NCAA Division III Championships, Night 2 Finals: Sophia Verkleeren Blasts 400 IM NCAA Record
Sophia Verkleeren’s domination of Division III swimming has been comprehensive. The Williams College senior ratcheted it up even higher Wednesday night.
Verkleeren destroyed a decade-old NCAA record by nearly two seconds in capturing her seventh career NCAA title in the 400 individual medley. Verkleeren went 4:11.23, winning the race by more than five seconds. It as one of three NCAA records in the session, with Cooper Costello in the 100 fly and the MIT 200 free relay.
All the action from the second night of competitions at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, where the NYU women and Denison men are in pole position in the team standings heading into Friday.
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 17 1. Nyu 242 2. Mit 216 3. Denison 175 4. Kenyon 173 5. Emory 172 6. Chicago 93 7. Williams 89 8. Pomona-Pitzer 66 9. Hope 64 10. Swarthmore 53 11. Calvin 48 12. Tufts 46 13. C-M-S 41 14. Bowdoin 37 15. Case Western 27 16. Amherst 21 17. Ithaca 20 18. Johns Hopkins 16 18. Carleton 16 20. Trinity University (Tx) 13 21. Suny Geneseo 12 21. Albion 12 23. Rowan 9 24. Middlebury 7 25. Gettysburg 6 25. Wash U 6 27. Salisbury 5 27. Loras 5 29. Wheaton IL 4 29. Hamilton 4 29. Kean University 4 32. Colby 2 33. Chapman 1
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 18 1. Denison 166 2. Kenyon 126 3. Chicago 124 4. Nyu 121.5 5. Emory 116.5 6. Carnegie Mellon 105 7. Calvin 88 8. Centre 60 9. Mit 59 10. Conn College 58 11. Coast Guard 56 12. Rit 55 13. Bates 49 14. Williams 48 15. Tufts 45 16. Johns Hopkins 42 17. Wash U 39 17. Suny Geneseo 39 19. W&L 31 19. Tcnj 31 21. Hamilton 27 22. UC Santa Cruz 25 23. C-M-S 20 23. St. Mary's MD 20 25. Swarthmore 19 26. Hope 18 27. Rhodes 15 28. Pomona-Pitzer 14 28. Grinnell 14 30. Alfred State 12 31. Saint Vincent 11 32. Amherst 8 33. Case Western 7 34. John Carroll 6 35. Carleton 5 35. Augustana 5 37. Grove City 4 37. Trinity University (Tx) 4 39. St. John's 3 39. Asbury 3 41. Hobart 2 42. Whittier 1 42. Uw-Eau Claire 1
Women’s 400 individual medley
Sophia Verkleeren finished off the IM double in style. Her time of 4:11.23 obliterates the 13-year-old record of her Williams College forerunner, Caroline Wilson, who went 4:13.14 all the way back in 2012. The winning time last year was just 4:15.67.
Verkleeren made a mockery of that. She went 4:15.75 in prelims, then was 4.5 seconds quicker at night. It’s the fifth individual title of Verkleeren’s career – she completed a three-peat in the 200 IM Wednesday night – to go with two 400 medley relay titles. Verkleeren didn’t swim the 400 IM last year, opting for the 100 back and 200 back, finishing second in both. She won the 200 back as a sophomore.
Second was Natalie Garre, the 500 free champ who went 4:16.59. Emily Harris of Denison went 4:18.40, with Swarthmore’s Quinn Weygant fourth. She had been fifth last year. Freshmen Sarah Bernard of MIT and Bethany Spangler of NYU were fifth and sixth, respectively. Calista Lynch won the B final for NYU.
The 2024 champ, Neely Burns of Trinity, struggled at night, finishing eighth in 4:24.11, 2.3 seconds slower than prelims.
Event 10 Women 400 Yard IM
=========================================================================
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Verkleeren, Sophia SR Williams 4:15.75 4:11.23 20
26.72 57.06 (30.34)
1:28.53 (31.47) 1:59.75 (31.22)
2:34.63 (34.88) 3:10.80 (36.17)
3:41.14 (30.34) 4:11.23 (30.09)
2 Garre, Natalie FR Bowdoin 4:18.56 4:16.59 17
27.15 58.93 (31.78)
1:31.15 (32.22) 2:02.87 (31.72)
2:40.64 (37.77) 3:18.71 (38.07)
3:48.17 (29.46) 4:16.59 (28.42)
3 Harris, Emily JR Denison 4:19.02 4:18.40 16
27.00 57.58 (30.58)
1:29.40 (31.82) 2:00.84 (31.44)
2:39.55 (38.71) 3:18.95 (39.40)
3:48.85 (29.90) 4:18.40 (29.55)
4 Weygandt, Quinn JR Swarthmore 4:21.64 4:20.51 15
27.49 58.47 (30.98)
1:31.93 (33.46) 2:05.00 (33.07)
2:42.97 (37.97) 3:21.47 (38.50)
3:51.58 (30.11) 4:20.51 (28.93)
5 Bernard, Sarah FR MIT 4:21.28 4:21.17 14
27.62 59.67 (32.05)
1:34.80 (35.13) 2:09.05 (34.25)
2:45.79 (36.74) 3:22.21 (36.42)
3:52.47 (30.26) 4:21.17 (28.70)
6 Spangler, Bethany FR NYU 4:23.84 4:21.68 13
27.29 58.48 (31.19)
1:33.87 (35.39) 2:07.69 (33.82)
2:44.35 (36.66) 3:22.22 (37.87)
3:52.55 (30.33) 4:21.68 (29.13)
7 Liu, Meredith JR Emory 4:23.67 4:23.27 12
27.24 58.24 (31.00)
1:32.59 (34.35) 2:06.52 (33.93)
2:44.35 (37.83) 3:22.45 (38.10)
3:53.55 (31.10) 4:23.27 (29.72)
8 Burns, Neely JR TRIN-TX 4:21.57 4:24.11 11
28.34 1:01.20 (32.86)
1:35.85 (34.65) 2:11.32 (35.47)
2:46.85 (35.53) 3:23.78 (36.93)
3:54.62 (30.84) 4:24.11 (29.49)
Men’s 400 individual medley
Kenyon’s Kirill Sidorko picked up the win with a strong final 100 to pull away, winning in 3:48.75. He was seven tenths up on NYU freshman Max Nechydyuk.
As he did in the 500 free, Coast Guard Academy’s Sean Lyman was the top seed entering finals but slid, this time to third in 3:51.31. Washington University’s Marco Minai came home in 25.27 to go from sixth to fourth.
Last year’s runner-up, Ryan Higgins of TCNJ, was sixth in finals, a spot ahead of last year’s bronze medalist, Kenyon’s Ethan Manske. Victor Derani of NYU, who had been sixth as a freshman, won the B final in 3:52.53, the seventh-fastest time of the night.
Event 11 Men 400 Yard IM
=========================================================================
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Sidorko, Kirill JR Kenyon 3:50.84 3:48.75 20
23.61 51.37 (27.76)
1:22.06 (30.69) 1:51.58 (29.52)
2:23.29 (31.71) 2:55.22 (31.93)
3:22.40 (27.18) 3:48.75 (26.35)
2 Nechydyuk, Max FR NYU 3:52.74 3:49.45 17
23.90 52.14 (28.24)
1:21.88 (29.74) 1:50.84 (28.96)
2:22.74 (31.90) 2:55.17 (32.43)
3:22.56 (27.39) 3:49.45 (26.89)
3 Lyman, Sean SR Coast Guard 3:50.29 3:51.31 16
23.78 52.05 (28.27)
1:21.89 (29.84) 1:51.20 (29.31)
2:23.47 (32.27) 2:56.76 (33.29)
3:24.44 (27.68) 3:51.31 (26.87)
4 Minai, Marco SO Wash U. 3:53.38 3:51.84 15
24.18 51.71 (27.53)
1:22.57 (30.86) 1:52.88 (30.31)
2:25.86 (32.98) 2:59.70 (33.84)
3:26.57 (26.87) 3:51.84 (25.27)
5 Hu, Grant FR MIT 3:53.62 3:51.90 14
24.46 51.95 (27.49)
1:22.24 (30.29) 1:51.60 (29.36)
2:24.17 (32.57) 2:57.49 (33.32)
3:25.13 (27.64) 3:51.90 (26.77)
6 Higgins, Ryan SR TCNJ 3:52.31 3:52.21 13
24.57 53.15 (28.58)
1:23.47 (30.32) 1:52.97 (29.50)
2:25.72 (32.75) 2:58.96 (33.24)
3:26.54 (27.58) 3:52.21 (25.67)
7 Manske, Ethan JR Kenyon 3:53.30 3:53.68 12
24.42 52.19 (27.77)
1:22.20 (30.01) 1:51.83 (29.63)
2:25.30 (33.47) 3:00.15 (34.85)
3:27.42 (27.27) 3:53.68 (26.26)
8 Fitzgerald, Kevin SR Grinnell 3:53.02 3:56.02 11
25.10 52.63 (27.53)
1:22.54 (29.91) 1:52.44 (29.90)
2:27.16 (34.72) 3:02.36 (35.20)
3:29.67 (27.31) 3:56.02 (26.35)
Women’s 100 butterfly
MIT’s Sydney Smith was the only swimmer in the 53s in prelims and in finals, and while she was slower at night, she just had enough to hold off the field. Smith’s 53.96 was a tenth quicker than NYU’s Nicole Ranile. Smith was 12th in this event last year.
NYU’s consolation was a 2-4-8 finish, with Hope Xayaveth upgrading from eighth last year to fourth and Reina Gomez in eighth. Denison’s Phoebe Ferguson finished third in 54.24. MIT’s Alex Turvey, the reigning silver medalist, finishing fifth in 54.27.
Event 12 Women 100 Yard Butterfly
=========================================================================
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Smith, Sydney SO MIT 53.74 53.96 20
24.82 53.96 (29.14)
2 Ranile, Nicole JR NYU 54.03 54.06 17
25.26 54.06 (28.80)
3 Ferguson, Phoebe JR Denison 54.47 54.24 16
25.23 54.24 (29.01)
4 Xayaveth, Hope SO NYU 54.08 54.26 15
25.43 54.26 (28.83)
5 Turvey, Alex 5Y MIT 54.30 54.27 14
25.42 54.27 (28.85)
6 Byun, Sun Young JR C-M-S 54.86 54.78 13
25.09 54.78 (29.69)
7 Farrell, Maggie 5Y Calvin 54.69 54.95 12
25.50 54.95 (29.45)
8 Gomez, Reina SO NYU 54.88 55.14 11
26.16 55.14 (28.98)
Men’s 100 butterfly
A year ago, Cooper Costello was disqualified in the A final of the 100 fly and watched teammate Jesse Ssengonzi set the NCAA record. Thursday night, Costello made up for it in a big way, winning in 45.97 to undercut his old mate’s record by nearly three tenths. Ssengonzi had gone 46.28.
Costello was more than a half-second quicker than Calvin’s David Bajwa. Connecticut College’s Justin Finkel, the 500 free winner, was third in 46.56, .02 ahead of 200 IM champ Brayden Morford of Carnegie Mellon.
Event 13 Men 100 Yard Butterfly
=========================================================================
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Costello, Cooper SO Chicago 46.44 45.97 20
21.39 45.97 (24.58)
2 Bajwa, David SR Calvin 46.61 46.54 17
21.69 46.54 (24.85)
3 Finkel, Justin SR Conn College 47.03 46.56 16
21.81 46.56 (24.75)
4 Morford, Brayden SO Carnegie Mellon 46.76 46.58 15
21.49 46.58 (25.09)
5 Fritz, Matt SR W&L 47.21 47.25 14
21.95 47.25 (25.30)
6 Clapp, Avery JR Johns Hopkins 47.37 47.31 13
22.11 47.31 (25.20)
7 Yin, Dylan SR Emory 47.53 47.65 12
21.88 47.65 (25.77)
8 Wilson, Cami JR Swarthmore 47.46 47.81 11
21.89 47.81 (25.92)
Women’s 200 freestyle
The only question about Kaley McIntyre was if the NYU junior would take down the NCAA record. Instead, she merely competed a three-peat in the 200 free in 1:44.88, .06 off the NCAA record that has remained defiant since 2011 in the hands of Kendra Stern (1:44.82). McIntyre won in 1:47.44 as a freshman and 1:46.05 last year.
Kenyon’s Molly Haag finished second in 1:48.43, .16 ahead of Emory’s Penelope Helm. MIT’s Emma Roberson led three 1:49s, plus two in the B final. Kenyon’s Bengisu Caymaz was the fourth-fastest of the night session in 1:49.16, but last year’s fourth-place finisher was restrained to ninth place after a down morning swim.
Event 14 Women 200 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 McIntyre, Kaley JR NYU 1:46.54 1:44.88 20
24.56 51.15 (26.59)
1:18.07 (26.92) 1:44.88 (26.81)
2 Haag, Molly JR Kenyon 1:49.97 1:48.43 17
25.44 53.04 (27.60)
1:20.89 (27.85) 1:48.43 (27.54)
3 Helm, Penelope 5Y Emory 1:49.44 1:48.59 16
25.21 52.45 (27.24)
1:20.19 (27.74) 1:48.59 (28.40)
4 Roberson, Ella SO MIT 1:49.82 1:49.42 15
25.67 53.35 (27.68)
1:21.49 (28.14) 1:49.42 (27.93)
5 Zhao, Karen SR Chicago 1:50.11 1:49.51 14
25.28 53.01 (27.73)
1:21.10 (28.09) 1:49.51 (28.41)
6 Brown, Quinn JR Denison 1:50.20 1:49.65 13
25.84 53.45 (27.61)
1:21.37 (27.92) 1:49.65 (28.28)
7 Wala, Aanya SO NYU 1:50.07 1:50.07 12
25.82 53.85 (28.03)
1:21.99 (28.14) 1:50.07 (28.08)
8 Swan, Katherine SO Emory 1:50.04 1:50.31 11
25.49 53.03 (27.54)
1:21.63 (28.60) 1:50.31 (28.68)
Men’s 200 freestyle
Colin Twiss went 1:35.68 to capture a scintillating race of Jack Hill of Denison. The Coast Guard Academy senior survived the 24.38 last 50 from Hill by .14 seconds, Hill going 1:35.82. Chicago freshman John Butler was third in 1:36.58.
Hamilton’s Nathaniel Taft was fourth, after finishing second last year, a spot ahead of Twiss. Washington & Lee’s Dalton Jobe and Oliver Schalet of Williams switched places from last year, in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Event 15 Men 200 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA Record: * 1:34.74 3/16/2023 James McChesney, TCNJ
Meet Qualify: 1:38.08
2024 Winner: 1:34.95 James McChesney, TCNJ
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Twiss, Colin SR Coast Guard 1:36.36 1:35.68
21.86 24.23 24.53 25.06
2 Hill, Jack SO Denison 1:37.09 1:35.82
22.18 24.59 24.67 24.38
3 Butler, John FR Chicago 1:37.47 1:36.58
22.11 24.83 24.83 24.81
4 Taft, Nathaniel SO Hamilton 1:36.60 1:36.95
22.23 24.44 24.99 25.29
5 Jobe, Dalton JR W&L 1:37.26 1:37.17
23.00 24.66 24.62 24.89
6 Schalet, Oliver SR Williams 1:37.00 1:37.49
22.82 24.88 24.90 24.89
7 Kim, Nathan FR MIT 1:37.21 1:39.41
25.48 27.10
8 Vernhes, Sebi SR Chicago 1:37.48 1:40.28
22.44 25.09 26.50 26.25
Women’s 1-meter diving
Kailee Payne is the 1-meter champ for the second straight year, scoring 486.30. It’s less than the 515.15 that put her within a point of the NCAA record last year, but still another trophy for the Ithaca senior. She also won 3-meter last year. She was the high scorer in both prelims and finals, finishing 15 points ahead of Case Western’s Abigail Wilkov. Wilkov was seventh last year.
Carleton freshman Nina Schwab scored 438.20 for third. Sydney Bluestein, the 2023 champion, was fourth, having finished eighth last year. MIT’s Fiora Beratahani was in the top six for a second straight year, finishing fifth.
Last year’s silver medalist, Veronica Fong of Chicago, finished 10th. Cynthia Tang (fourth last year) and Lilia Atanda (fifth) finishing 12th and 15th, respectively.
Event 16 Women 1 mtr Diving
=========================================================================
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Payne, Kailee SR Ithaca 466.30 486.30 20
2 Wilkov, Abigail SR Case Western 457.60 470.75 17
3 Schwab, Nina FR Carleton 422.70 438.20 16
4 Bluestein, Sydney SR Amherst 409.20 433.75 15
5 Beratahani, Fiora SO MIT 425.40 426.45 14
6 Khan, Ariana SR Emory 418.95 424.25 13
7 Schmidt, Issara SR NYU 419.35 417.40 12
8 Allen, Sumiye FR Chicago 410.50 399.00 11
Women’s 200 freestyle relay
MIT didn’t just set an NCAA record. It didn’t just win by nearly a second and a half.
It set a picturesque, near perfect record of 1:30.00 on the nose. Alex Turvey, Sydney Smith, Ella Roberson and Annika Naveen downed the record of 1:30.39 from Kenyon in 2022. MIT had been sixth last year.
Pomona-Pitzer was .06 quicker than it was last year but had to settle for second this time around. Denison went from second last year to third this time around in 1:51.54. Kenyon, Emory and Hope were clustered within .07 from fourth to sixth, with NYU seventh thanks to Kaley McIntyre delivering the only 21-point split (21.96) of the race.
Event 17 Women 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
==================================================================================
School Prelims Finals Points
==================================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 MIT 1:31.23 1:30.00 40
1) Turvey, Alex 5Y 2) Smith, Sydney SO
3) Roberson, Ella SO 4) Naveen, Annika JR
22.84 45.65 (22.81)
1:07.76 (22.11) 1:30.00 (22.24)
2 Pomona-Pitzer 1:32.21 1:31.48 34
1) Coppo, Francesca SO 2) Lee, Joy FR
3) Pelka, Chesna JR 4) Mello, Valerie SR
22.95 46.12 (23.17)
1:09.28 (23.16) 1:31.48 (22.20)
3 Denison 1:32.77 1:31.54 32
1) Vogen, Avery SR 2) Ferguson, Phoebe JR
3) Palmroos, Maja SR 4) Kadlecik, Grace SR
23.19 46.11 (22.92)
1:09.15 (23.04) 1:31.54 (22.39)
4 Kenyon 1:32.74 1:31.92 30
1) Eisenbeis, Gwen JR 2) Fadely, Jennah SR
3) Geboy, Sydney SR 4) Torrecillas-Jouault, Lisa JR
23.43 46.34 (22.91)
1:09.22 (22.88) 1:31.92 (22.70)
5 Emory 1:32.06 1:31.98 28
1) Kennedy, Ava SR 2) Crysel, Caitlin FR
3) Boorjian, Natalie SO 4) Wendt, Louisa FR
22.63 45.43 (22.80)
1:08.60 (23.17) 1:31.98 (23.38)
6 Hope 1:32.50 1:31.99 26
1) Gidley, Greta SR 2) Ryle, Lauren SR
3) Turner, Bella JR 4) Wasiniak, Laurel JR
23.17 46.37 (23.20)
1:09.18 (22.81) 1:31.99 (22.81)
7 NYU 1:32.75 1:32.26 24
1) Xayaveth, Hope SO 2) McIntyre, Kaley JR
3) Uchino, Natsuki FR 4) Oldham, Isabel SR
23.68 45.64 (21.96)
1:09.07 (23.43) 1:32.26 (23.19)
8 Calvin 1:32.88 1:32.38 22
1) Farrell, Maggie 5Y 2) Bengelink, Meghan JR
3) Merkel, Emma SO 4) Sonday, Sydney SR
23.12 46.51 (23.39)
1:09.81 (23.30) 1:32.38 (22.57)
Men’s 200 freestyle relay
Chicago went 1:18.51 to pick up the victory, six tenths quicker than it took Kenyon to win the race last year. Jonathan Tang, Rylan Kruep, Igor Benderskii and Sebi Vernhes led the way, the last two finishing up in 19.2s.
NYU was second for the second straight year in 1:19.03. Calvin finished third in 1:19.36, with Carnegie Mellon fourth in 1:19.51. Denison was fifth, a spot ahead of last year’s champion Kenyon.
Event 18 Men 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
==================================================================================
School Prelims Finals Points
==================================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Chicago 1:20.01 1:18.51 40
1) Tang, Jonathan SR 2) Kruep, Rylan SO
3) Benderskii, Igor SO 4) Vernhes, Sebi SR
20.23 39.98 (19.75)
59.22 (19.24) 1:18.51 (19.29)
2 NYU 1:20.37 1:19.03 34
1) Downs, Pierce SO 2) Watanakun, Ajay SR
3) Young, Derek JR 4) Wehbe, Greg SO
20.17 39.74 (19.57)
59.62 (19.88) 1:19.03 (19.41)
3 Calvin 1:20.13 1:19.36 32
1) Bajwa, David SR 2) Molin, Vlad 5Y
3) Seidelman, Josh SR 4) Platt, Charles JR
19.91 39.96 (20.05)
59.77 (19.81) 1:19.36 (19.59)
4 Carnegie Mellon 1:20.10 1:19.51 30
1) Morford, Brayden SO 2) Peitler, Matt FR
3) Jones, Cam 5Y 4) Deshpande, Arnav JR
20.01 39.54 (19.53)
59.91 (20.37) 1:19.51 (19.60)
5 Denison 1:20.14 1:19.57 28
1) Hill, Jack SO 2) Daly, Patrick SR
3) Beduschi, Andre SO 4) Hensel, Nickolas FR
20.10 39.97 (19.87)
1:00.05 (20.08) 1:19.57 (19.52)
6 Kenyon 1:19.74 1:19.62 26
1) Dragojlovic, Djordje JR 2) Abrahamson, Neil FR
3) Stluka, Spencer FR 4) Dunson, Peter SO
19.80 39.87 (20.07)
59.89 (20.02) 1:19.62 (19.73)
7 Emory 1:20.61 1:20.14 24
1) Yin, Dylan SR 2) Bradshaw, Johnny SR
3) Lahmann, Nolan SR 4) Bjornstad, Caden JR
20.22 40.18 (19.96)
1:00.14 (19.96) 1:20.14 (20.00)
8 RIT 1:20.40 1:21.05 22
1) Atanasoff, Mike SR 2) Noga, Eric SO
3) Clancy, Ryan JR 4) Scheib, Drew SR
20.24 40.92 (20.68)
1:01.17 (20.25) 1:21.05 (19.88)
