The Denison men and women both held the top spots in their respective leaderboards following day three action at the 2015 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships. The Big Red women's team won four total events on the night to stand atop the standings with 1,349 points, while the DU men have accumulated 1,276 total points after winning three event titles on Friday evening.
Kenyon maintained second-place in the women's competition with 1,208 points, followed by DePauw (823), Oberlin (629), Wittenberg (582.5), Wooster (507.5), Allegheny (483), Ohio Wesleyan (335) and Hiram (226). On the men's side, Kenyon also sits in second with 1,198.5 points, followed by DePauw (698), Wabash (677), Wittenberg (444.5), Wooster (441), Ohio Wesleyan (397.5), Oberlin (367), Allegheny (301.5) and Hiram (199).
The Kenyon Ladies opened night three by collecting its second-straight league title in the women's 200 medley relay with an NCAA "B" cut time of 1:42.29. Denison junior Taylor Johns (Bloomingdale, IL/Lake Park), who won the 1,650 free in 2014, picked up her second career NCAC individual event title by touching first on Friday night in the 400 IM with an NCAA "B" cut time of 4:24.48. The Big Red kept their momentum rolling into the 100 butterfly as sophomore Carolyn Kane (Deephaven, MN/Minnetonka) won her first-career individual event title with an NCAA "B" cut time of 55.84. DU sophomore Campbell Costley (Glencoe, IL/New Trier), who won the 500 free last night, stood atop the championship podium once again on Friday night by touching the wall first in the 200 free with an NCAA "B" cut time of 1:50.15. A pair of KC Ladies were repeat winners in the next two women's events as junior Katie Kaestner (Anacortes, WA/Anacortes) won her second-straight title in the 100 breast with an NCAA "B" cut time of 1:03.21 and senior Celia Oberlholzer (Wyoming, OH/Wyoming) became the first swimmer in league history to win four-straight titles in the 100 back with an NCAA "B" cut time of 55.88. In the final women's event of the night, Denison captured its second relay title of the championship meet with an NCAA "B" cut time of 7:27.33 in the 800 freestyle.
The Denison men extended their lead in the first event of the night after reaching the wall first in the 200 medley relay with a pool-record and NCAA "B" cut time of 1:29.55. After sweeping both backstroke events last year, Kenyon senior Harrison Curley (Orlando, FL/Winter Park) added the 400 IM to his list of NCAC titles in 2015 after touching the wall first with an NCAA "B" cut time of 3:54.50. The DU men climbed back to the top of the podium in the men's 100 butterfly with junior Andrew Rich (McMurray, PA/Peters Twp.) topping the championship finals field with an NCAA "B" cut time of 48.65. The first NCAA "A" cut swim of the meet was achieved by Kenyon senior Austin Caldwell (Loveland, OH/Loveland) in the men's 200 free with an NCAC- and pool-record time of 1:36.91. In the men's 100 breast, Denison senior Damon Rosenburg (Leesburg, VA/Heritage) topped the championship finals heat with an NCAA "B" cut time of 54.79 to become just the second swimmer in NCAC history to win four-straight league titles in the event. Wittenberg's Julien Lazarus last accomplished the feat in the 100 breast from 1996-99. Curley returned to the pool for the final men's individual event of the night and he didn't disappoint, winning his second-straight league crown in the 100 back with an NCAC- and pool-record time of 48.81. Another NCAC record fell in the final men's event of the evening as the Kenyon Lords reached the wall first in the 800 free relay with a league- and pool-record time of 6:37.24.
The 2014 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships continue tomorrow evening. Preliminary events start at 10:00 a.m. both days, while finals begin at 6:30 p.m.
Team Standings -- Day Three
MEN
1. Denison 1276.0
2. Kenyon 1198.5
3. DePauw 698.0
4. Wabash 677.0
5. Wittenberg 444.5
6. Wooster 441.0
7. Ohio Wesleyan 397.5
8. Oberlin 367.0
9. Allegheny 301.5
10. Hiram 199.0
WOMEN
1. Denison 1349.0
2. Kenyon 1208.0
3. DePauw 823.0
4. Oberlin 629.0
5. Wittenberg 582.5
6. Wooster 507.5
7. Allegheny 483.0
8. Ohio Wesleyan 335.0
9. Hiram 226.0
