GRANVILLE, Ohio (February 10, 2022) – Through seven events at the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championship, the No. 6 Denison University men are out in front with 732 points. The Big Red logged three event wins on Thursday night, and now hold a 164-point lead over second-place and No. 2-ranked Kenyon College (568 points) in the overall standings. Wabash College is third with 332 points and DePauw University is fourth with 312.

Trey Ike took part in all three of Denison's wins on Thursday (two relays and 50 freestyle) while Liam Picozzi was a part of the win in both relays as well.

The highlight of the night for Denison came in the final event of the night, the 400 medley relay, as the team of Picozzi, Noah Houskeeper, Richie Kurlich and Ike set a new Denison varsity record, pool record and NCAC Championship record with an NCAA Division III National "B" cut time of 3:13.73. Denison's previous varsity record was 3:14.29 set in 2019, the previous pool record was 3:13.96 set by Wayne State in 2018, and the previous NCAC record was 3:15.83 set by Kenyon in 2015. This time around, Kenyon came in second place behind Denison with a time of 3:14.27.

Denison kicked off Thursday night's finals with a conference title in the 200 freestyle relay as Kyle Verstandig, Ike, Chase Fisher and Picozzi posted an NCAA Division III National "B" cut time of 1:19.73. Kenyon was second with a time of 1:20.20.

In the first individual swimming final of this year's championship, Luke Landis led a group of four Denison swimmers to top-six finishes in the 500 freestyle. Landis swam a National "B" cut time of 4:28.00 to finish in second place behind Kenyon's Bryan Fitzgerald (4:26.46). Sam Myaard (4:29.25) also swam a National "B" cut time and finished in fourth place while Lucas Conrads (4:34.12) was fifth and Ryan Foreback (4:34.22) was sixth.

After the 500 freestyle, Denison took over first place in the team standings with 334 points compared to 290 for Kenyon.

In the 200 IM, Ethan Bevill, Patrick Daly, Houskeeper, Eric Chimes and Gavin Jones all swam National "B" cut times and finished 2-6 in the standings. Bevill led DU with a second-place showing and a time of 1:49.69, finishing behind only Kenyon's Noah Althoff (1:49.55). Daly was third with a time of 1:49.78, Houskeeper was fourth at 1:49.81, Chimes was fifth at 1:50.70, and Jones was sixth at 1:50.83.

Denison expanded its lead over Kenyon from 44 points to 149 points (522-373) following the 200 IM.

In the 50 freestyle, four Denison swimmers would place in the top-six, led by Ike winning the conference title with a time of 20.04 seconds and followed by Picozzi in second place with a time of 20.26 seconds. Verstandig took fourth with a time of 20.52 seconds, and Fisher was sixth at 20.55 seconds. All four times were National "B" cuts for the Big Red, who will now return to the Trumbull Aquatics Center on Friday, February 11, for Day 3 of the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Championships with preliminaries starting at 9:30 a.m. followed by finals at 6 p.m. Day 3 of the conference meet will feature the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and the 1-meter dive.
 
NCAC Championships:
Kyle Verstandig, Trey Ike, Chase Fisher, Liam Picozzi – 200 freestyle relay – 1:19.73
Trey Ike – 50 freestyle – 20.04
Liam Picozzi, Noah Houskeeper, Richie Kurlich, Trey Ike – 400 medley relay – 3:13.73
 
All-NCAC Performances (Top-3):
Kyle Verstandig, Trey Ike, Chase Fisher, Liam Picozzi – first place in the 200 freestyle relay – 1:19.73
Luke Landis – second place in the 500 freestyle – 4:28.00
Ethan Bevill – second place in the 200 IM – 1:49.69
Patrick Daly – third place in the 200 IM – 1:49.78
Trey Ike – first place in the 50 freestyle – 20.04
Liam Picozzi – second place in the 50 freestyle – 20.26
Liam Picozzi, Noah Houskeeper, Richie Kurlich, Trey Ike – first place in the 400 medley relay – 3:13.73
 
NCAA Division III National "B" cuts:
Kyle Verstandig, Trey Ike, Chase Fisher, Liam Picozzi – 200 freestyle relay – 1:19.73
Luke Landis – 500 freestyle finals – 4:28.00
Luke Landis – 500 freestyle prelims – 4:30.10
Sam Myaard – 500 freestyle finals – 4:29.25
Sam Myaard – 500 freestyle prelims – 4:31.62
Ethan Bevill – 200 IM finals – 1:49.69
Ethan Bevill – 200 IM prelims – 1:49.90
Patrick Daly – 200 IM finals – 1:49.78
Patrick Daly – 200 IM prelims – 1:50.45
Noah Houskeeper – 200 IM finals – 1:49.81
Noah Houskeeper – 200 IM prelims – 1:51.08
Eric Chimes – 200 IM finals – 1:50.70
Eric Chimes – 200 IM prelims – 1:51.36
Gain Jones – 200 IM finals – 1:50.83
Trey Ike – 50 freestyle finals – 20.04
Trey Ike – 50 freestyle prelims – 20.28
Liam Picozzi – 50 freestyle finals – 20.26
Liam Picozzi – 50 freestyle prelims – 20.30
Kyle Verstandig – 50 freestyle finals – 20.52
Kyle Verstandig – 50 freestyle prelims – 20.52
Chase Fisher – 50 freestyle finals – 20.55
Liam Picozzi, Noah Houskeeper, Richie Kurlich, Trey Ike – 400 medley relay – 3:13.73
 
Day Two Results