The College of Wooster men's swimming & diving team's lineup was set up perfectly for the Fighting Scots to deliver the program's first top-three North Coast Athletic Conference finish in two decades last year, and now the program is looking to maintain its position within NCAA Div. III preeminent swimming & diving conference.

"We want to continue to hold ourselves to high standards as we try to replicate the successes we had last year, all while knowing this is a new season," said head coach Rob Harrington, who is in year 21 leading his alma mater's program. "There will be new challenges as we prepare for our upcoming meets and training. Overall, we are a more experienced group. We have created a great culture within the program and we are excited to see how our lineup shakes out."

With new challenges comes great opportunities, and Wooster's diving prospects are the strongest they have been in some time. Five divers are on Wooster's roster, including returnees Leo Edmonds-Doberenz and Alex Linderman, who scored 61 points between them at last year's NCAC Championships. Wooster's depth is a great asset for the program as the Scots will be able to maximize scoring spots at both championship and dual meets.

"This is very exciting," shared Harrington. "Our additions all show a lot of promise, and this area is our biggest improvement within our program. We are potentially set up for a big infusion of points, especially as we progress with our three-meter skills. At conference, divers count as one-third of a swimmer because they score in only two events. We could potentially have three divers score on both boards and with not many divers throughout the conference, it can make a significant impact."

Senior Josh Pearson is the program's cornerstone as a multi-event recordholder. He has his eye on capping a very successful career with qualification for the NCAA Div. III Championships. Along the way, Pearson would "certainly like to break all of his personal records," per Harrington, and the idea of making nationals is a very "big thing" and "major accomplishment."

One of Pearson's signature events is the 200 butterfly, and that is where the Scots were loaded up at last year's championships when Wooster and Wabash College were jockeying down the stretch for the third-place finish. Junior Isaac Shaker joined Pearson in the championship final in the event where the Scots overmatched the Little Giants 87-39. Sophomore Matt Kaley and senior Garrett Morris are also back, and those two were instrumental in helping Wooster position itself for that top-three placement.

Harrington projects to see junior Max Likins and sophomore Boston Sullivan as the leaders among the returnees in the 100 butterfly. Sophomore Callum Glover will continue to do the sprints, in particular, the 50 and 100 freestyles per Harrington, and thanks to his success on Wooster's 800 freestyle relay, may see a switch from the 100 butterfly to the 200 freestyle, per the Scots' head coach. Junior Ryan Gross, another sprint and relay staple, is the program's other top returnee in the sprint events. Sophomore Flynn Cowie, sophomore Will Laymon, and junior Aiden Lentz are among the other contributing returnees.

Likins is Wooster's top backstroker and has qualified for the championship final at conference both times in the 200. He has secured the top spot for the leadoff leg of Wooster's medley relay to start the season, according to Harrington. Sophomore Stewie Bovich, senior Lyonel Fritsch, and Lentz are the other key backstrokers among the returnees, per Harrington.

Wooster's specialty strokes took a hit to the overall scoring punch with the graduations of Noah Golovan and Doak Schultz. Harrington is waiting to see how the lineup shakes out, but does have plenty of talent looking to step up, anchored by junior Tucker Andrewjeski.

"Tucker really has his eye on the breaststroke school records this year, and I think this is the year to get them," stated Harrington. "There is no doubt in my mind that Tucker trains the hardest of any guy on the team, and I really feel like Tucker is destined for big things this year."

Behind Andrewjeski, juniors Ari Inwood and Parker Robinson are the returnees in the 200 breaststroke, while senior Eli Harvey is Wooster's other returning contributor in the stroke.

Pearson is Wooster's leader in the individual medley, where Andrewjeski, Kaley, Shaker, and Sullivan project to have a major impact among the returnees, per Harrington, who noted depending on the meet, a few from this group may be called upon to shore up some depth in the distance freestyle events.

Overall, Wooster's middle distance and distance freestyle groups were inexperienced the last few years, and that is no longer the case. Junior Andre Yazhbin has stepped up as Wooster's top conference mile swimmer, while a junior- and senior-heavy group consisting of Nathan Ferrence, Jed Howrey, Ian MacLaughlin, Jonah McGlumphy, and sophomores Will Laubacher and Aidan Post add plenty of depth to the program. Fritsch is another of the junior and senior group that Harrington projects to count on among the returnees in the middle distance and distance freestyle events.

Sophomore divers Blu Catanzaro and Noah McDonald joined the team for the first time this fall, while first-years Dillon Boespflug (breaststroke, sprint freestyle), Chris Caldwell (diving), Philipp Drappatz (distance freestyle), Ethan Neuner (freestyle, butterfly, individual medley), Ryan Stokes (breaststroke, individual medley), and Caleb Sun (sprint freestyle, breaststroke) round out this year's roster.

"We have a small first-year class, but I think we added depth in areas where we needed it the most," wrapped up Harrington. "Based on what I've seen so far, this class has a lot of potential."

The Kenyon College Relays are where the 2023-24 season starts, with that meet taking place on Saturday, October 14. Wooster's annual three-day home invitational takes place November 30 through December 2, while the NCAC Championships are set to be contested at Denison University February 14-17.