INDIANAPOLIS—The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) delivered a strong showing on Friday at the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships, held at the IU Natatorium, with swimmers achieving seven All-America performances and several program firsts.
Kean University led the NJAC women’s performances, highlighted by Braelyn Wilson’s third-place finish in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 54.30. This marks Wilson’s second First Team All-America honor of the meet and her fourth of her career, accompanied by a new school record. Rowan University’s Ella Pennington followed closely, earning First Team All-America recognition with a fourth-place finish in 54.68, improving upon her seventh-place finish in the same event last year. Kean’s Olivia Chow secured a Second Team All-America honor, finishing 10th in 55.20.
Salisbury University’s 800-meter freestyle relay team, comprised of Alexa Hilty, Rowan O’Donoghue, Jenna Krawlzik, and Olivia Polucha, finished 18th overall in 7:36.13, narrowly missing Second Team All-America honors. Kean’s 200-meter medley relay team (Wilson, Abby Burns, Chow, and Emma Bellars) placed 22nd in 1:44.79, although Salisbury’s relay team (Isabelle Salvatore, Mackenzie Gula, Lily Griffin, and O’Donoghue) finished 25th in 1:45.67.
Libby Miyashita of Salisbury placed 21st in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:05.06. Mary Washington’s Soleil Clifford finished 38th in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:06.31), and Salisbury’s Maddie Powell placed 41st (1:06.67).
On the men’s side, USMMA’s Carter Kov earned a First Team All-America honor in the 1-meter diving event, scoring 486.60 points for a fifth-place finish. He was the top-performing freshman in the event, surpassing Kenyon’s Chase Smith. This adds to his Second Team All-America honor from the 3-meter event earlier in the championships.
Salisbury achieved a historic milestone with its 200-meter medley relay team of Mason Potts, Dominic Kazzi, Michael Paulos, and Michael DeSimone becoming the first swimmers in the program’s history to earn First Team All-America recognition, clocking 1:29.15 for seventh place. TCNJ’s 200-meter medley relay team (Andrew Kidchob, Tyler McGeehan, Joe McChesney, and M.J. Hoban) also earned First Team All-America honors, finishing sixth in 1:27.93.
Joe McChesney of TCNJ added a Second Team All-America honor in the 200-meter butterfly, breaking his own program record twice in the process, first with a time of 1:47.31 in the prelims and then improving to 1:47.25 in the final for ninth place. Andrew Kidchob of TCNJ earned his eighth career All-America honor, placing 13th in the 100-meter backstroke (48.46) for Second Team recognition.
TCNJ’s 800-meter freestyle relay team (Steven Bendoraitis, Matt Liotti, Kyle Brushaber, and Gabe Beverini) secured Second Team All-America honors with a 16th-place finish in 6:39.60. Liotti, Brushaber, and Beverini each earned their first All-America citations.
Cameron Byrd of Salisbury placed 20th in the 200-meter butterfly (1:48.43), while Dominic Kazzi of Salisbury finished 23rd in the 100-meter breaststroke (55.32). Tyler McGeehan of TCNJ tied for 20th in the 100-meter breaststroke (54.99).
The championships will conclude on Saturday with the final session at the IU Natatorium. Women’s competitors from the NJAC include Addi Wood and Kaitlyn Crouthamel of Rowan in the 1650 freestyle, Rowan O’Donoghue of Salisbury in the 100 freestyle, Ella Pennington of Rowan and Olivia Chow of Kean in the 200 backstroke, and Maddie Powell of Salisbury in the 200 breaststroke. Salisbury and Kean will also field 400 freestyle relay teams. On the men’s side, Gavin Formon and Steven Bendoraitis of TCNJ will compete in the 1650 freestyle, M.J. Hoban in the 100 freestyle, and Tyler McGeehan in the 200 breaststroke. TCNJ will close the meet with its 400 freestyle relay.
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