Wittenberg Swim and Dive Teams Shine on Day Three of NCAC Championships, Posting Multiple Strong Performances
Granville, OH - The Wittenberg University men's and women's swimming and diving teams continued to impress on day three of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships, showcasing incredible depth and determination in their events. Both teams delivered outstanding performances, with numerous personal bests, top finishes, and key relay contributions, keeping them firmly in the mix for podium spots. The women's team built upon their sixth place position with 478.5 points, and the men's point total is up to 241 points, currently in ninth place. On the women's side, Kenyon, Denison, and DePauw round out the top three, whereas Denison, Kenyon, and Wabash round out the top three on the men's side.
In the two relays of the day, the women took fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay, where the team of Shania Stone (Cincinnati, OH / Princeton), McKenna Clark (Waynesville, OH / Carroll), Rebekah Lebold (Mount Vernon, OH / Mount Vernon) and Lilly Cook (Rensselaer, IN / Rensselaer Central) clocked a time of 1:41.57, improving on their seed time by almost one second. In the men's 200-yard freestyle relay, the team of Owen Gabel (New Bremen, OH / New Bremen), Nathan Rabun (Marion, OH / Wynford), Orry Farrington (Waterville, OH / Anthony Wayne) and Mason Steen (Leroy, OH / Riverside) took ninth with a time of 1:33.32, improving their seed time by two seconds.
The women had many strong finishes in the individual events throughout the day. To start, in the 100-yard butterfly, Teagan O'Connor (Fort Wayne, IN / Carroll) finished 10th with a time of 57:84 and gained 22 points for the team. O'Connor will keep her place as the third-fastest indvidual in the event in school histroy. In addition, Jenna Hallett (Delta, OH / Delta) finished in 25th in the same event at 1:08.35 to score three points. Next, in the 400-yard IM, O'Connor gained 24 points by finishing ninth with a time of 4:48.79, while Jade Paumi (Lexington, KY / Lafayette) added 14 more points by finishing 16th at 5:05.47. Both of those times were faster than their seed times by almost one second.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Clark added 16 points and finished 14th with a time of 1:59.43, Elisabeth Josellis (Warsaw, IN / Warsaw Community) took 20th and added another 8 points by clocking a time of 2:04.50, and Krenna Rahr (Monongahela, PA / Ringgold) added four points while finishing 24th with a time of 2:20.16. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Sophie Paskiet (Toledo, OH/ St. Ursula) finished eighth and scored 25 points with a time of 1:05.27, which made her the second-fastest indvidual in that event in school history. Stone finished 13th and scored 17 points with a time of 1:07.91, and Annie Gammon (Cincinnati, OH/ Cincinnati County Day) finshed 18th, scoring 12 points with a time of 1:15.39. Next, in the 100-yard backstroke, Cook scored 15 points by finishing 15th with a time of 1:02.46, while Gabbi Tisi (Adelphi, OH / Zane Trace) scored four points by finishing 24th at 1:11.62. In 1-meter divng, Kylie Paumi (Lexington, KY / Lafayette) finished 14th, scoring 16 points, and Macy DeHart (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge) finished 16th, scoring 14 points.
For the men, Farrington took 15th in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:56.43 to score 15 points, and Andrew Tackett (Cuyahoga Falls, OH / St. Vincent-St. Mary) finished 16th in 2:12.37 to score 14 points. Later, Wynn took 27th in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:21.46 to improve on his seed time by over a second. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Steen placed 26th to score two points with a time of 1:01.94. Next, Gabel scored the team four points in the 100-yard backstroke by finishing 24th with a time of 57.49, and Rabun finished 26th, scoring two points, with a time of 1:02.48.
The teams will return to action again tomorrow in Granville to finish out the 2025 NCAC Swimming and Diving Championships at Denison starting at 9:30 a.m.