NCAC Championships Notebook: Swimming & Diving

NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships Webpage

The Outlook: The College of Wooster men's and women's swimming and diving teams travel to Denison University for the four-day 2025 North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, which take place February 12-15 at Trumbull Aquatics Center. Prelims on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday start at 9:30 a.m., with finals beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday's session begins with diving prelims at 4:45 p.m.

Ticket Information: All-session passes were sold online during the month of January. A limited number of single-session tickets will be sold on site during the championships. Single-session tickets are: Adults - $5 per preliminaries session, $10 per finals sessions; Children (18-and-under) and Student (with ID) - $3 per preliminaries session, $5 per finals session; students who attend a NCAC institution are admitted free of charge with their student ID card.

Media Coverage: Fans can follow along through the available livestream and live results links as found on the NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships webpage.

2024 NCAC Championships Recap: Wooster's men and women placed fourth at the 2024 NCAC Championships. Then-junior Ollie Bream (Melbourne, Australia/Firbank Grammar School) broke the program's oldest standing swimming event record with a 4:29.68 in the 400 individual medley. That was nearly a second better than 19-time All-American Debbie King's 1994 time of 4:30.28. Earlier in the championships, Bream, then-sophomore Emma Humbert (Kensington, Md./Albert Einstein), then-senior Emma Connors, and then-first-year Kate Peck earned All-NCAC honors, thanks to the third-place time of 8:02.17 in the 800 freestyle relay. On night two, then-senior Maddie Becker, then-junior Izzy Bellefleur (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little), Bream, and then-junior Hallie Findlan (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) took down the program's 400 medley relay record by the slimmest of margins – a single hundredth of a second. Wooster's 3:53.33 earned All-NCAC honors. Later in the Thursday session, Bream scored a "B" cut with a time of 2:05.44 in the 200 individual medley. She later added a second "B" cut with a 2:05.22 in the 200 butterfly on the final night of Div. III's preeminent conference meet.

On the men's side, then-junior Max Likins (St. Clair, Mich./St. Clair), then-sophomore Boston Sullivan (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover), then-senior Josh Pearson, and then-sophomore Callum Glover (Houston, Texas/Stratford) broke the program's 400 medley relay record with a time of 3:26.29, which was the fourth-place time at the championships. Then-junior Tucker Andrewjeski (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley) shattered an already-held 200 breaststroke record, swimming a 2:05.43 in 2024. That was the fifth-place time at last year's NCAC meet.

Looking to Make it Three: Bream is vying to be a three-time NCAA Div. III Championships qualifier. The senior already has a "B" cut in the 200 butterfly, with her 2:04.28 coming at the midseason Wooster Invitational. Bream's midseason time ranks slightly better than last year's invited time to the national meet. Bream qualified for the Div. III Championships as a first-year and junior. Her best showing at the national meet was the 21st-place time of 2:04.83 in the 200 butterfly as a junior.

Scots Sweep: Wooster swept the NCAC Athlete of the Week honors following its final dual meet of the season. On the women's side, Findlan earned her third-career NCAC Athlete of the Week award after swimming the leadoff leg of the winning 200 medley (1:55.01) and 200 freestyle (1:44.72) relays against Ohio Northern University. In individual events, Findlan took first in the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle with times of 1:02.60 and 54.84, respectively. Findlan, and Wooster's women seniors, went 35-2 in dual meets during their careers.

Senior Isaac Shaker (Solon, Ohio/Solon) swam a 1:58.66 to take first in the 200 butterfly against Ohio Northern and won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:01.45. Wooster's men's seniors won 29 dual meets during their careers.

A Four-Timer: Bream earned NCAC Athlete of the Week honors for the fourth time following her dominance at the program's annual midseason invitational. Bream was a quadruple winner at the Wooster Invitational. Her 2:04.28 in the 200 butterfly was a NCAA Div. III "B" cut, and at the time, it was the 12th-fastest in Div. III for the season. Bream won the 200 butterfly by nearly five seconds. Her winning time of 4:32.00 in the 400 individual medley led the field by 6.72 seconds, and she had a two-second lead on the field in the 200 individual medley with a winning time of 2:07.01. In relays, Bream was part of Wooster's first-place 800 freestyle relay, which posted a time of 7:56.45.

Winners: Wooster's women's team won the Wooster Invitational for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Wooster was a clear victor at the invitational with 1,792.5 points. Ashland University finished second with 1,536 points.

Glover One of the Fastest Ever at Wooster: Glover is Wooster's second-fastest swimmer all-time, evidenced by ranking No. 2 in program history with a 20.68 in the 50 freestyle. Glover's time from 2024 trails Wooster legend and W Association Hall of Famer Wes Bennett's 20.16 from 2000. Bennett's 45.37 in the 100 freestyle is all that stands between Glover and the program record. Glover came close to topping it with a 45.55 in 2024. Glover's collegiate-best of 1:42.63 in the 200 freestyle is the third-fastest time in program history.

Top Times: Wooster's men enter the 2025 NCAC Championships with 25 individual top-10 times in program history. Those include Glover (50 freestyle, 20.68, second; 100 freestyle 45.55, second; 200 freestyle, 1:42.63, third; 100 butterfly, 50.97, fifth)), junior Will Laubacher (Wexford, Pa./Pine Richland) (200 freestyle, 1:43.77, ninth; 500 freestyle, 4:44.98, 10th; 1,650 freestyle, 16:43.76, seventh), senior Ryan Gross (Solon, Ohio/Solon) (200 freestyle, 1:44.54, 10th), sophomore Philipp Drappatz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel Area) (1,000 freestyle, 10:07.88, 10th; 1,650 freestyle, 16:45.76, ninth), junior Will Laymon (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) (100 backstroke, 51.53, fifth), Likins (200 backstroke, 1:56.05, ninth), Sullivan (100 breaststroke, 57.48, second; 200 breaststroke, 2:06.24, second; 100 individual medley, 53.81, fourth; 200 individual medley, 1:53.43, second), Andrewjeski (200 breaststroke, 2:05.43, first; 200 individual medley, 1:55.29, fifth; 400 individual medley, 4:08.50, fourth), sophomore Ryan Stokes (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) (200 breaststroke, 2:08.65, fifth), Shaker (200 butterfly, 1:53.47, fourth; 200 individual medley, 1:57.57, 10th; 400 individual medley, 4:05.87, second), and junior Matt Kaley (Royal Oak, Mich./Royal Oak) (200 butterfly, 1:57.96, 10th).

On the women's side, Wooster has 18 individual top-10 times in program history. Those include Findlan (50 freestyle, 23.68, second; 100 freestyle, 51.74, second), Bream (200 freestyle, 1:52.95, second; 100 butterfly, 57.19, fourth; 200 butterfly, 2:03.46, second; 100 individual medley, 1:01.72, fifth; 200 individual medley, 2:05.44, second; 400 individual medley, 4:29.68, school record), senior JP Timken (Canton, Ohio/Hoover) (500 freestyle, 5:09.52, eighth; 1,000 freestyle, 10:35.05, third; 1,650 freestyle, 17:29.09, third); junior Lacey Mindock (Oswego, Ill./Rosary) (1,000 freestyle, 10:43.18, eighth; 1,650 freestyle, 17:44.68, 10th); sophomore Charlotte Helm (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) (200 backstroke, 2:10.10, 10th); Bellefleur (100 breaststroke, 1:07.49, ninth; 200 breaststroke, 2:26.17, 10th; 100 individual medley, 1:03.52, 10th); and senior Mariam Zayour (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton) (400 individual medley, 4:40.68, 10th).