NCAA Division III Championships, Day 3 Prelims: Frank Applebaum Chasing Third Straight Title
Claremont Mudd Scripps’ Frank Applebaum is the fastest 200 butterflier in NCAA Division III history. He’s looking to add “three-time champion” to his list of accomplishments Friday.
Applebaum is the top seed in the men’s 200 fly final, the first event of the third night of the meet at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. He has set NCAA records each of the last two years in claiming victories, though this one won’t be easy.
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Men’s team scores
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 19 1. Emory 214 2. Kenyon 177 3. Chicago 167 4. Nyu 164 5. Williams 154.5 6. Calvin 108 7. Tufts 92.5 8. Carnegie Mellon 89 9. C-M-S 86 10. Mit 84 11. Tcnj 81 12. Denison 78 13. Wash U. MO 51 14. Johns Hopkins 44 15. Suny Geneseo 37 16. Conn College 35 17. Pomona-Pitzer 34 18. Coast Guard 33 19. Hamilton 30 20. Birmingham Southern 29 21. Hope College 24 22. Colby 21 22. Rit 21 24. Washington & Lee 18 25. Brandeis 17 25. Trinity U. 17 27. Centre 15 28. St. Mary's MD 14 28. Alfred State 14 30. Rhodes 12 30. Case Western 12 32. Bates 11 33. Bowdoin 6 34. Franklin & Marshall 4 35. Chapman 3 36. Whitworth 2 36. Usmma 2 38. Rose-Hulman 1
Women’s team scores
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 20 1. Denison 244 2. Kenyon 212 3. Nyu 195 4. Williams 189 5. Mit 163 6. Pomona-Pitzer 140 7. Emory 121 8. Chicago 110 9. Swarthmore 82 10. Tufts 64.5 11. Trinity U. 59 12. Hope College 51 13. Calvin 40 14. Johns Hopkins 36 14. Case Western 36 16. Amherst 30 17. Suny Geneseo 27.5 18. Ithaca 27 19. Bates 24 20. C-M-S 20 21. Nazareth 16 21. Albion 16 23. Austin College 15 23. Wash U. MO 15 25. Mary Washington 12 25. Middlebury 12 25. Bowdoin 12 25. Rhodes 12 29. Springfield 10 29. Gettysburg 10 31. Rit 9 32. Luther 5
Men’s 200 butterfly
Frank Applebaum set the pace in prelims in 1:45.91. He was the top seed by a clean half-second. The senior has gotten faster throughout college, having won in 1:44.01 in 2022 and 1:43.96 last year. His seed time was 1:43.87 this year.
But the field is closing. When Applebaum won his first title in 2022, it was by 2.01 seconds. The margin of victory was whittled to less than four tenths last year.
Said “field” is back, the top four in last year’s final all back in the A final this year. Last year’s runner-up, Connecticut College’s Justin Finkel, is the fourth seed in 1:46.81. Jesse Ssengonzi of the University of Chicago went 1:46.49 in prelims. He was third last year and second in 2022. Johns Hopkins’ Avery Clapp was third in the morning.
Chicago has two A finalists, with Cooper Costello included. Both Thorsen brothers are represented for Emory.
Event 21 Men 200 Yard Butterfly
==================================================================
1:44.48 A A-cut
1:50.26 B B-cut
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Applebaum, Fran SR C-M-S 1:43.87 1:45.91 B
23.11 49.74 (26.63)
1:17.20 (27.46) 1:45.91 (28.71)
2 Ssengonzi, Jess SR Chicago 1:51.74 1:46.49 B
23.71 50.69 (26.98)
1:17.91 (27.22) 1:46.49 (28.58)
3 Clapp, Avery SO Johns Hopkins 1:45.53 1:46.53 B
23.75 50.22 (26.47)
1:18.27 (28.05) 1:46.53 (28.26)
4 Finkel, Justin JR Conn College 1:44.62 1:46.81 B
23.49 50.96 (27.47)
1:18.91 (27.95) 1:46.81 (27.90)
5 Costello, Coope FR Chicago 1:45.27 1:46.94 B
23.28 50.23 (26.95)
1:18.02 (27.79) 1:46.94 (28.92)
6 Thorsen, Harris FR Emory 1:46.45 1:47.01 B
24.38 51.92 (27.54)
1:19.73 (27.81) 1:47.01 (27.28)
7 Thorsen, Benjam JR Emory 1:48.07 1:47.14 B
23.51 50.91 (27.40)
1:18.67 (27.76) 1:47.14 (28.47)
8 Han, Leo SO NYU 1:47.47 1:47.19 B
23.60 50.71 (27.11)
1:18.23 (27.52) 1:47.19 (28.96)
Women’s 200 butterfly
Caitlin Marshall and Alesha Kelly finished 1-2 last year and are in those places in reverse order after prelims. Marshall set the pace in 1:59.85, 1.01 seconds up on Kelly, the reigning gold medalist. The duo were the only two to enter with sub-2-minute times in the regular season. Marshall won the event in 2022.
Four A finalists return from last year. Bronze medalist Nicole Ranile was fourth in prelims. With freshman Youngju Baik, NYU has three in the A final. Samantha Kilcoyne of Williams is a medal contender in sixth in prelims. The third seed went to Denison’s Emily Harris.
Event 22 Women 200 Yard Butterfly
==================================================================
1:56.90 A A-cut
2:05.26 B B-cut
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Marshall, Caitl JR NYU 1:59.41 1:59.85 B
26.73 57.17 (30.44)
1:28.31 (31.14) 1:59.85 (31.54)
2 Kelly, Alesha SR Chicago 1:59.76 2:00.86 B
27.31 57.65 (30.34)
1:28.82 (31.17) 2:00.86 (32.04)
3 Harris, Emily SO Denison 2:00.92 2:01.31 B
27.39 58.20 (30.81)
1:29.08 (30.88) 2:01.31 (32.23)
4 Ranile, Nicole SO NYU 2:01.12 2:01.45 B
27.05 57.45 (30.40)
1:29.01 (31.56) 2:01.45 (32.44)
5 Gomez, Reina FR NYU 2:02.58 2:02.58 B
27.41 58.04 (30.63)
1:29.55 (31.51) 2:02.58 (33.03)
6 Kilcoyne, Saman SR Williams 2:01.69 2:02.98 B
27.95 59.26 (31.31)
1:31.06 (31.80) 2:02.98 (31.92)
7 Baik, Youngju FR NYU 2:03.42 2:03.07 B
27.47 58.92 (31.45)
1:31.16 (32.24) 2:03.07 (31.91)
7 Schmitz, Sophia SR Kenyon 2:02.60 2:03.07 B
28.55 59.63 (31.08)
1:30.93 (31.30) 2:03.07 (32.14)
Men’s 100 backstroke
Washington University’s Alex McCormick set the pace in 47.39 in what promises to be a crowded final, the top eight in prelims spread across less than seven tenths. David Bajwa of Calvin and Kenyon’s Djordje Dragojolovic tied for second in 47.44. Dragojolovic and McCormick are the only two to have made the A final in this event last year.
Fourth was Ev Nichol of Williams. Yurii Kosian of Kenyon was sixth, guaranteeing a third straight year where he’s finished at least ninth or better.
Two top seeds missed out, though. Ryan Koh came in with the fourth-fastest seed but ended up ninth. Kenyon’s Daniel Brooks went from fifth to 10th. They’re joined in the B final by two A finalists from last year, Eric Lundgren in 12th and Jack Watson in 15th.
Event 23 Men 100 Yard Backstroke
==================================================================
46.29 A A-cut
49.48 B B-cut
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 McCormick, Alex SR Wash U. MO 47.83 47.39 B
22.74 47.39 (24.65)
2 Bajwa, David JR Calvin 47.69 47.44 B
23.04 47.44 (24.40)
2 Dragojlovic, Dj SO Kenyon 47.63 47.44 B
22.88 47.44 (24.56)
4 Nichol, Ev SR Williams 47.12 47.52 B
22.78 47.52 (24.74)
5 Morford, Brayde FR Carnegie Mellon 47.06 47.53 B
23.07 47.53 (24.46)
6 Kosian, Yurii SR Kenyon 47.28 47.55 B
23.04 47.55 (24.51)
7 Schwenk, James JR St. Mary's MD 48.61 48.04 B
22.98 48.04 (25.06)
8 Braunschweig, A JR Emory 48.23 48.08 B
23.15 48.08 (24.93)
Women’s 100 backstroke
Kate Augustyn led the way in prelims, the MIT junior going 54.40. The second seed belonged to Williams’ Sophia Verkleeren, who went 54.78. She was the top seed entering the meet in 53.65. MIT freshman Sydney Smith was third in 54.86.
Emory is poised to bounce in the team standings, with three A finalists. That includes Megan Jungers, the third seed entering the meet, who posted the fourth-fastest time in 55.11. She won silver each of the last two years. Augustyn was third last year, and Verkleeren was fourth in 2022.
The A final features a swap of 17ths, that most unlucky of places. Izzy Huang of Emory was there last year. Now she’s seventh. Last year’s fifth-place finisher, Sara Kraus of Hope College, finished 17th in the morning.
Event 24 Women 100 Yard Backstroke
==================================================================
53.70 A A-cut
56.76 B B-cut
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Augustyn, Kate JR MIT 54.16 54.40 B
26.50 54.40 (27.90)
2 Verkleeren, Sop JR Williams 53.65 54.78 B
26.27 54.78 (28.51)
3 Smith, Sydney FR MIT 56.30 54.86 B
26.72 54.86 (28.14)
4 Jungers, Megan SR Emory 54.24 55.11 B
26.29 55.11 (28.82)
5 Celtnieks, Penn SO Emory 55.52 55.52 B
26.86 55.52 (28.66)
6 Thiele, Sammi SR Austin 55.35 55.59 B
26.34 55.59 (29.25)
7 Huang, Izzy SO Emory 55.65 55.65 B
26.84 55.65 (28.81)
8 Wukitch, Caleig SR Kenyon 55.04 55.66 B
27.24 55.66 (28.42)
Men’s 100 breaststroke
Emory’s Jake Meyer is chasing a second straight title, but he’ll have Derek Maas chasing him. Meyer, who won last year’s title and was fifth in 2022, paced the field in 52.83. He holds the top time in the field in 52.55 this year. Maas was second in prelims as he was in the seeds, in 53.02. The Division I All-American at Alabama has a top time of 50.78 in college.
Garrett Clasen of Chicago is chasing a third medal in this event. He was third in 53.12. The senior finished second last year and fourth in 2022. Henri Bonnault of Emory was fourth in 53.71, having finished sixth last year.
On the redemption trail, fifth seed Jason Starbuck of Chicago is up from 14th last year. Emmett Adams of Tufts jumped from 28th last year to eighth. And Alex Grand’Pierre of Bowdoin was DQed in this event last year. He’s snugly into the A final in seventh.
Event 25 Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
==================================================================
52.11 A A-cut
55.55 B B-cut
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Meyer, Jake SR Emory 52.55 52.83 B
24.96 52.83 (27.87)
2 Maas, Derek 5Y NYU 52.78 53.02 B
24.40 53.02 (28.62)
3 Clasen, Garrett SR Chicago 53.25 53.12 B
24.91 53.12 (28.21)
4 Bonnault, Henri SO Emory 53.69 53.71 B
25.09 53.71 (28.62)
5 Starbuck, Jason SR Chicago 54.09 53.74 B
24.84 53.74 (28.90)
6 Venos, Elijah JR Denison 53.63 53.81 B
25.34 53.81 (28.47)
7 Grand'Pierre, A JR Bowdoin 53.52 53.91 B
25.34 53.91 (28.57)
8 Adams, Emmett JR Tufts 54.62 54.14 B
25.04 54.14 (29.10)
Women’s 100 breaststroke
Kenyon’s Jennah Fadely is after a second straight title. She led the way in prelims in 1:01.39 and she has the top time in the nation this year at 1:00.02. She won in 59.94 last year. She’s got 2022 champ Edenna Chen for company, the MIT fifth-year second in 1:01.87. Chen finished fourth last year.
Also back from last year’s A final are Charlotte Wishnack in 1:01.93 for third and teammate Amanda Wager in fifth. In between is Kenyon’s Gabriella Wei.
Event 26 Women 100 Yard Breaststroke
==================================================================
1:00.05 A A-cut
1:04.39 B B-cut
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Fadely, Jennah JR Kenyon 1:00.02 1:01.39 B
28.86 1:01.39 (32.53)
2 Chen, Edenna 5Y MIT 1:01.43 1:01.87 B
28.69 1:01.87 (33.18)
3 Wishnack, Charl JR Williams 1:02.40 1:01.93 B
28.99 1:01.93 (32.94)
4 Wei, Gabriella JR Kenyon 1:02.29 1:01.95 B
28.90 1:01.95 (33.05)
5 Wager, Amanda SR Williams 1:01.86 1:02.23 B
29.29 1:02.23 (32.94)
6 Rotival, Sophie JR Swarthmore 1:02.19 1:02.32 B
29.20 1:02.32 (33.12)
7 Sekhon, Kavita SO Wellesley 1:02.37 1:02.46 B
29.54 1:02.46 (32.92)
8 Smith, Mattie JR Albion 1:02.57 1:02.49 B
28.87 1:02.49 (33.62)
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There are FOUR women from NYU in the A finals. You forgot my daughter, Reina Gomez.