GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 23, 2024) – For the eighth time in program history and the first time since 2015, Denison University women's swimming & diving is the NCAA Division III runner-up. Denison finished with 430 team points, placing them 56 points in front of third-place New York University with 374 points. First place went to Kenyon College with 448 points and its 25th national title in program history.

In the 1,650 freestyle, Tara Witkowski (16:46.62) was fifth, Quinn Brown (16:53.96) was eighth and Taryn Wisner (17:00.18) was 10th. After entering the day with a three-point lead (315-312) over the Big Red, Kenyon increased its lead ever so slightly to five points (349-344) as Bengisu Caymaz (16:34.67) claimed the national championship, her second national title of the meet, and Molly Haag (16:47.24) was sixth.

Witkowski is now a four-time All-American in the 1,650 while Wisner, the 2022 and 2023 national runner-up in the event, is now a three-time All-American.

Grace Kadlecik finished ninth in the prelims of the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.06 seconds while in the B Final, she moved back to fifth place (13th overall) with a time of 51.43 seconds. For Kenyon, however, Lisa Torrecillas-Jouault (50.53) was seventh in the A Final, earning 12 points and putting the Owls up by 13 points (361-348) over the Big Red.

Emily Harris (2:01.42) and Jassy Park (2:01.89) finished ninth and 11th, respectively, in the prelims of the 200 backstroke. In the B Final, Harris (2:01.85) moved back to third (11th overall), earning her second straight Second-Team All-American certificate in the event, while Park (2:04.39) moved back to eighth (16th overall). Meanwhile for Kenyon, Caleigh Wukitch (1:58.98) was third in the A Final, earning the Owls 16 more points to increase their lead to 22 points (377-355).

Drue Thielking finished fourth in the prelims of the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:15.13, and then in the A Final, she stayed in fourth place with a time of 2:13.45. It was her second straight First-Team All-American performance in the event after finishing sixth as a freshman last season. However, Kenyon saw Gabriella Wei (2:11.70) and Jennah Fadely (2:12.71) finish back-to-back in first and second place while Sydney McCallie (2:19.16) was fifth in the B Final (13th overall). That made it a 418-370 Owls' lead.

Denison attempted to earn back some big points in the 3-meter dive as Kerstyn Johnson (450.40) was fifth, Alexis Radhakrishnan (444.60) was seventh, and Lu-Si Minnich (426.60) was 11th in the prelims. In the A Final, Johnson finished fourth with 475.30 points while Radhakrishnan was eighth at 452.85.

Johnson, who is now a three-time All-American on both boards as a junior, had hit a forward 2 1/2 somersault pike (105B) for 46.80 points on her sixth attempt in the prelims. In the finals, Johnson scored over 50 points on three dives and got 52.80 points on a back 1 1/2 somersault straight (203A) on her second dive.

Radhakrishnan's best dive in the prelims was an inward 2 1/2 somersault tuck (405C) for 49.95 points on her seventh attempt while in the finals, she scored over 50 points on her first two dives and got 55.35 points on an inward 2 1/2 somersault tuck (405C) on her second dive.

In the B Final, Minnich remained in third (11th overall) with a final score of 438.85 points. Minnich's best dive in the prelims was a forward 2 1/2 somersault pick (105B) for 45.60 points on her eighth attempt while in the B Final, her best dive was a reverse 1 1/2 somersault pike (303B) that earned her 49.45 points on her fifth dive.

Despite scoring 32 points in the 3-meter dive, Denison still trailed Kenyon 418-402.

In the prelims of the 400 freestyle relay, Harris, Kadlecik, Phoebe Ferguson and Annie Pfeufer were fourth for Denison with a time of 3:24.11 while Kenyon was second at 3:23.36. Then in the finals, it was Harris, Kadlecik, Ferguson and Esme Wright finishing fifth with the exact same time of 3:24.11 while Kenyon was fourth at 3:23.38 to close out its championship run.

Over the course of the championship, Denison totaled 36 All-American performances (31 ind., 5 relay) and 17 top-eight finishes (12 ind., 5 relay). 16 student-athletes earned at least one individual All-American certificate for the Big Red, led by Tara Witkowski (3 First-Team), Quinn Brown (2 First-Team), Emily Harris (2 First-Team) and Drue Thielking (1 First-Team) each with three. The Big Red also had eight top-three event finishes, including Harris in the 200 freestyle (2nd) and the 200 butterfly (3rd), Witkowski in the 500 freestyle (3rd) and the 400 IM (3rd), Emma Pritchett in the 100 butterfly (3rd), and the 200 medley relay (2nd), the 200 freestyle relay (2nd), and the 800 freestyle relay (2nd).

First-Team All-Americans (Top-8):
Tara Witkowski – 5th place in the 1,650 freestyle – 16:46.62
Quinn Brown – 8th place in the 1,650 freestyle – 16:53.96
Drue Thielking – 4th place in the 200 breaststroke – 2:13.45
Kerstyn Johnson – 4th place on the 3-meter diving board – 475.30
Alexis Radhakrishnan – 8th place on the 3-meter diving board – 452.85
Emily Harris, Grace Kadlecik, Phoebe Ferguson and Esme Wright – 5th place in the 400 freestyle relay – 3:24.11
 
Second-Team All-Americans (Top-16):
Taryn Wisner – 10th place in the 1,650 freestyle – 17:00.18
Grace Kadlecik – 13th place in the 100 freestyle – 51.43
Emily Harris – 11th place in the 200 backstroke – 2:01.85
Jassy Park – 16th place in the 200 backstroke – 2:04.39
Lu-Si Minnich – 11th place on the 3-meter diving board – 438.85
 
Day Four Results
Final Results