GRANVILLE, Ohio (December 3, 2022) – For the second year in a row and for the third time in four years, the No. 5 Denison University women's swimming & diving team won the Denison Invitational, doing so this time around with a three-day team total of 2,177.5 points. The Big Red won the event by 323 points over No. 2 Emory University in second place with 1,854.5 points while NCAA Division I Eastern Michigan University checked in third with 1,753 points, followed by No. 6 Johns Hopkins University (968) and then No. 20 Washington University-St. Louis (819).

After amassing 26 NCAA Division III National "B" cuts over the first two finals sessions of the invitational, the Big Red capped off an outstanding weekend with 16 more National "B" cuts during the finals on Saturday.

For the second year in a row, Tara Witkowski and Taryn Wisner both earned an NCAA Division III National "B" cut in the 1650 freestyle while Tara Culibrk did so in the 100 freestyle and Esme Wright did it in the 100 breaststroke.

In the women's 1-meter dive, Anya Ferner (254.05), Maggie Seftenberg (250.10) and Kerstyn Johnson (244.40) all earned a provisional regional qualifying score and finished in order between seventh and ninth place, respectively.

Entering the night's finals, Denison held a 145-point lead over Eastern Michigan (1,481-1,336) and was 252 points up on Emory (1,229) in third place.

In the 1650 freestyle, Denison had three National "B" cuts in all as Witkowski (16:58.63) finished in third while Wisner (17:06.00) was sixth and Quinn Brown (17:10.22) was eighth.

In the 200 backstroke, Claire Moody won the "B" final and was 10th overall with a "B" cut time of 2:02.08; and then Culibrk finished in second place in the 100 freestyle with a "B" cut of 50.71 seconds.

The Big Red then made their move with four National "B" cuts in the 200 breaststroke as Drue Thielking (2:17.46) finished second, Savannah Sargent (2:18.77) finished fourth and Wright (2:18.84) finished fifth while in the "B" final, Christina Crane (2:19.80) tied for first (T10th overall).

Then, in the final individual event of the invitational, the 200 butterfly, Maria Mrosko (2:05.01) and Kayla Tehrani (2:05.02) finished back-to-back in second and third place, only .01 seconds away from each other and both with "B" cuts, as Denison increased its lead to as much as 331 points over Emory (2,115.5-1,784.5).

The meet was wrapped up by a pair of top-five performances and National "B" cuts in the 400 freestyle relay as Denison's "A" group of Wright, Natalie English, Phoebe Ferguson and Culibrk was second with a time of 3:24.83 while the "B" team of Lauren Young, Annie Pfeufer, Avery Vogen and Grace Kadlecik was fifth at 3:29.34.

In all, Denison racked up 35 NCAA Division III National "B" cuts by 22 different student-athletes and eight relay groups throughout the meet. Leading the Big Red with three "B" cuts over the weekend were Brown, Witkowski, Sargent, Wright and Culibrk.

In lieu of admission to the Denison Invitational, donations and non-perishable food items were collected at the gate. Throughout the three days, over $1,800 and 529 food items were collected. Donations will be made to the Market Street Pantry and the Licking County Food Pantry.
 
NCAA Division III National "B" cuts:
Anya Ferner – 1-meter diving finals – 254.05
Anya Ferner – 1-meter diving prelims – 252.70
Maggie Seftenberg – 1-meter diving finals – 250.10
Maggie Seftenberg – 1-meter diving prelims – 248.85
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter diving finals – 244.40
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter diving prelims – 250.0
Tara Witkowski – 1650 freestyle – 16:58.83
Taryn Wisner – 1650 freestyle – 17:06.00
Quinn Brown – 1650 freestyle – 17:10.22
Claire Moody – 200 backstroke finals – 2:02.08
Tara Culibrk – 100 freestyle finals – 50.71
Tara Culibrk – 100 freestyle prelims – 50.47
Drue Thielking – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:17.46
Drue Thielking – 200 breaststroke prelims – 2:19.70
Savannah Sargent – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:18.77
Savannah Sargent – 200 breaststroke prelims – 2:19.03
Esme Wright – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:18.84
Esme Wright – 200 breaststroke prelims – 2:20.48
Christina Crane – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:19.80
Maria Mrosko – 200 butterfly finals – 2:05.01
Kayla Tehrani – 200 butterfly finals – 2:05.02
Esme Wright, Natalie English, Phoebe Ferguson and Tara Culibrk – 400 freestyle relay finals – 3:24.83
Lauren Young, Annie Pfeufer, Avery Vogen and Grace Kadlecik – 400 freestyle relay finals – 3:29.34
 
Fourth Annual Denison Invitational Day 3 Results
Fourth Annual Denison Invitational Combined Results