Trinity's Kohl and Partalas Repeat as SCAC Male Swimmer and Diver of the Year

Trinity's Kohl and Partalas Repeat as SCAC Male Swimmer and Diver of the Year

SUWANEE, Ga. – Trinity University’s Michael Kohl and Konstantine Partalas repeated as the league’s male Swimmer and Diver-of-the-Year, respectively, based on exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. 2023 All-SCAC Team

Kohl, a junior from Missouri City, Texas, has been selected SCAC Swimmer-of-the-Year for the third consecutive season. He is just the third swimmer in league history (SCAC era) to earn the award in three consecutive years, joining DePauw University’s John Cook (2008-10) and Trinty’s Ryan Van Der Kar (2002-04). Kohl won all three of his events at the 2023 SCAC Swimming and Diving Championships and earned Swimmer-of-the-Meet honors for the third consecutive season. He hit the wall first in the 50-yard freestyle (20.25 – T2nd fastest in SCAC Meet history), 100-yard butterfly (47.85 – second fastest in SCAC Meet history) and the 100-yard freestyle (44.89 – sixth fastest in SCAC Meet history). Kohl now has nine individual SCAC titles which ranks him tied for fourth all-time in SCAC history.

Following the SCAC Championships, Kohl represented Trinity at the NCAA Championships, highlighted by an Honorable Mention All-American performance in the 100-yard fly, finishing 16th in the country. He also finished 17th and 32nd, respectively, in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle. Additionally, Kohl swam a leg on three Honorable Mention All-American Tiger relays, highlighted by a 12th-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Kohl was a key part of Trinity’s 23rd-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships, the highest finish for an SCAC men’s team since Trinity placed 17th at the 2017 Championship.

Kohl is the 10th-straight Trintiy student-athlete to win the award and 15th overall since the league reintroduced swimming as an officially sponsored conference sport in 1998-99.  

Partalas, a junior from San Antonio, Texas, claimed gold in both the 1- and 3-meter board competitions for a second consecutive season at the SCAC Championships, earning SCAC Diver-of-the-Meet honors in the process. It was historic as he became just the second men's diver in SCAC history to sweep both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards in consecutive championships and the first since DePauw's Nate Moch accomplished the feat in 2002 and 2003. The victory on the low board represented his third consecutive win in that event at the championships, making him just the fourth diver in league history to win the event three-straight years. Partalas now has five individual SCAC titles which ranks him tied for 23rd all-time in SCAC history and tied for third all-time among divers.

Partalas was also the top SCAC finisher at the NCAA Division III Diving Regionals, finishing fifth on the 3-meter board (446.00) and 10th on the 1-meter (398.35). He is the eighth different athlete in SCAC history to repeat as Diver of the Year. The award marks the eighth-straight year a Trinity diver has earned the league’s top honor.  

Additionally, the Colorado College staff - led by 17th-year head coach Anne Goodman James, along with assistant coach Jen Buffin, assistant coach Adric Arndt, and diving coach Ellen Walker - earned SCAC Men's Coaching Staff-of-the-Year honors. It marks the third Men's Coaching Staff-of-the-Year honor for Goodman James and marks the program's third overall all-time award.

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