If you're a Division III swimmer looking to break a record, this year's NCAA National Championships seem to be the place. Through day one, numerous records had been broken and re-broken. And the trend continued today at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. Seven more records fell in tonight's session, along with the two that were broken in the morning's prelim session.The night started off with a tight race in the women's 200-yard freestyle relay. Emory University's Ruth Westby jumped out to the early lead for the Eagles. Kenyon's had the best middle-half with Liz Carlton and Meghan Quinn pulling the Ladies within striking distance. That set up a showdown between old and new - Emory freshman Claire Pavlak taking on Kenyon senior Brittany Hurd with Denison's Kristen Hohl - arguably the best relay swimmer of the meet - mixed in for good measure. Youth won out with Pavlak putting a second on Hurd and fighting off Hohl to touch in 1:32.08, just 0.06 ahead of Denison and under the national record. Kenyon finished third in 1:33.27.
The Kenyon men bettered their female counterparts in the sprint relay department. Unlike the women's race there was no doubt. Kenyon swam a dominating race, leading from the start and never letting up. Michael Mpitsos gave the Lords a lead among the middle lanes before giving way to David Somers and Matthew Harris' idential 19.74 splits. Fifty-free champ Zach Turk anchored in 19.27 to seal the win and the record. Denison swam to second with a working-man's 1:20.79. The Big Red relay wasn't flashy - boasting just one sub-20 split, but its consistency nabbed the runner-up spot. With Turk and Grove City's Caleb Courage both swimming anchor legs, Alex Sweet's 50-freestyle record survived another year. 
And then came the women's 400-yard individual medley. In the morning, Emory's Liz Horvat established her second national record of the meet with a 4:18.32. Standing in the way of a championshp, however was Williams' Amanda Nicholson, the previous record-holder. Nicholson made Horvat earn the title - pushing the Emory sophomore throughout the breaststroke. Horvat found another gear though and used her handspeed to outdistance the defending champion. Nicholson was all smiles however, having bested her own personal best and Horvat's morning time. .
The men's side of the 400-yard individual medley retained the excitement of the women's race, with two swimmers coming in under the former NCAA DIII record time. Again it was the defending champion pushing the newly-minted record-holder, though this time around it was the Emory swimmer doing the pushing. WashU junior Alex Beyer set a calculating pace that Keith Diggs chipped away at. Heading into the final length just a blink separated the pair, but Beyer finally pushed Diggs past the point of no return to emerge the victor in 3:51.45, just ahead of Diggs' 3:52.32. Kegan Borland, with a little left in the tank, clocked a 53.28 final split, but that only netted the junior third place. 
There's a new rising star in Division III swimming and her name is Logan Todhunter. The Williams freshman proved that she is a force to be reckoned with, leading from the blocks and shattering the NCAA Division III in the process. Todhunter zipped to a 53.54, 9/10 ahead of Denison junior Olivia Zaleski at 54.44. Lillian Ciardelli finished third in an event seven swimmers under 56, and fourteen under 57.The men's 100-yard butterfly was the first race of the night that failed to break a Division III record, but it was an exciting race nonetheless. UWSP's Chase Gross set the tone early on, touching with Matt Harris in 22.37. Kenyon senior Matthew Harris powered home, however, alongside teammate Nathaniel Carruthers to finish 1-2. Gross faded to third but held off a hard-charging Norman Scott of Williams.
Following the fly events was the women's 200-yard freestyle. The prelims held suit in this race. Amherst sophomore Kendra Stern successfully defended her title, but was off of her record time of last year. She pulled away from Emory's Ruth Westby for the evening's most convincing win. Joining Stern in the first 50 were Kenyon's Tina Ertel and big sister Meaghan. For Ertel the pace was simply too much as she faded to sixth. The elder Stern, however, held on to finish third. 
Moments after the most decisive win of the evening the men offered the meet's closest finish. Denison senior David Curtis got the jump on top seed Mark Bernstein. Alex Fraser held a quicker pace than his morning swim, while TCNJ's Mike Vernoia played the pesky freshman. Curtis and Fraser matched one another stroke-for-stroke over the final half and as the quartet went under the flags it was anybody's guess. When the times were posted, Curtis avenged Fraser's win in the 500. Bernstein let the field get too far ahead and couldn't, despite a 48.95 split in the final 100, catch the field. Up next was the men's 1-meter diving finals, which was won by Merchant Marine sophomore Nicholas Halbach with a score of 524.70. Following him were Rowan senior Bryan Carlisle and Springfield sophomore Brian Sobel.
After the diving and a short break came the women's 400-yard medley relay, and another record-breaking performance. Denison's Olivia Zaleski opened up a big lead for the Big Red, but she was quickly reeled in by Kenyon's Tracy Menzel. Nobody could touch Denison's back-half, however with Katie Rich splitting 54.87. Hohl then conjured images of legendary Denison anchor and current assistant Mollie Parrish as she brought the house down with the meet's only sub-50 split. Denison's 3:43.42 broke their own record and finished ahead of Kenyon (3:44.55) and Emory (3:45.53).The final race of the night, the men's 400-yard medley relay, pitted a hungry Kenyon squad against a veteran bunch from St. Olaf. The event also served as a preview of an expected John Thomas (Johns Hopkins) and Paul Ellis (Kalamazoo) 100 backstroke showdown. Thomas raced out to a 49.00, but Kenyon's Michael Mpitsos and Denison freshman Robert Barry served notice that tomorrow's wouldn't be a two-man race. St. Olaf's Westby, who split 53.3 in the morning edition, pulled the Ole's close, but it would be as close as they'd get. Harris, fresh off his win in the 100 fly was up next before Blair Withington, anchored in 43.71 to shatter the meet record with a 3:15.58. Olaf' came home in 3:17.71 with Denison's David Curtis just holding off Emory's Randall Scarborough for third.
On the women's side, Kenyon is leading through day two with a score of 309, followed by Emory (246), Denison (233), and Williams (214.5).
Kenyon also leads the men with a score of 358.5, followed by Emory (221), Denison (160), and St. Olaf (150).
The NCAA Division III National Championships continue Friday from Minneapolis. Prelims begin at 10am and finals will start at 5:30pm.
