GRANVILLE, Ohio (February 11, 2022) – Esme Wright and Taryn Wisner highlighted day three of the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships. Through 13 of 21 events, No. 3 Denison University remained in second place in the overall standings, trailing first-place and No. 1 nationally-ranked Kenyon College by 88 points. Kenyon has 1,256 points, followed by Denison (1,168), DePauw University (760) and the College of Wooster (629).

In the 200 medley relay, Annalise Cheshire, Christina Crane, Emma Pritchett and Lauren Richner recorded an NCAA Division III National "B" cut time of 1:42.15 to claim second place while Kenyon finished first with a time of 1:41.82 to expand its lead from only four points (614-610) to 12 points (684-672).

Denison's first win of the night came in the 400 IM as Wright finished first with a time of 4:23.09 while Alix O'Brien was second with a time of 4:23.23. It was the fourth year in a row Denison took home the conference championship in the 400 IM, which also saw Denison's Grace Kacmarek (4:27.94) and Savannah Sargent (4:28.69) finish in sixth and seventh place, respectively, making it four DU swimmers in the top-seven, each with a National "B" cut time.

Following the 400 IM, Denison cut Kenyon's lead down to only five points at 796-791.

In the 100 butterfly, Pritchett posted an all-conference swim by finishing in second with a National "B" cut time of 54.57 seconds. Emma Berdelman turned in a National "B" cut time as well of 56.53 seconds to finish in sixth place, but it was Kenyon's Crile Hart who finished in first place and broke her own pool and conference record with a time of 53.40 seconds. It was Hart's third 100 butterfly conference title in her career as she helped Kenyon expand its lead by 90 points to a total of 95 points (944-849).

Denison's second win of the night came in the 200 freestyle as Wisner finished first win a National "B" cut time of 1:49.36 while Tara Culibrk was second with a National "B" cut time of 1:50.24. Annie Pfeufer (1:52.24) finished fifth, making it three DU swimmers in the top-five, and Natalie English (1:54.71) was eighth, making it four Big Red swimmers in the top-eight.

In the 100 breaststroke, Crane posted an all-conference swim by finishing in third place with a National "B" cut time of 1:03.47, and right behind her was Devin Javens in fourth with a National "B' cut time as well of 1:04.08.

The night was rounded out by a pair of top-three finishes from Cheshire and Richner in the 100 backstroke. Cheshire took second with a National "B" cut time of 55.31 seconds while Richner was third in 56.99 seconds. Kenyon's Oliva Smith, meanwhile, earned her second straight 100 backstroke title with a time of 55.03 seconds. Pritchett (57.35) and Claire Moody (58.19) finished in fifth and sixth, respectively, making it four Big Red swimmers in the top-six, and then Grace Kadlecik (58.79) finished in eighth place to put five from DU in the top-eight.

The 2022 NCAC Championship will close out on Saturday with eight events. Preliminaries begin at 9:30 a.m. followed by finals at 6 p.m. The Big Red return to the water for finals in the 1,650 freestyle, 100 IM, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 3-meter diving and the 400 freestyle relay. The Denison women are the defending conference champions, and are seeking their 11th conference championship overall.
 
NCAC Championships:
Esme Wright – 400 IM – 4:23.09
Taryn Wisner – 200 freestyle – 1:49.36
 
All-NCAC Performances (Top-3):
Annalise Cheshire, Christina Crane, Emma Pritchett, Lauren Richner – second place in the 200 medley relay – 1:42.15
Esme Wright – first place in the 400 IM – 4:23.09
Alix O'Brien – second place in the 400 IM – 4:23.23
Emma Pritchett – second place in the 100 butterfly – 54.57
Taryn Wisner – first place in the 200 freestyle – 1:49.36
Tara Culibrk – second place in the 200 freestyle – 1:50.24
Christina Crane – third place in the 100 breaststroke – 1:03.47
Annalise Cheshire – second place in the 100 backstroke – 55.31
Lauren Richner – third place in the 100 backstroke – 56.99
 
NCAA Division III National "B" cuts:
Annalise Cheshire, Christina Crane, Emma Pritchett, Lauren Richner – 200 medley relay – 1:42.15
Esme Wright – 400 IM finals – 4:23.09
Esme Wright – 400 IM prelims – 4:26.64
Alix O'Brien – 400 IM finals – 4:23.23
Alix O'Brien – 400 IM prelims – 4:25.61
Grace Kacmarek – 400 IM finals – 4:27.94
Grace Kacmarek – 400 IM prelims – 4:27.50
Savannah Sargent – 400 IM finals – 4:28.69
Savannah Sargent – 400 IM prelims – 4:25.04
Emma Pritchett – 100 butterfly finals – 54.57
Emma Pritchett – 100 butterfly prelims – 54.62
Emma Berdelman – 100 butterfly finals – 56.53
Taryn Wisner – 200 freestyle finals – 1:49.36
Tara Culibrk – 200 freestyle finals – 1:50.24
Tara Culibrk – 200 freestyle prelims – 1:51.95
Annie Pfeufer – 200 freestyle prelims – 1:51.43
Christina Crane – 100 breaststroke finals – 1:03.47
Christina Crane – 100 breaststroke prelims – 1:03.73
Devin Javens – 100 breaststroke finals – 1:04.08
Annalise Cheshire – 100 backstroke finals – 55.31
Annalise Cheshire – 100 backstroke prelims – 55.73
 
Day Three Results