More Records Broken at Day One Finals

After this morning’s prelims, there was much hype entering the first day of finals at the 2009 Division III Swimming Men’s and Women’s National Championships. Entering the evening session, three NCAA records had been broken along with four Championship meet records. With this in mind, everyone knew that tonight’s times would be fast. But few could have projected a night like this.

The women’s 500-yard freestyle started the night off much the same way it started the morning. After a spectacular race through the first 300 or so, Liz Horvat of Emory and Kendra Stern of Amherst were swimming strong.  Stern swam long and easy and just couldn't counter when Horvat went at the 300 mark.  The Eagle finished two seconds ahead of Stern with a time of 4:47.04, giving her another NCAA Division III record and a new trophy for her display case.  Rounding out the top three were Stern with a time of 4:48.15 and Hilary Callen, freshman out of Denison, at 4:53.30. Emory coach Jon Howell was very pleased with the results of the race, stating that “Liz has been training all year for this. She has become a pro at this, and she swam a great race.”

The men’s 500-yard freestyle also did not disappoint. All eyes were on WashU's Alex Beyer and defending champions David Curtis of Denison.  The pair split a blistering pace through the 200 mark, but they just couldn't shake Amherst's Alex Fraser.  By the 350 mark, Fraser used his superior height advantage to put the race away with another NCAA - 4:21.95. Alex Beyer finished second in 4:23.60, just 1/10 ahead of the defending champion Curtis.


Next up was the women’s 200-yard individual medley. No records were broken in this race, but it was a great display nonetheless. Logan Todhunter, who put up a 23.8 fly split in the morning set the pace early on and held onto the lead throughout the backstroke, prompting everyone to wonder if the freshman could keep the magic going.  Kenyon had a freshman of their own, however, Alisa Vereshchagin, who pulled even with a 34.4 breaststroke split.  That left a six-woman drag race for the final fifty.  Half of the field split sub-29, but it was Kenyon’s Tina Ertel finishing first in 2:02.31, squeaking by a Williams’ duo of senior Amanda Nicholson (2:02.74) and Todhunter (2:03.15).  The Williams pair also helped the team to a fifth place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, held later in the night. Williams coach Steve Kuster said later that Todhunter was “kicking and screaming about having to swim the IM, but afterwards was pumped with the results.” Look for Todhunter to be a force in the future as she is very young and very talented.

The men’s 200-yard individual medley was one of the best races of the night. Nelson Westby, uncharacteristically wearing a full body suit, challenged all comers to try to keep up with him.  The past 100-fly champion left the field in the dust in the fly.  Emory's Harrison Brown made a run in the backstroke, but Westby countered by dropping a 30.41 breaststroke split - a full second better than the field.  That split also took a lot out of the defending champion.  Westby needed every bit of his lead as he swam the slowest freestyle split of all the finalists.  The leading challenger was teammate Jake Koch who cut Westby's 2 second lead down to a 4/10 margin of victory.  Kenyon junior Blair Withington proved strong with a time of 1:49.56.

Asked about the race, Westby simply stated that “it was a great race. The freestyle hurt, but it was great to have a teammate (Jacob Koch) in the next lane to push me along.” Westby’s family was also “delighted with the results” and said that “there was nothing better than going one-two.”

In the morning, Kenyon's Liz Carlton broke Marie Marsman's NCAA record, but twenty-five yards into the 50-yard freestyle it was Carthage's Amanda Croix in the lead.  Carlton used a superior underwater kick to move ahead of a quartet of rivals, finishing first in 22.80.  Emory junior Ruth Westby finished second in 23.08, just ahead of Croix's 23.10.  With Denisonsenior Kristen Hohl at 23.12 and UW-LaCrosse junior Chelsea Hoff at 23.20, just 0.12 separated second from fifth.  As if that wasn't enough, Olivia Zaleski could have made it five swimmers within 0.17.  The Denison Junior failed to make the big final, but easily captured the consolation heat in 23.05 - a time that would have placed her second.


In the morning Kenyon's Zach Turk came within 0.01 of Alex Sweet's meet record 19.85.  Nobody figured the freshman would walk away with victory, not to anyone who saw Caleb Courage's morning swim.  Courage, who sat out last season to train for the Olympic Trials, qualified third despite an exceptionally safe start (after being called back) and a finish that rivaled Usain Bolt for its ease.  Also figuring in the mix was GCC teammate Tim Whitbeck.


Each of the top three swam different strokes and as they came off the wall they were joined by Kenyon freshman David Somers.  As the GCC Seniors and Kenyon freshmen approached the finish, all eyes turned to the board to find that Turk's morning swim wasn't a fluke.  He touched in 19.93, just ahead of Courage (19.97), Whitbeck (20.03) and Somers (20.06) leaving Alex Sweet (who will compete for Louisville at next week's NCAA Division I championships) the record holder for at least another day.

Then came a break and the women’s 3-meter diving finals. SUNY-Fredonia senior Kelly Spunholz stole the show, setting a new NCAA record with a total of 516.50. She was followed by Erica Deur of Calvin with 495.85 and Hayley Emerick of Trinity (TX) with 467.80. 

The 200-yard medley relays started with the women. Last month Denison broke the NCAA record with a 1:41.17.  Tonight they added the NCAA meet record to that resume with a 1:41.20.  Zaleski made up for her miscue in this morning's 50-freestyle by leaving the field in the dust with a lead-off 25.91 split.  Tracy Menzel pulled Kenyon ahead following the breaststroke leg.  Kate Rich put the event away for the Big Red when she outsplit Kenyon's Danielle Arad 24.20 to 25.18 leaving Kristen Hohl to waltz home 3/10 ahead of the Ladies.  Emory finished a distant third in 1:43.32 leaving the only question - how fast could these relays go?  Both of the top-two teams left nearly 0.80 on the blocks with conservative relay starts.

In the men's relay, Johns Hopkins' John Thomas along with Kalamazoo's Paul Ellis (swimming in consols) gave fans a glimpse of their upcoming 100 backstroke matchup.  St. Olaf, with Westby swimming breaststroke, took aim at the Kenyon quartet.  The Lords, however, proved that they had a breaststroker all their own.  Colin Ohning wouldn't let Westby escape and matched Westby's 24.4 split, giving the lords just the opening they needed.  Matt Harris pulled ahead before giving way to Zach Turk whose 19.33 split put Kenyon under their morning record with a 1:28.45.  Olaf finished second in 1:29.82 while Emory, highlighted by Randall Scarborough's 21.02 fly split which included a sluggish 0.29 relay exchange.  Count the Denison men, however as one squad that would have been happy to have that exchange.  The Big Red lost a fourth-place finish when freshman MJ Barczak's 19.82 anchor was deemed 0.02 too fast by the takeoff pads.  

With more races tomorrow comes more records to break. Stay tuned in to CollegeSwimming.com for more feature articles, side notes, and results as the 2009 Division III National Championships continue tomorrow from Minneapolis with prelims beginning at 10am and finals starting at 5:30pm.