GRANVILLE, Ohio (February 10, 2023) – The Denison University men hold a narrow 11-point lead heading into the final day of competition at the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championship. The Big Red logged eight all-conference performances on Friday to sit in first place with 1,265.5 points while Kenyon College trails in second place with 1,254.5 points.

Three swimmers from Denison placed in the top-six of the 400 IM standings, led by Lucas Conrads (3:54.59) in second, Eric Chimes (3:56.05) in third and Max Soja (4:00.61) in sixth, each with an NCAA Division III National "B" cut. However, Kenyon's Bryan Fitzgerald won the event for the second year in a row after swimming a time of 3:52.21.

In the 100 butterfly, Richie Kurlich and Josh Song finished in second and fifth place, respectively, as Kurlich earned his second straight all-conference certificate in the event with a National "B" cut time of 47.51 seconds while Song swam a "B" cut time of 48.81 seconds. Kenyon, meanwhile, was led by Marko Krtinic's pool record, NCAC record, and National "A" cut time of 47.11 seconds, which allowed the Owls to draw into a tie with the Big Red for first place in the team standings, both with 860 points.

With the lead in the team standings on the line, Denison finished 2-6 in the 200 freestyle to take a 1,005-946 lead over the Owls. Tyler Distenfeld (1:40.10) and Ryan Foreback (1:40.41) both earned all-conference honors in second and third place, respectively, while Sam Myaard (1:40.42) was .01 seconds behind Foreback in fourth place, Christian Narcelles (1:40.77) was fifth and Christian McIntire (1:41.01) was sixth. Kenyon's Yurii Kosian earned the win with a time of 1:40.03, only .07 seconds ahead of Distenfeld.

Denison's lone event title of the day came from Elijah Venos with a "B" cut time of 54.32 seconds in the 100 breaststroke while Patrick Daly finished in second place with a "B" cut of 55.46 seconds.

Kenyon then took the top-four spots in the 100 backstroke while for Denison, Aidan Lane (50.03) was fifth, Nick Settembrine (50.55) was seventh and Song (50.89) was eighth. That shrunk Denison's lead to just 46 points (1,230-1,184.5) with just the 400 medley relay remaining on the night.

In the 400 medley relay, Denison's group of Lane, Venos, Kurlich and Daly finished in second place with a "B" cut time of 3:14.86 while Kenyon won it with a pool and conference record time of 3:12.71. Kenyon's Daniel Brooks swam to an NCAC record in the 100 backstroke competition with a time of 47.77. The record lasted for around an hour as Brooks replaced it himself during the 400 medley relay with a swim of 47.53 in his segment.

The 2023 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 men are seeking their 14th NCAC championship and 13th since 2009.
 
NCAC Championships:
Elijah Venos –100 breaststroke – 54.32
 
All-NCAC Performances (Top-3):
Lucas Conrads – second place in the 400 IM – 3:54.59
Eric Chimes – third place in the 400 IM – 3:56.05
Richie Kurlich – second place in the 100 butterfly – 47.51
Tyler Distenfeld – second place in the 200 freestyle - 1:40.10
Ryan Foreback – third place in the 200 freestyle - 1:40.41
Elijah Venos – first place in the 100 breaststroke – 54.32
Patrick Daly – second place in the 100 breaststroke – 55.46
Aidan Lane, Elijah Venos, Richie Kurlich, Patrick Daly – second place in the 400 medley relay – 3:14.86
 
NCAA Division III National "B" cuts:
Lucas Conrads – 400 IM finals – 3:54.59
Lucas Conrads – 400 IM prelims – 3:55.58
Eric Chimes – 400 IM finals – 3:56.05
Eric Chimes – 400 IM prelims – 3:56.92
Max Soja – 400 IM finals – 4:00.61
Max Soja – 400 IM prelims – 3:57.36
Richie Kurlich – 100 butterfly finals – 47.51
Richie Kurlich – 100 butterfly prelims – 48.30
Josh Song – 100 butterfly finals – 48.81
Josh Song – 100 butterfly prelims – 48.74
Elijah Venos – 100 breaststroke finals – 54.32
Elijah Venos – 100 breaststroke prelims – 53.96
Patrick Daly – 100 breaststroke finals – 55.46
Patrick Daly – 100 breaststroke prelims – 55.50
Franceso Assalone – 100 breaststroke prelims – 55.51
Josh Song – 100 backstroke prelims – 49.65
Aidan Lane, Elijah Venos, Richie Kurlich, Patrick Daly – 400 medley relay – 3:14.86
Connor Brown – 400 IM time trail – 3:57.86
Shea Card – 100 backstroke time trial – 49.44
 
Day Three Results