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Williams College

1920 Whitman Horton
Todd Balfour

Men's Swimming and Diving

Ephs Extend Lead on Day 2 of NESCAC Championships

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 2nd

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 4th 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 2nd 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 3rd 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 2nd 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 10th in 25.41. In the A-final, Grover posted a 24.99 to earn All-NESCAC honors in 3rd.
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 7th in the event. Heritage had a well-executed race to place 3rd 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 5th 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 7th with a time of 4:32.12. In the previous heat, Will Hook '28 placed 12th 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 5th in 1:50.81 after reaching a new best-time in the event this morning. In the B-final, Harrison Williams '26 placed 13th in 1:52.26, and Nathaniel Tunggal '25 dropped 1.5 seconds from this morning to earn 18th 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 8th tonight in the event with a time of 23.83. In the B-final, Gabe Lee '26 finished 10th in 23.36, while Whitman Horton '28 dropped time from the morning to earn 15th in 23.83. 
The 50 freestyle was next. In the A-final, Barrett Heritage '25 moved up 4 spots to place 4th in 20.48. Mason Green '27 also represented Williams in the A-final, placing 8th 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 15th 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 2ndwith 465.30, 54 points ahead of the diver in 3rd.
In the 400 medley relay, Charlie Venci '25 took on the backstroke leg, posting a commendable 48.95 to touch the wall in 3rd. 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 3rd for Williams in 3:14.72. 
Williams sits comfortably in 1st going into tomorrow's events. The prelims session will begin at 10 am tomorrow with the 100 butterfly. 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Carter Anderson

Carter Anderson

Free
Senior
Mason Green

Mason Green

Free/Breast
Sophomore
Michael Grover

Michael Grover

Breast/IM
Junior
Barrett Heritage

Barrett Heritage

Free/Fly
Senior
Zach Houlton

Zach Houlton

Free
Senior
Colin Kavanagh

Colin Kavanagh

Free/Back/IM
Sophomore
Noah Labich

Noah Labich

Free/Fly/IM
Senior
Aidan Lee

Aidan Lee

Back/Fly/IM
Sophomore
Gabe Lee

Gabe Lee

Free/Back/Fly
Junior
Haochen Liu

Haochen Liu

Diving
Sophomore
Ryan Nunez

Ryan Nunez

Free/Back/Fly/IM
Sophomore
Theo Randall

Theo Randall

Free
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Carter Anderson

Carter Anderson

Senior
Free
Mason Green

Mason Green

Sophomore
Free/Breast
Michael Grover

Michael Grover

Junior
Breast/IM
Barrett Heritage

Barrett Heritage

Senior
Free/Fly
Zach Houlton

Zach Houlton

Senior
Free
Colin Kavanagh

Colin Kavanagh

Sophomore
Free/Back/IM
Noah Labich

Noah Labich

Senior
Free/Fly/IM
Aidan Lee

Aidan Lee

Sophomore
Back/Fly/IM
Gabe Lee

Gabe Lee

Junior
Free/Back/Fly
Haochen Liu

Haochen Liu

Sophomore
Diving
Ryan Nunez

Ryan Nunez

Sophomore
Free/Back/Fly/IM
Theo Randall

Theo Randall

Sophomore
Free