GRANVILLE, Ohio (February 15, 2024) – Grace Kadlecik won the 50 freestyle and then swam the first leg of Denison's first-place team in the 400 medley relay and Kerstyn Johnson won the 1-meter dive to highlight day two of the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Championships. Through seven of 21 events, Denison University sits in second place with 690.5 points, just 22 points behind Kenyon College in first place with 712.5 points.

Denison finished with four of the top-six swimmers in the 500 freestyle, led by Tara Witkowski (4:50.35) in second place. She was followed by Emily Harris (4:52.69) in fourth, Taryn Wisner (4:55.12) in fifth and Annie Pfeufer (5:00.50) in sixth. Witkowski, Harris and Wisner each swam an NCAA Division III National "B" cut.

Denison and Kenyon remained tied for first place with 247 points after the 500 freestyle, but then after the 200 IM, the Big Red took a 384-265 lead after putting five swimmers into the A final. Esme Wright finished as the runner-up with a National "B" cut time of 2:03.59 while Phoebe Ferguson was third with a "B" cut of 2:03.76 and Drue Thielking was sixth with a "B" cut herself of 2:05.41. Jassy Park and Maria Mrosko followed in eighth and ninth place, respectively, with times of 2:08.44 and 2:08.70.

The Big Red then swept the top-three spots in the 50 freestyle as Kadlecik (23.29), Amber Croonquist (23.44) and Natalie English (23.47) all finished with "B" cuts. Maja Palmroos tied for sixth place with a time of 23.61 seconds.

Denison led 524.5-491.5 entering the finals of the 1-meter dive, which saw Johnson (452.60), the 2023 NCAC Diver of the Year, earn the win in the finals. She was followed by Alexis Radhakrishnan (433.90) in second and Lu-Si Minnich (428.75) in third as all three dives were good for a provisional regional qualifying score.

Kenyon, however, took spots four through nine in the 1-meter dive and picked up 159 points to overtake the Big Red in the standings, 650.5-620.5.

In the final event of the night, Kadlecik, Thielking, Ferguson and Harris brought home the win in the 400 medley relay with a "B" cut time of 3:42.28, 0.86 seconds in front of Kenyon at 3:43.14.

Denison returns to the Trumbull Aquatics Center on Friday, February 16, for day three of the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference Championships with preliminaries starting at 9:30 a.m. followed by finals at 6 p.m. Day three of the conference meet will feature the 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and the 200 freestyle relay.
 
NCAC Championships:
Grace Kadlecik – 50 freestyle – 23.29
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter dive – 452.60
Grace Kadlecik, Drue Thielking, Phoebe Ferguson, Emily Harris – 400 medley relay – 3:42.28
 
All-NCAC Performances (Top-3):
Tara Witkowski – second place in the 500 freestyle – 4:50.35
Esme Wright – second place in the 200 IM – 2:03.59
Phoebe Ferguson – third place in the 200 IM – 2:03.76
Grace Kadlecik – first place in the 50 freestyle – 23.29
Amber Croonquist – second place in the 50 freestyle – 23.44
Natalie English – third place in the 50 freestyle – 23.47
Kerstyn Johnson – first place in the 1-meter dive – 452.60
Alexis Radhakrishnan – second place in the 1-meter dive – 433.90
Lu-Si Minnich – third place in the 1-meter dive – 428.75
Grace Kadlecik, Drue Thielking, Phoebe Ferguson, Emily Harris – first place in the 400 medley relay – 3:42.28
 
NCAA Division III National "B" cuts:
Tara Witkowski – 500 freestyle finals – 4:50.35
Tara Witkowski – 500 freestyle prelims – 4:52.62
Emily Harris – 500 freestyle finals – 4:52.69
Emily Harris – 500 freestyle prelims – 4:52.44
Taryn Wisner – 500 freestyle prelims – 4:55.12
Taryn Wisner – 500 freestyle prelims – 4:55.32
Esme Wright – 200 IM finals – 2:03.59
Esme Wright – 200 IM prelims – 2:04.94
Phoebe Ferguson – 200 IM finals – 2:03.76
Phoebe Ferguson – 200 IM prelims – 2:04.37
Drue Thielking – 200 IM finals – 2:05.41
Drue Thielking – 200 IM prelims – 2:05.71
Grace Kadlecik – 50 freestyle finals – 23.29
Grace Kadlecik – 50 freestyle prelims – 23.10
Amber Croonquist – 50 freestyle finals – 23.44
Natalie English – 50 freestyle finals – 23.47
Grace Kadlecik, Drue Thielking, Phoebe Ferguson, Emily Harris – 400 medley relay – 3:42.28
Riley Tofflemire – 100 breaststroke time trial – 1:02.62
Quinn Brown – 500 freestyle time trial – 4:51.82
 
NCAA Division III Provisional Regional Qualifying Scores (Diving):
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter diving finals – 452.60
Kerstyn Johnson – 1-meter diving prelims – 429.00
Alexis Radhakrishnan – 1-meter diving finals – 433.90
Alexis Radhakrishnan – 1-meter diving prelims – 450.95
Lu-Si Minnich – 1-meter diving finals – 428.75
Lu-Si Minnich – 1-meter diving prelims – 425.05

Day Two Results