GRANVILLE, Ohio (December 2, 2021) – The No. 4 nationally-ranked Denison University men's swimming & diving team currently sits atop the leaderboard following the first day of action at the Third Annual Denison Invitational hosted at the Trumbull Aquatics Center in Granville. Thanks to a first-day total of 691.5 points, the Big Red hold a 73-point lead over second-place and No. 3 nationally-ranked Emory University with 618.5 points while No. 6 Washington University-St. Louis follows in third with 385 points and No. 11 Franklin & Marshall College rounds out the standings with 198 points.

Competing against some of the top teams in NCAA Division III this weekend, the Big Red opened the competition with 15 NCAA Division III national cut times during the first round of finals while also posting three event victories.

The 3-meter diving preliminaries and finals took place in the afternoon, and senior Liam Simmons won it with a score of 476.00 points in the finals, surpassing the NCAA Division III National "B" cut total of 440.00 points for 11 dives.

In the first swimming final of the invitational, the 200 freestyle relay, Denison's "A" team consisting of senior Kyle Verstandig, junior Trey Ike, junior Chase Fisher and senior Liam Picozzi finished in first place with a time of 1:20.03 while Denison's "B" team of junior Aidan Lane, senior Michael Arpasi, senior Nicholas Czepukaitis and senior Richie Kurlich were third with a time of 1:21.53. Both times were good enough for a National "B" cut.

In the first individual swimming final of the meet, the 500 freestyle, freshman Lucas Conrads tied for fourth place with a time of 4:30.79. Junior Luke Landis was eighth at 4:31.97. Senior Lukas Gately (4:27.67) won the B finals and was 10th overall while sophomore Ryan Foreback (4:31.31) was 11th overall, making it four Big Red swimmers earning an NCAA Division III National "B" cut in the event.

Senior Noah Houskeeper won the 200 IM with a time of 1:49.59 while fellow-senior Ethan Bevill tied for second with a time of 1:50.11 and freshman Patrick Daly was fifth at 1:50.21. Additionally, Kurlich (1:49.04) won the B finals and was 10th overall, yet again making it four Big Red swimmers in the event to earn a National "B" cut.

In the 50 freestyle, Ike finished second with a time of 19.97 seconds, surpassing the previous pool record of 19.98 seconds set in 2019 by the University of Pittsburg's Blaise Vera. Picozzi finished fourth with a time of 20.24 seconds as both men earned National "B" cuts.

The 400 medley relay closed out the night's finals as Denison's "B" team of Picozzi, freshman Gavin Jones, Bevill and Verstandig took third place with a time of 3:16.12 while Denison's "A" team of freshman Chris Luus, Kurlich, Houskeeper and Ike were fourth with a time of 3:16.45. Yet again, both times were good enough for a national standard.

Denison returns to the Trumbull Aquatics Center on Friday, December 3, for preliminaries at 10 a.m. followed by finals at 6 p.m.

NCAA Division III National "B" cuts
Liam Simmons – 3-meter diving finals – 476.00
Liam Simmons – 3-meter diving prelims – 466.20
Kyle Verstandig, Trey Ike, Chase Fisher Liam Picozzi – 200 freestyle relay finals – 1:20.03
Aidan Lane, Michael Arpasi, Nicholas Czepukaitis Richie Kurlich – 200 freestyle relay finals – 1:21.53
Lucas Conrads – 500 freestyle finals – 4:30.79
Lucas Conrads – 500 freestyle prelims– 4:31.26
Luke Landis – 500 freestyle finals – 4:31.97
Luke Landis – 500 freestyle prelims – 4:30.27
Lukas Gately – 500 freestyle finals – 4:27.67
Lukas Gately – 500 freestyle prelims – 4:32.61
Ryan Foreback – 500 freestyle finals – 4:31.31
Noah Houskeeper – 200 IM finals – 1:49.59
Noah Houskeeper – 200 IM prelims – 1:51.05
Ethan Bevill – 200 IM finals – 1:50.11
Ethan Bevill – 200 IM prelims – 1:50.98
Patrick Daly – 200 IM finals – 1:50.21
Patrick Daly – 200 IM prelims – 1:50.28
Richie Kurlich – 200 IM finals – 1:49.04
Trey Ike – 50 freestyle finals – 19.97
Trey Ike – 50 freestyle prelims – 20.24
Liam Picozzi – 50 freestyle finals – 20.24
Liam Picozzi – 50 freestyle prelims – 20.25
Liam Picozzi, Gavin Jones, Ethan Bevill and Kyle Verstandig – 400 medley relay finals – 3:16.12
Chris Luus, Richie Kurlich, Noah Houskeeper and Trey Ike – 400 medley relay finals – 3:16.45

Day One Results