GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 18, 2023) – The Denison men's swimming & diving team placed eighth overall at the NCAA Division III Championship, capping off four days of competition at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. At the end of the meet, Denison finished with 163 points, was 24.5 points behind Washington University in St. Louis (187.5) in seventh place, and was just 9.5 points ahead of Calvin University (153.5) in ninth place. Emory University placed first with 532 points while Kenyon College was second with 495.5 points across the championship's 20 events.

In the 1,650 freestyle, Luke Landis (15:33.43) and Lucas Conrads (15:34.50) finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively, while Tyler Distenfeld (15:44.19) added a Second-Team All-American finish in 11th place. It was Landis' second-straight seventh-place finish in the event while Conrads moved up after finishing in 10th place as a freshman last year.

After not having anybody swim in the 100 freestyle or the 200 backstroke, Denison then put three swimmers into the finals for the 200 breaststroke.

In the prelims, Elijah Venos (1:59.67; 13th) and Patrick Daly (2:00.37; 15th) both qualified for the B Final before Venos went on to win the B Final and take ninth place overall with a time of 1:58.25 while Daly finished 18th at 2:00.55. Richie Kurlich finished second in the prelims of the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:57.75 before finishing seventh at 1:59.11. Kurlich earned three All-American certificates (200 IM, 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke) as a fifth-year senior while the sophomores, Venos (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke) and Daly (200 IM, 200 breaststroke), did so twice.

In the 3-meter dive, Kristian Kowalski finished 18th in the prelims with a score of 418.55 points. His best score was 54.60 points on a back 1 1/2 somersault 2 1/2 twist free (5235D) on his final dive.

In the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, Daly, Kurlich, Owen Leary and Venos tied for 15th with a time of 3:01.90 in the prelims before the foursome finished 16th in the finals at 3:01.54.

Over the course of the four-day championship meet, the Big Red finished with 19 All-American performances (15 ind., 4 relay) and seven top-eight finishes (6 ind., 1 relay). Nine competitors for the Big Red earned at least one individual All-American certificate, led by Kurlich (2 First-Team) and Conrads (1 First-Team) both with three. Unfortunately, this was also the end of a streak of 15 consecutive top-three national finishes for the Denison men's program.
 
First Team All-Americans (Top-8):
Luke Landis – 7th place in the 1,650 freestyle – 15:33.43
Lucas Conrads – 8th place in the 1,650 freestyle – 15:34.50
Richie Kurlich – 7th place in the 200 breaststroke – 1:59.11
 
Second-Team All-Americans (Top-16):
Tyler Distenfeld – 11th place in the 1,650 freestyle – 15:44.19
Elijah Venos – 9th place in the 200 breaststroke – 1:58.25
Patrick Daly – 16th place in the 200 breaststroke – 2:00.55
Patrick Daly, Richie Kurlich, Owen Leary and Elijah Venos – 8th place in the 400 freestyle relay – 3:01.54
 
Day Four Results
Final Results