GARLAND, Texas – Trinity University won its third straight SCAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championship and the program's 14th overall title on Saturday night at the Garland ISD Natatorium. The league crown was Trinity's 10th in the past 11 years. Official Website | Final Team Scores | Saturday's Complete Results | Complete Meet Results | Photo Gallery | Video Interviews Playlist
The Tigers finished with 1,016 points to defeat second-place Colorado College, who ended with 855 points. Southwestern University was third with 709 points, followed by University of the Ozarks with 329 points, McMurry University with 294 points, Austin College with 183 points and Centenary College with 173 points.
Swimmer-of-the-Meet honors went to Trinity's Michael Kohl who won titles in the 200 medley relay, 800 free relay, 200 free relay, 50 free, 100 fly, 400 medley relay, 100 free, and 400 free relay. Kohl tied for Swimmer-of-the-Meet honors with his teammate Daniel Sarman, but his NCAA 'B' cut totals provided the tiebreaker point.
Diver-of-the-Meet went to Konstantine Partalas who won SCAC titles on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards.
The Trinity University staff - led by first-year head coach Cathleen Pruden, along with assistant coach John Ryan, assistant coach Adrien Downey, and diving coach Stan Randall - earned SCAC Men's Coaching Staff-of-the-Year honors. It marked the first honor for Pruden since she took over prior to the 2021-22 season and marks the program's sixth all-time award.
Partalas took home a win in the 3-meter after tallying a score of 476.00. It was his first career win on the 3-meter board. Placing second was Aiden Richter of Colorado College who scored 400.90 points while teammate Mac O'Brien was third with a mark of 346.55. Finishing in fourth was Griffin Salinas of Southwestern with a score of 340.80. Trinity's Garrett Guillet was fifth posting a mark of 286.90 while Mikeee Vargas of the University of the Ozarks was sixth with a tally of 192.10. Men's 3-Meter Interview
Sebastian Ortiz of Southwestern won the 1650 free with a time of 16:23.14. It marked the second straight win for the Pirates in the event. He edged out Will Barber of Colorado Colleg, who recorded a time of 16:23.80. Finishing in third was Keshaun Patel of Southwestern, who touched the the wall in 16:41.07. 1,650-Yard Freestyle Interview
Sarman won his fourth straight 200 back after he clocked a 1:50.71. His teammate Matt Lanzara was second after swimming a 1:51.36. Rounding out the All-SCAC honorees was Colorado College's Caleb Peimann who touched the wall with a time of 1:54.72. 200-Yard Backstroke Interview
Trinity swept the top three spots in the 100 free as Kohl took home a 'B' cut time of 44.61 in winning the event for the second straight year. Nathaniel Early was second with a time of 45.64 and Shamzi Alkaff was third with a mark of 46.48. 100-Yard Freestyle Interview
The 200 breast saw Trinity's Kendal Southwell earn a SCAC record with a winning time of 2:01.85. It was his second straight win in the event and earned him a 'B' cut time. Touching the wall in second place was Collin Ralston of Colorado College with a time of 2:02.72, which was also a 'B' cut time. Coming in third was Spencer Steward of Trinity with a time of 2:05.50. 200-Yard Breaststroke Interview
Zach Kangieser of Southwestern broke Trinity's four year run in the 200 fly when he touched the wall first with a time of 1:51.54. Trinity's John Fontenot was second after he swam a time of 1:53.24. Coming in third was Colorado College' Cade Thumann with a time of 1:54.97. 200-Yard Butterfly Interview
Trinity closed out the night and the championship with a record-breaking performance in the 400 free relay. The team of Sarman, Kohl, Early, and Alkaff established a new SCAC standard with a time of 3:01.73, which earned the group a 'B' cut time. Colorado College's team of Cole Thumann, Step Flanagan, Jack Hussin, and Cade Thumann took home second place after swimming a 3:06.14. Finihsing in third was Southwestern's team of Sam Anderson, Ortiz, Carter Duncan, and Henry McClure who touched the wall in 3:07.14. 400-Freestyle Relay Interview
Notes: A total of seven SCAC records were broken including, the 200 medley relay, 800 free relay, 200 IM, 100 fly, 400 medley relay, 200 breast and the 400 free relay. In addition to the seven league records, SCAC men's swimmers tallied 19 NCAA 'B' cut times.
