NCAA Division III Championships: MIT Faces Tough Road to Repeat (Psych Sheets)
The team lead at the 2025 NCAA Division III Championships changed hands on the final Saturday. A race that close could be in the offing again in 2026.
Last year’s usual power structure was usurped by first-time champ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by first-time runner-up New York University. The usual powers like Kenyon, Denison and Emory will look to reassert themselves this year when the meet returns to IU Natatorium on March 18-21. Psych sheets for both the men’s and women’s meets were released this week.
MIT’s road to path to a repeat title will be tough. The Engineers have 15 swimmers and 42 events qualified. Those numbers each rank fourth among the field, and MIT has no top seed in any event. Last year’s starts Alex Turvey and Kate Augustyn are gone.
NYU, which saw a lead slip on the final day, could be poised to leap to the title, leading the way with 18 individuals and 58 events. (The NCAA’s scheme counts each relay leg as one swim, so a relay equals four.) Kaley McIntyre is the top seed in the 50 free (in a tie with Swarthmore’s Genine Collins), the 200 free and 100 free. Nicole Ranile is the top seed in the 200 fly. The Violets own the top spot in each freestyle relay.
Emory was fifth last year but has 18 qualifiers and 57 swims this year, second in both categories. Last year’s third-place finisher Kenyon has 16 swimmers/48 individuals, led by the top medley relays at both distances. Friday will be the big day for Kenyon, with Gwen Eisenbeis the top seed in the 100 backstroke and Kelsey Van Eldik tops in the 100breaststroke.
Denison’s distance leads the way, with Emily Harris the top seed in the 500 free and 400 individual medley and Drue Thielking in the 200 breast. The Big Red have 14 swimmers and 49 swims.
Williams was sixth last year and has 11 swimmers/41 events. Pomona-Pitzer, with 38 swims, could jump from eighth last year.
On the men’s side, Denison won its first title since 2019 at last year’s meet. It’s in a strong position to repeat with 12 swimmers and 39 swims, the latter the second-highest total of the meet. It leads the way in both the 200 free relay and 800 free relay. Jack Hill, in the 200 free, is the Big Red’s only top seed.
Emory, which finished second last year, has 15 swimmers and 36 entries.
The University of Chicago’s Cooper Costello is in position to build on his three career national titles. The junior is the top seed in the 100 fly, which he won last year, and enters with the fastest time in both the 200 individual medley and 200 fly. He’s also part of the Maroons’ top-seeded 400 free relay, the defending champion. Chicago finished third as a team last year.
NYU was fourth last year and could be even stronger this time around, with 14 swimmers and 41 event entries, the latter the most in the field. The Violets are ranked 1-2 in three events entering the meet: The 400 IM, led by Maksyn Nechydyuk; the 100 back, led by Keith McQuaid; and the 200 back, with Teddy Cross first and McQuaid second. They also have three of the top eight in the 200 breast.
Kenyon, which was fifth last year, has 28 entries, led by nine-time national champion Djordje Dragojlovic, who is the co-top seed in the 50 free. He’s also a two-time champ in the 100 free.
One dark horse is Bates, which has just eight swimmers but has quality over quantity. The Bobcats were just 13th at NCAAs last year. But they set the NCAA record in the men’s 200 medley relay at the NESCAC Championships and hold the top seed in both medley relays. Max Cory is the co-top seed in the 50 free and leads the 100 free, while Marrich Somridhivej leads the way in the 100 breast.
