Middlebury, VT – The Men's Swimming and Diving team triumphed on day 2 of the NESCAC Championships in Middlebury today. After today's prelims and finals sessions, the Ephs lead with 788.5 points, 191 points ahead of Tufts in 2
nd.
The Ephmen had an exceptional prelims session this morning. Williams qualified 14 swimmers in 'A' finals, the most of any team, to position themselves well for the evening finals session.
The first event of the night was the 200 freestyle relay.
Mason Green '27 led off for Williams with a fiery 20.61. He touched the wall tied for 4
th before
Barrett Heritage '25 dove in. Heritage overcame the team from Bowdoin, blazing to a 20.32.
Theo Randall '27 took the reins next, edging the Tufts relay and throwing down a speedy 20.24.
Oliver Schalet '25 had an astonishing anchor leg of 19.74 to touch the wall in 2
nd behind Bates. The relay's overall time was 1:20.91. The B-relay team of
Kevin Whitworth '26 (21.25),
Colin Kavanagh '27 (21.03), Gabriel Lee '26 (20.80), and
Ryan Nunez '27 (20.69) placed 3
rd of the B-relays in 1:23.77.
For the first individual event,
Michael Grover '26 and
Ian Fournier '28 represented Williams in the 50 breaststroke. Grover posted the 2
nd fastest seed time this morning, while Fournier notched a best time to qualify for his first NESCAC B-final. At night, Fournier dropped time again to place 10
th in 25.41. In the A-final, Grover posted a 24.99 to earn All-NESCAC honors in 3
rd.
In the 50 butterfly, seniors
Barrett Heritage '25 and
Noah Labich '25 competed in the A-final. Labich sped to a best-time of 22.28 and placed 7
th in the event. Heritage had a well-executed race to place 3
rd in 21.81.
Williams has been known to excel in the distance freestyle events, and today was no exception. The Ephs showcased their depth in the 500 freestyle this morning by claiming 4 of 8 A-final spots. At night,
Ryan Nunez '27 jumped to the front of the pack at the 200 mark and gained momentum throughout the final 300 to comfortably win the race in 4:23.18. Nunez dropped over 2 seconds from his previous best time and snatched the top-ranking time in Division III.
Carter Anderson '25 crept up at the 300-mark and held off the defending champion from Conn to secure the runner-up spot in 4:26.38. Nye Hanan '28 placed 5
th in his first A-final, earning a new best time of 4:29.51.
Zach Houlton '25 closed off an outstanding event for Williams in 7
th with a time of 4:32.12. In the previous heat, Will Hook '28 placed 12
th in 4:33.61 for his debut finals race.
The Ephs were well-represented in the A-final of the 200 IM, with
Oliver Schalet '25,
Colin Kavanagh '27, and
Aidan Lee '27 earning the three fastest seed times this morning. The field was even after the butterfly leg, but the three Williams swimmers separated from the pack in the backstroke. Schalet and Kavanagh battled it out in the breaststroke leg, turning even into the final 50. Schalet characteristically had an incredible final 50 to win the event in 1:47.98, recording a new pool record and completing his 4-year sweep of the event. Kavanagh followed, securing the 1-2 finish with a new best time of 1:49.15.
Aidan Lee placed 5
th in 1:50.81 after reaching a new best-time in the event this morning. In the B-final,
Harrison Williams '26 placed 13
th in 1:52.26, and
Nathaniel Tunggal '25 dropped 1.5 seconds from this morning to earn 18
th in the C-final with a 1:51.44.
Charlie Venci '25 led the charge for Williams in the 50 backstroke today, swiping the runner-up spot with an impressive 22.48.
Mason Green '27 qualified for the A-final in his first backstroke event at NESCACs, after dropping over a second from his best time to go 22.93. Green placed 8
th tonight in the event with a time of 23.83. In the B-final,
Gabe Lee '26 finished 10
th in 23.36, while
Whitman Horton '28 dropped time from the morning to earn 15
th in 23.83.
The 50 freestyle was next. In the A-final,
Barrett Heritage '25 moved up 4 spots to place 4
th in 20.48.
Mason Green '27 also represented Williams in the A-final, placing 8
th in 20.82.
Theo Randall '27 dropped time from this morning and won the B-final for the Ephs in 20.71.
Kevin Whitworth '26 stopped the clock in 21.14 to place 15
th in the B-final.
The Williams Diving Team was dominant on the boards. The duo of
Haochen Liu '27 and
Calder Biondi '28 swept the top 2 scores in the event. Liu scored beautifully on his voluntary dives and performed an excellent 405 to win the event with 476.20 points. Biondi had extraordinary scores on his optional dives to secure 2
ndwith 465.30, 54 points ahead of the diver in 3
rd.
In the 400 medley relay,
Charlie Venci '25 took on the backstroke leg, posting a commendable 48.95 to touch the wall in 3
rd.
Michael Grover '26 followed with a well-executed 53.86, and
Barrett Heritage made up ground in the butterfly with a split of 48.43.
Oliver Schalet '25 anchored with an amazing 43.48 to gap the Bowdoin relay and secure 3
rd for Williams in 3:14.72.
Williams sits comfortably in 1
st going into tomorrow's events. The prelims session will begin at 10 am tomorrow with the 100 butterfly.