GRANVILLE, Ohio (February 10, 2023) – Wins by Emma Pritchett, Taryn Wisner and Kerstyn Johnson highlighted day three of the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships for the Denison University women's swimming & diving team. Through 14 of 21 events, the Big Red remained in first place in the overall standings with 1,428 points, leading second-place Kenyon College by 60.5 points. Kenyon has 1,367.5 points, followed by DePauw University (845.5) and the College of Wooster (647).

Denison put four swimmers into the top-seven of the 400 IM as Savannah Sargent (4:22.08) was second, Tara Witkowski (4:23.75) was third, Esme Wright (4:27.09) was sixth and Maria Mrosko (4:29.19) was seventh, each with an NCAA Division III National "B" cut. Finishing in first place with a new NCAC record time of 4:21.22 from Kenyon was Gabby Wei.

After earning all-conference honors in the 100 butterfly with a second-place finish as a freshman a year ago, Pritchett brough home the conference title this time around with a National "B" cut time of 55.11 seconds. She was followed by Amber Croonquist earning all-conference honors in third place with a "B" cut time of 55.40 seconds while Phoebe Ferguson was right behind her in fourth place with a "B' cut time as well of 55.61 seconds. Emma Berdelman (56.68) finished in sixth place as the Big Red put four swimmers into the top-six.

Denison's second win of the night came in the 200 freestyle as Wisner won the conference championship for the second year in a row as a sophomore, this time setting a new NCAC and Denison varsity record with a "B" cut time of 1:48.55. It was a big event for the Big Red, who swept the top-four spots and set four "B" cuts in the event. Tara Culibrk (1:48.78) and Annie Pfeufer (1:49.97) earned all-conference honors in second and third place, respectively, while Quinn Brown (1:51.50) was fourth. Culibrk originally set the new Denison varsity record with a "B" cut time of 1:48.73 in the prelims before it was broken by Wisner in the finals. Natalie English (1:53.84) added an eighth-place finish to help Denison expand its lead to over 200 points (1,131-919.5) over Kenyon for the first time in the meet.

In the 100 breaststroke, Christina Crane posted an all-conference swim for the second year in a row by finishing in second place with a "B" cut time of 1:02.61 while Drue Thielking was fourth with a "B" cut time as well of 1:02.74. Kenyon's Jennah Fadley earned the win and set a new conference record in the event with a time of 59.98 seconds.

In the final individual swimming event of the night, Pritchett (58.26), Claire Moody (58.32) and Grace Kadlecik (58.42) finished fifth through seventh in the 100 backstroke while Kenyon swept the top-three spots and trimmed its deficit to 111.5 points (1,272-1,160.5).

On the 1-meter diving board, Denison took four of the top-five spots in the prelims as Johnson (438.40) was first, Anya Ferner (409.20) was second, LuSi Minnich (392.60) was fourth and Taylor Trapp (373.85) was fifth. Then in the finals, Johnson (427.20) earned the sweep of the conference championships on the diving boards while Minnich (408.05) earned all-conference honors in third place and Ferner (361.95) was fourth. The scores for Johnson and Ferner in the prelims were both good for an NCAA Division III provisional regional qualifying score, as were the scores for Johnson and Minnich in the finals.

Lastly, in the 400 medley relay, Wisner, Crane, Pritchett and Culibrk recorded a "B" cut time of 3:44.12 to claim second place while Kenyon finished first with a pool and conference record time of 3:40.06.

The 2023 NCAC Championship will close out on Saturday with seven 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 and the 400 freestyle relay. The Denison women are seeking their 11th conference championship overall and first since 2020.
 
NCAC Championships:
Emma Pritchett – 100 butterfly – 55.11
Taryn Wisner – 200 freestyle – 1:48.55
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter dive – 427.70
 
All-NCAC Performances (Top-3):
Savannah Sargent – second place in the 400 IM – 4:22.08
Tara Witkowski – third place in the 400 IM – 4:23.75
Emma Pritchett – first place in the 100 butterfly – 55.11
Amber Croonquist – third place 100 butterfly – 55.40
Taryn Wisner – first place in the 200 freestyle – 1:48.55
Tara Culibrk – second place in the 200 freestyle – 1:48.78
Annie Pfeufer – third place in the 200 freestyle – 1:49.97
Christina Crane – second place in the 100 breaststroke – 1:02.61
Kerstyn Johnson – first place in the 1-meter dive – 427.70
LuSi Minnich – third place in the 1-meter dive – 408.05
Taryn Wisner, Christina Crane, Emma Pritchett, Tara Culibrk – second place in the 400 medley relay – 3:44.12
 
NCAA Division III National "B" cuts:
Savannah Sargent – 400 IM finals – 4:22.08
Savannah Sargent – 400 IM prelims – 4:26.06
Tara Witkowski – 400 IM finals – 4:23.75
Tara Witkowski – 400 IM prelims – 4:26.98
Esme Wright – 400 IM finals – 4:27.09
Esme Wright – 400 IM prelims – 4:29.42
Maria Mrosko – 400 IM finals – 4:29.19
Maria Mrosko – 400 IM prelims – 4:28.23
Emma Pritchett – 100 butterfly finals – 55.11
Emma Pritchett – 100 butterfly prelims – 55.25
Amber Croonquist – 100 butterfly finals – 55.40
Amber Croonquist – 100 butterfly prelims – 55.50
Phoebe Ferguson – 100 butterfly finals – 55.61
Phoebe Ferguson – 100 butterfly prelims – 56.06
Taryn Wisner – 200 freestyle finals – 1:48.55
Taryn Wisner – 200 freestyle prelims – 1:51.09
Tara Culibrk – 200 freestyle finals – 1:48.78
Tara Culibrk – 200 freestyle prelims – 1:48.73
Annie Pfeufer – 200 freestyle finals – 1:49.97
Annie Pfeufer – 200 freestyle prelims – 1:50.33
Quinn Brown – 200 freestyle finals – 1:51.50
Quinn Brown – 200 freestyle prelims – 1:51.69
Christina Crane – 100 breaststroke finals – 1:02.61
Christina Crane – 100 breaststroke prelims – 1:02.18
Drue Thielking – 100 breaststroke finals – 1:02.74
Drue Thielking – 100 breaststroke prelims – 1:03.38
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter diving finals – 427.70
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter diving prelims – 438.40
LuSi Minnich – 1-meter diving finals – 408.05
Anya Ferner – 1-meter diving prelims – 409.20
Taryn Wisner, Christina Crane, Emma Pritchett, Tara Culibrk – 400 medley relay – 3:44.12
Rebecca Martin – 400 IM time trail – 4:27.07
Maja Palmroos – 100 butterfly time trial – 56.09
 
Day Three Results