 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships on Wednesday, March 18, at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
 
Defending champion Denison leads the men's standings after five events with 118 points, while one point separates second and third place, as 2025 runner-up Emory sits in second (97) and Chicago is in third (96). Kenyon is in fourth with 83 points and NYU is in fifth with 71 points.
 
After four events, NYU leads the women's standings with 121 points with Kenyon following in second with 108.5 points. Emory is in third with 92.5 points, while Denison is in fourth with 63.5 points and Swarthmore rounds out the top five with 48 points.
 
Men's 500 Freestyle
Denison sophomore George Goins (Charlotte, NC/McCallie School) claimed the first national title of the night, touching the wall in 4:22.30 to bring the NCAA title back to Granville for the first time since 2014. Kenyon senior Teo Jaworski (Ann Arbor, MI/Pioneer) followed in third with a time of 4:23.75.

Women's 500 Freestyle
Kenyon senior Molly Haag (Middleton, WI/Middleton) collected the first national title on the women's side, clocking in at 4:46.81. Denison senior Emily Harris (Nashville, TN/Ensworth) took runner-up honors after touching the wall in 4:48.82, while Big Red senior Quinn Brown (Portland, OR/Grant) took fourth in 4:51.36 and Kenyon sophomore Nora Lee Brown (St. Louis, MO/Kirkwood) placed sixth in 4:52.11. Also noteworthy, DePauw sophomore Edie Patterson (Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso) delivered a second-place finish in the consolation finals, scoring seven points to propel the Tigers into fifth place to start the meet.
 
Men's 200 IM
Chicago junior Cooper Costello claimed the 200 IM national title in 1:45.13, while Denison was represented by four athletes in the event, two in the "B" finals and two in the "A" finals, to collect 38 points to move into first in the team standings. In the "A" finals, Big Red junior Jack Hill (Leighton Buzzard, U.K./Cedars Upper) claimed a runner-up finish in a time of 1:45.52, while classmate Devin Testin (Mequon, WI/Homestead) took sixth in 1:47.66.
 
Women's 200 IM
Hope fifth-year Greta Gidley outpaced the field in the "A" finals with a time of 1:59.20 to collect the 200 IM national title. Kenyon sophomore Kelsey Van Eldik (Newcastle, Australia/Merewether), the lone NCAC swimmer in the "A" finals, took runner-up honors in 2:01.25.
 

Men's 50 Freestyle
After a third-place finish a season ago, Kenyon senior Djordje Dragojlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Nada Dimic) captured the 50 free title in a time of 19.42, which was just 0.05 seconds off the NCAA record. Denison sophomore Nick Hensel (Houston, TX/St. Johns) placed fifth in the event, touching the wall in 19.92. Also noteworthy, Kenyon sophomore Spencer Stluka (Oregon, WI/Oregon) competed in two swim-off's to earn a spot in the "B" finals after tying fellow NCAC athlete first-year Cam Blevins-Mohr (Lake Stevens, WA/Lake Stevens) from Denison. Stluka placed seventh in the consolation finals, earning the Owls another two points.
 
Women's 50 Freestyle
NYU senior Kaley McIntyre won her fourth-consecutive national title in the women's 50 free with a time of 22.45, becoming just the second women's swimmer in NCAA history to claim four-straight titles in the event. Kenyon senior Lisa Torrecillas-Jouault (Le Mans, France/CENS) placed seventh in the "A" finals finishing in 23.41 to collect 12 team points for the Owls.
 
Men's Three-Meter Diving
Denison senior Nick Fogle (Corcoran, MN/Orono) rebounded from an eighth-place finish in 2025 to win the men's three-meter title with a score of 530.35, marking the Big Red's first title in the event since 2017. Kenyon first-year Chase Smith (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) recorded a score of 513.85 to place fourth in the "A" finals.
 
Men's 400 Medley Relay
The Bates squad of Timothy Johnson, Marrich Somridhivej, Nathaniel Oppenheim, Max Cory claimed the national championship in the 400 medley relay after touching the wall in a new NCAA record time of 3:08.43. Kenyon quartet of juniors Peter Dunson (Durham, NC/Trinity School), Noel Tumbasz (Budapest, Hungary/ELTE Radnóti Miklós Gyakorló Gimnázium), and Roman Savage (Claremont, CA/Claremont) and Djordje Dragojlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Nada Dimic) placed fifth in a time of 3:12.41, while Denison's team of sophomore Ben Bevill (Chattanooga, TN/McCallie School), junior Liam Nelson (Pakkret, Thailand/International School Bangkok), first-year Cam Blevins-Mohr (Lake Stevens, WA/Lake Stevens) and junior Jack Hill (Leighton Buzzard, U.K./Cedars Upper) touched the wall in 3:13.31 for sixth.
 
Women's 400 Medley Relay
The Kenyon squad of senior Gwen Eisenbeis (Okemos, MI/Williamston), sophomore Kelsey Van Eldik (Newcastle, Australia/Merewether), first-year Nora Kortuem (Northfield, MN/Northfield) and senior Lisa Torrecillas-Jouault (Le Mans, France/CENS) won the national championship in the 400 medley relay in an NCAA record time of 3:37.94, breaking the Owls previous record set in 2022. The Denison team of juniors Jassy Park (Lakeway, TX/Hyde Park) and Riley Tofflemire (Oakville, ON/St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School) and seniors Phoebe Ferguson (Columbus, OH/Grandview Heights) and Emily Harris (Nashville, TN/Ensworth) touched in 3:42.99 for fifth.
 
The 2026 national meet continues through Saturday evening at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana, with prelim sessions beginning each morning at 10:00 a.m. and final sessions starting nightly at 6:00 p.m.

Related Stories

Related Videos

Now Playing: