GRANVILLE, Ohio – Thursday quickly emerged as moving day for The College of Wooster women's swimming and diving team, which overcame a Wednesday relay disqualification to jump from seventh- to fourth-place, while the Fighting Scots' men remain in fourth-place after two days of action at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, which are taking place through Saturday at Denison University's Trumbull Aquatics Center.
Wooster's relays took center stage, starting with the women's 200 freestyle relay, which posted the fourth-place time of 1:37.62. Sophomore Hallie Findlan's leadoff time of 24.17 was just a touch off her collegiate-best 23.81, and the sprint specialist was followed by first-years Gracie Duchon, Keara Wiley, and junior Maddie Becker, who had Wooster's first top-five program time of the championships earlier in the session. Senior Doak Schultz, first-year Flynn Cowie, sophomore Ryan Gross, and first-year Callum Glover closed out Thursday's events with the fifth-place time of 1:25.08 in the men's 200 freestyle relay.
Individually, junior Josh Pearson secured a spot in the championship final of the 200 individual medley with a 1:53.46 in prelims, and he shaved nearly a second off that with a 1:52.65 in finals, which was the ninth-place time. Sophomore Tucke Andrewjeski went 1:57.24 for 12th-place in the 200 individual medley, while first-year Boston Sullivan rounded out the Scots in the championship or consolation final with the 14th-place time of 1:58.12.
Midseason addition Leo Edmonds-Doberenz provided a much-needed boost to Wooster's diving ranks, and a championship start was delivered by the first-year at his first conference meet. Edmonds-Doberenz scored 285.15 points in the one-meter prelims to secure the final spot in finals, and the first-year went on to place ninth with 271.60 points. Forty-two points were secured by Wooster's divers, as sophomore Alex Linderman was 12th in the competition with 214.90 points.
Findlan's 24.19 in the 50 freestyle won the consolation final, and the 10th-place effort marked Wooster's highest individual finish on the women's side. Wooster's depth took over the consolation final of the 500 freestyle, with Scots occupying five of the nine lanes. Emma Connors' 5:11.79 was 11th overall, and the junior was immediately followed by first-year Lacey Mindock and sophomore JP Timken, who had times of 5:12.08 and 5:15.85, respectively. First-years Emma Humbert and Bailey Nickols combined for 26 points, thanks to having the 16th- and 18th-place times of 5:23.03 and 5:34.11, respectively.
Sophomore Ollie Bream emerged as the runner-up in the 200 individual medley consolation final. The program's second-fastest swimmer in the event posted a time of 2:08.90, which is a little over a second off her collegiate-best. Becker backed Bream up with the 12th-place time of 2:08.90, which is the fifth-fastest time in the event in program history. Becker started the championships in ninth-place on the program's top-10 board, and climbed to seventh with a 2:09.73 in prelims. First-years Gracie Duchon (14th-place, 2:11.55) and Coco Malnar (18th-place, 2:20.41) rounded out Wooster's consolation final contingent.
Sophomore Isaac Shaker was Wooster's top placer in the men's 500 freestyle, with his 4:45.78 ranking 12th in the field. Glover went 21.45 to place 13th in the 50 freestyle. Glover's 21.33 in prelims was good for the ninth-fastest time in program history. Cowie's 21.79 in the event netted the win in the bonus heat.
Denison holds a 40-point lead over Kenyon College atop the men's standings. Wabash College's 359.5 points remaining within striking distance of Wooster's 343.5.
On the women's side, Denison comfortably leads Kenyon 746-613.5. DePauw University has a strong hold on third-place with 388.5 points.
Friday's preliminaries start at 9:30 a.m., while finals kickoff at 6 p.m.