After 12 total events, the Kenyon women and Denison men have swum out to early leads at the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships. The Ladies won two of the night's five women's events and finished atop the day two leaderboard with 498 points, while the Big Red men won two of the evening's six men's events to finish with 560.5 points.
The Denison women, which won three events on the evening, sit in second place with 494 points, followed by Wittenberg (234), DePauw (230), Wooster (213), Allegheny (206), Oberlin (153), Ohio Wesleyan (97) and Hiram (87). The Kenyon Lords, who won four events on day two, currently sits in second with 442 points, followed by DePauw (299), Wittenberg (177), Oberlin (173), Wooster (164.5), Allegheny (149), Wabash (148), Ohio Wesleyan (127) and Hiram (90).
The Denison women opened the meet by winning the 200 freestyle relay with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:33.35. The Ladies posted their first victory of the evening in the 500 freestyle as freshman Mariah Williamson (Bothell, WA/Bothell Sr.) touched the wall first in an NCAA 'B' cut time of 4:54.89. The Big Red got back in the winners circle in a big way in the 200 IM as sophomore Michelle Howell (Albuquerque, NM/Albuquerque Acad.) posted the fastest time in NCAC history in the event after clocking an NCAA 'A' cut time of 2:04.02. DU continued its winning ways in the 50 free after freshman Ashley Yearwood (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda/Baylor School) topped the field with an NCAA 'B' cut time of 23.65. The final women's event of the evening saw Kenyon establish the NCAC record in the 400 medley relay with an NCAA qualifying time of 3:43.37.
For the men, Kenyon kicked off the evening session strong by earning an NCAA 'A' cut in the 200 freestyle relay after touching the wall in 1:19.65. The Lords kept their momentum going into the 500 free as sophomore Joe Guilfoyle (Pittstown, NJ/Delbarton/Peddie (NJ)) earned the victory with an NCAA 'B' cut time of 4:30.03. DU picked up its first victory of the evening in the 200 IM with junior Carlos Maciel (Recife, Brazil/Colegio Marista Sao Luis) surpassing the previous NCAC record after clocking a national championship qualifying time of 1:50.03. In addition, Denison junior Spencer Fronk (Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek) and Kenyon sophomore Austin Caldwell (Loveland, OH/Loveland) also established NCAA 'A' cuts in the 200 IM with times of 1:50.03 and 1:50.37, respectively. A trio of KC student-athletes established national qualifying time standards in the 50 free, including senior Curtis Ramsey (Wilmington, DE/Charter School of Wilmington) (20.03), junior Ian Richardson (Mt. Vernon, OH/Mt. Vernon) (20.28) and senior Ian Stewart-Bates (Moreland Hills, OH/University School) (20.37). In the final men's individual event of the night, Denison freshman Ben Lewis (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest) captured the NCAC title with an NCAA regionally qualifying score of 488.5. The night concluded with Kenyon establishing the NCAA record in the 400 medley relay with an NCAA 'A' cut time of 3:17.89, while Denison also automatically qualified for the national meet in the event with a time of 3:18.81.
The 2013 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships continue through Saturday evening. Preliminary events start at 10:00 a.m. both days, while finals begin at 6:30 p.m.
