SAA Shines at NCAA Swim and Dive Championship

INDIANAPOLIS – The 2026 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships concluded this weekend with Southern Athletic Association athletes ending with many All-America honors whereas Trinity completed within the prime 25 as a staff.

CENTRE:

Centre Men’s Dive got here away with three All-American honors on Day 1 of the 2026 NCAA Division III Swim & Dive Championships. Rowan Fitzsimmons claimed third within the 3-meter last with a composite rating of 519.95 for first staff All-America recognition whereas teammate Garrett George was additionally named first staff All-America with a sixth place end at 509.30.

The Colonels had a second staff All-American in Brandon Anderson as he positioned sixteenth with a rating of 450.05. Justin Toth completed twenty first within the prelims and didn’t advance to finals.

Also in day one for the Colonels was Caroline Lee competing within the 50 free the place she positioned thirtieth out of 70 opponents with a time of 23.54.

Centre returned to competitors on Friday on the 2026 NCAA Division III Swim & Dive Championships the place Tiernan Moore started to compete within the 100 breast the place he swam 54.11 in prelims for seventh and to qualify for the ultimate. Moore completed sixth total swimming in lane one with a last time of 53.81 for first staff All-America honors.

Lee returned to the pool on day two within the 100 again the place she completed thirty ninth at 57.05.

Diving switched to the 1-meter boards on Friday. Centre had all 4 of its divers from Wednesday’s 3-meter competitors additionally on the boards for Friday. In prelims, the Colonels had been in a position to get all 4 into the finals spherical. Anderson positioned thirteenth in prelims with 448.00 factors. Fitzsimmons was simply forward in twelfth (448.75). Four spots larger was George in eighth (456.80). Everyone was chasing Toth as he claimed the highest spot after prelims with a rating of 513.55.

In the ultimate, Toth was chased down from behind by divers from Denison and Alfred State. Still, Toth grabbed third place and 1st Team All-American honors with a last rating of 527.90 factors. George completed eighth within the championship last with 452.85 factors to take one other 1st Team honor. Fitzsimmons (461.00) and Anderson (450.15) positioned thirteenth and fifteenth to stake declare to 2nd Team All-American honors.

Tiernan Moore closed out the Centre Swim & Dive season with one other All-American honor on the ultimate day of the 2026 NCAA Division III Swim & Dive Championships. He swam the 200 breast the place he took third place with a time of 1:57.11, simply 0.31 seconds away from the runner-up spot.

Lee competed within the 100 freestyle and swam her preliminary race in a time of 52.00 seconds. The time was simply 0.27 seconds off her blistering mark on the SAA Championships however was not sufficient to succeed in the ultimate as she completed in forty seventh.

RHODES:

In the prelims of the 400 Medley Relay, the Lynx turned in a standout swim of three:14.30, ending eighth total whereas securing a spot among the many nation’s prime eight groups. Entering with a seed time of three:15.77, Rhodes dropped important time when it mattered most, because the relay of Josh Denckhoff, Jack Whitten, Liam Ashton, and Will Wertenberger mixed for one of many quickest swims in Rhodes program historical past.

Returning for the championship last, Rhodes positioned eighth with a time of three:17.12 to earn All-America standing, capping off a powerful exhibiting on the nationwide stage. Denckhoff led off the relay, adopted by Whitten (breaststroke), Ashton (butterfly), and Wertenberger (freestyle) because the Lynx competed in opposition to an elite discipline that included prime NCAA DIII expertise.

SEWANEE:

Jonah Kearns competed within the 1-meter diving occasion on the NCAA Championships on Friday afternoon, ending twenty third total. The freshman posted a rating of 387 throughout 11 dives, marking his second look on the NCAA Championships and concluding his season on the nationwide stage.

TRINITY:

On day one, for the lads, sophomore Luke Fender began off swimmingly within the 500 freestyle, making the A last in fourth place with a time of 4:25.90. In finals, Fender had a slight add however nonetheless got here residence with a seventh place trophy after an unimaginable final 50 that earned him this placement. That end additionally makes Fender a First Team All-American within the 500 free after incomes Second Team honors in final 12 months’s occasion.

Neely Burns superior to finals for the ladies within the 200 IM, ending fifteenth total for second staff All-Americ ahonors with a time of two:04.03. Freshman Kaya Alvegaard-Struble made her debut within the 200 IM for 54th at 2:09.65.

Ava Easley additionally made her debut on the nationwide stage within the 50 free touching the wall at 24.43 for 62nd total.

Trinity’s ladies 400 medley relay consisted of Easley, Amy Benson, Julia Carter, and Burns disqualified throughout the prelims.

Back on the lads’s aspect, Jack Hester swam the 50 free in 20.70 for forty fourth place.

The Tigers started day two of the  championship meet with Neely Burns delivering a standout efficiency within the 400 IM. After a powerful prelims swim of 4:21.25 to qualify third total, Burns returned in finals and secured a fourth-place end, including one other All-American award to her spectacular profession.

Sophomore Luke Fender swam the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:40.11 to position thirty third total. Kaya Alvegaard-Struble competed within the 200 freestyle prelims, inserting forty third with a time of 1:55.83.

The ladies’s 200 freestyle relay, consisting of first-years Ava Easley and Alvegaard-Struble alongside juniors Julia Carter and Amy Benson, positioned twenty fourth in a aggressive discipline with a time of 1:35.41.

The third day of the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships concluded with the Tiger males’s and ladies’s groups protecting their momentum, as the ladies are in nineteenth and the lads are twenty seventh heading into the ultimate day of competitors.

Jack Hester swam the 100 backstroke for the Tiger males, touching within the morning at a time of 48.26 and ending in eighth place, making the A last. In the night, he earned All-American honors with an eighth-place trophy and a slight add from the morning, ending off the night’s occasions swim for each groups.

The ladies’s 800 freestyle relay additionally delivered a standout efficiency, inserting thirteenth to earn Second Team All-American recognition and the best end in program historical past for the occasion. The relay additionally earned invaluable factors for the staff whereas shifting into third place on this system’s all-time top-10 record for the occasion. The group of Burns, Alvegaard-Struble, Benson and Carter completed with a time of seven:32.53.

The ladies’s 200 medley relay positioned twenty fourth with a time of 1:45.31 in prelims. The relay was made up of first-year Easley, Burns, Benson, and Carter.

Easley additionally competed within the 100 backstroke, ending the race in forty fourth  with a time of 57.96.

The 2026 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships concluded on Saturday with the Trinity University males’s and ladies’s swimming & diving groups completed twenty third and twenty first, respectively, marking a stellar ending to the 2025-26 season for the Tigers.

Luke Fender closed out his season within the 1650 freestyle, inserting ninth total with a lifetime better of 15:35.93. In the method, he broke his personal faculty document by two seconds and picked up Second Team All-American recognition.

Hester competed within the 200 backstroke prelims, qualifying for finals in tenth place with a time of 1:46.53. He returned within the night session and completed twelfth total, capping off a powerful efficiency on the nationwide stage that additionally earned him All-American accolades.

For the ladies, Alvegaard-Struble, raced the 200 again the place she positioned thirty ninth with a time of two:06.30.

Senior captain Burns returned to the pool within the 200 breaststroke, inserting 14th in prelims to earn a spot within the B last. She went on to complete fifteenth total for an additional All-American award, closing out her collegiate profession with a powerful and memorable last swim (2:21.31).

First-year Ava Easley competed within the 100 freestyle prelims, completed 62nd total (53.20).

The ladies’s 400 freestyle relay of junior Carter, Alvegaard-Struble, Burns, and Benson completed twentieth within the occasion simply off their convention best-time at 3:28.78.

 

For extra info on all issues SAA, go to the web sites of any of the taking part colleges, or go to the SAA’s residence on the web at www.saa-sports.com. Be positive to remain updated on all ofyour Southern Athletic Association information by following @SAA_Sports on Twitter (X) and @SAA_Sports on Instagram.