The third place finish by the DePauw University men’s swimming and diving team at the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championships came down to the final event of the meet. Senior Kurt Swieter out-touched The College of Wooster by 0.34 seconds at the end to clinch the third place finish.
The four day long meet took place at Denison University, who ultimately took first place. Head Coach Adam Cohen was excited about what the meet showed for the team. “I think a number of guys had some great times,” said Cohen. “A lot of our younger guys were doing it for the seniors, but they were also saying, ‘It’s my time.’ and I feel a lot better about our future right now.”
The Tigers had many standout performances throughout the meet. Four relay teams, and seniors Sam McManus and Eric Addy earned all-conference honors. McManus earned honors in the 100 yard breaststroke and the 200 yard breaststroke. Addy’s dives in the 1m and 3m events earned him his honors.
First-year Alex Murlin broke a DePauw record in the 100 yard individual medley on the third day of swimming. His time of 52.91 is about two seconds faster than junior Adam Pircon’s previous record of 54.23.
Top sprint finishes include sophomore Aidan Schurig’s ninth place finish in the 100 yard freestyle and sixth place in the 50 yard freestyle. Senior Sam Wagner finished with a time of 21.11 in the 50 yard free to solidify a 12th place finish.
Pircon finished his 500 yard freestyle in 4:36.68. Swieter followed less than a second behind to touch 12th with a time of 4:37.19.
Sophomore Charlie Stewart-Bates finished his mile in 16:34.26. The only other swimmer in the mile was senior David Freund who touched 13th with a time of 16:53.71.
The Tigers strong showing continued in the stroke events. Following Murlin’s finish in the 100 IM, senior Andrew Byerly finished ninth with a time of 53.97. Pircon grabbed a fourth place finish in the 200 yard backstroke finishing in 1:52.25.
Senior Mitchell Davis followed McManus in both the 100 yard and 200 yard breaststroke. He finished ninth in the 100 breast (58.38) and seventh in the 200 breast (2:06.18). Davis also scored high points for the Tigers with a sixth place finish in the 200 yard individual medley (1:54.15).
The Tigers anxiously await for the names of the swimmers who will have the opportunity to compete at the NCAA championships held in Indianapolis, IN from Mar. 21 through Mar. 24.