Courtney McGovern, pictured here during the 100 butterfly finals, became Wooster's first conference champion since 2005. (photo courtesy of North Coast Athletic Conference)

Courtney McGovern won the North Coast Athletic Conference championship in the 100 butterfly, headlining a strong day for The College of Wooster men's and women's swimming and diving teams as the men improved one spot to eighth-place and the women solidified their fourth-place standing during Friday's activities inside Denison University's Trumbull Aquatics Center in Granville, Ohio.

In winning the 100 fly, McGovern, a first-year, becomes the first Wooster swimmer to win an individual championship in NCAA Div. III's preeminent swimming conference since 2005 when standout Elizabeth Roesch won three different events. McGovern had the third-fastest time in the prelims (57.06), then went at a blistering 56.36 pace in the finals, a quarter of a second before the runner-up from Kenyon College touched. McGovern's time could very well earn her an invite to next month's NCAA Div. III Championships as it was a "B" cut, and it marked the second-best performance in school history in what has traditionally been a strong event for the Fighting Scots.

McGovern also advanced to a championship heat in the 100 backstroke. She broke a five-year old school record with 57.90 in the morning session, then lowered it further to 57.50 for a fifth-place finish during the finals. The 57.50 also is an NCAA "B" cut.

Both relays for Wooster on the women's side took fourth-place and McGovern was part of each one. Her sister, Mariah McGovern, led off the 200 medley team, which also included Alexandra Desotelle and Morgan Hughes, and they swam it in 1:47.70, just three-tenths shy of a program record. The 800 freestyle team was Courtney McGovern, Molly Laubernds, Caitlin Shea, and Anna McGlade, covering the event in 7:48.32.

Another NCAA "B" cut and school record was registered in the 200 freestyle, as McGlade swam it in 1:53.21 and won the consolation heat for 10th-place overall. Hughes and Mariah McGovern were in the consolation finals of the 100 fly and 100 back, hitting 11th (58.72) and 17th (1:03.05), respectively.

The 100 breaststroke and 400 IM also were high-scoring events for the Scots. Kaitlyn Fries, Rachel Appleton, and Desotelle notched 12th (1:08.00), 13th (1:08.19), and 16th (1:08.61) in the 100 breast, respectively, with teammate Erin Drake contributing as well in 24th (1:11.33), while Colleen Kill and Sarah Litt were back-to-back in 12th (4:40.59) and 13th (4:40.92) in the 400 IM, followed by Theresa Dunne's 20th-place (4:50.88) and Lena Smith's 21st (4:54.98).

Two others of note, Holly Hickman won the bonus heat of the 100 back for 19th-place (1:01.88) and Laubernds scored some team points in the 200 free via a 20th-place (1:58.80).

The Scots' men's team also had an NCAC championship heat qualifier on Friday in the form of junior Brian Maddock. The backstroke specialist set a strong pace during the preliminaries of the 100 with a time of 51.54 and swam a nearly identical time of 51.61 in the finals to place fifth overall.

Maddock also paced Wooster in the 100 fly, taking 13th overall with a 52.07 time after a 51.65 in the prelims, and he was followed in the event by teammate James Love in 14th (52.40). Additionally, Avery Wilson, Zack Pool, and Aaron Brown contributed via 23rd- (53.18), 24th- (53.84), and 26th-place (54.80) finishes, respectively.

In the 100 back, Maddock was complemented by Benjamin Hopper's 16th-place effort (55.73) and James Lorenzin's 27th (58.38).

Conner Gelwicks stood out for the Scots via a 13th-place performance in the 200 free (1:43.18), while the team's deepest event was the 100 breast, in which Evan Hagedorn earned 16th (59.57), Jacob Earle 18th (1:01.10), Frayne Poeting 23rd (1:01.56), and Andy Pfeuffer 24th (1:02.38).

Also in the pool, Michael Sokolich and Jesse Phillips were 21st (4:33.65) and 22nd (4:33.71) in the 400 IM, respectively, while Aaron Salzman and Bryan Smith added valuable points in the diving well as they came in 12th (336.10) and 13th (252.40) on the one-meter.

The 2014 NCAC Championships will conclude on Saturday.