By Henry Schneiderman
Sports Editor
Champions were made this past week, as The College of Wooster Swim and Dive team participated in the annual North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships, Feb. 12-15. The team traveled to Granville, Ohio to participate in a 4-day long tournament alongside all other conference competitors: Denison University, DePauw University, Hiram College, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Wabash College and Wittenberg University. This tournament serves as the season’s final test for the team every year, an aspect that lends it much excitement.
“Competing in the NCAC championships has always been the highlight of my season,” Cady Eakins ’25 said. “It’s a lot of fun to see all of yours and your teammates’ hard work throughout the season payoff.” Competitive spirits rose as the Scots dove into action and aimed to establish themselves the conference’s best.
The meet kicked off on Wednesday, Feb. 12, as the team poured into Denison’s Trumbull Aquatic Center to begin the competition. The first day yielded much success for the team as the Scots found impressive placements in multiple relay events.
Ollie Bream ’25 led off the women’s 800 freestyle medley with a 200 freestyle of 1:52.23, a personal best and the 2nd-fastest in the program’s history. She was followed by Emma Humbert ’26, Rachel Frank ’27 and JP Timken ’25 for a convincing 4th place finish. Bream also competed in the 200 medley relay alongside Charlotte Helm ’27, Izzy Bellefleur ’25 and Hallie Findlan ’25 to achieve a time of 1:42.42, placing 4th.
On the diving board, Eakins scored 230.50 points on the 3-meter diving board to place 11th. On the men’s side, Callum Glover ’26, Boston Sullivan ’26, Will Laubacher ’26 and Ryan Gross ’25 placed 5th in the 800 freestyle with a time of 6:58.79.
The meet’s second day included a number of standout performances from the Scots as multiple team members qualified for championship finals. Noah McDonald ’26 led the Scots’ diving efforts and placed 5th with a tally of 298.20 points. Chris Caldwell ’27 amassed 276.55 points for an impressive 7th place finish.
“It felt pretty good to compete for the team and try to improve my scores from last year,” McDonald reflected. “Everyone around you is trying their best to improve their abilities and it just makes you want to perform better.”
Overall, the men’s diving efforts added 54 points to the men’s team’s tally. Laubacher continued his strong showing for the meet as he grabbed a college best 4:44.66 in the 500 freestyle prelims — a time he quickly improved upon in the finals as he completed the race in a 12th place position with a time of 4:41.82. This time is the 6th fastest in the program’s history.
Behind Laubacher were Gross and Phillip Drappatz ’27 with times of 4:45.27 and 4:48.43, respectively. Isaac Shaker ’25 put forth an impressive individual performance as he grabbed 1:55.41 in the 200 individual medley finals, a time good for 15th and 8th in the program’s history. Glover then placed 18th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.59.
On the women’s side, Helm, Bellefleur, Bream and Findlan placed fourth in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:57.72. Bream completed the 200 individual medley finals in 8th with a time of 2:06.42, while Findlan commanded the 50 freestyle, finishing the race in 24.19 and ranking her 13th at Div. III’s conference championships. Humbert led the way for the Scots in the 500 freestyle as she completed the event in 5:14.51 for 12th in finals.
On the third day, Bream surpassed her own school record of 4:29.68. The senior dashed straight through the competition in the prelims with a time of 4:29.05 and placed in the conference “B” cut standard — a qualifying time for the NCAA Division III Championships. She finished 6th overall in the event’s finals. Bream was joined by Mariam Zayour ’25, Humbert and Maggie Layne ’28 who grabbed times of 4:45.41, 4:47.10 and 4:59.14, respectively. Findlan, Timken, Helm and Keara Wiley ’26 commanded the 200 freestyle relays and earned an all-conference honor with a time of 1:38.44 that placed them 3rd.
In individual performances, Bellefleur took 9th in the 100 breaststroke with a collegiate best of 1:07.07, a time ranking as the 8th fastest in the program’s history. Elizabeth Theobald ’28 swam the 100 butterfly in 58.43 to place 11th. On the dividing board, Eakins amassed 213.5 points in the prelims of the 1-meter dive and placed 18th overall. On the men’s team, a quartet of Glover, Ethan Neuner ’27, Gross and Laubacher, led the Scots in the 200 freestyle relay, placing 6th with a time of 1:25.98. Gross also qualified for the 200 freestyle swim finals, placing 8th at a time of 1:44.58.
The Scots found much individual success as Will Laymon ’26 swam the 100 backstroke in 52.06 and placed 8th. Laubacher delivered another impressive showing as he finished the 200 freestyle in 1:44.26 to place 1st in the consolation final while Max Likins ’25 placed 11th and Aiden Lentz ’25 placed 16th in the 100 backstroke with times of 53.72 and 54.59, respectively. Tucker Andrewjeski ’25 placed 12th in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:09.92. Boston Sullivan ’26 placed 12th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 57.47 in prelims and 57.60 in the finals. Nathan Ferrence ’25 followed closely behind with a 58.78 in the event to place 13th. Glover and Laymon led the Scots in the 100 butterfly as they placed 14th and 16th with times of 51.58 and 52.44, respectively.
The competition’s final day proved a strong finish for Wooster, with the team posting a number of impressive results. Bream found much success once more as she earned the “B” cut in the 200 butterfly with a prelims time of 2:04.51. She later placed 4th in the finals with a time of 2:06.44. Theobald led the pack for the Scots in the 100 individual medley as she placed 6th in the finals with a time of 1:00.45. Her time was followed by Bellefleur in 11th at 1:03.33, Wiley in 13th with a time of 1:03.82, Anna Lundquist ’27 in 14th at 1:06.39 and Vicky Maumbe ’25 in 15th with a time of 1:07.77. Bellefleur later placed 7th in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:27.31 and was closely followed by Layne who finished 10th at 2:31.63.
Helm led Wooster’s 200 backstroke effort and she completed the race 9th at 2:13.35. Findlan commanded the 100 freestyle for the Scots as she placed 11th, completing the race in an even 53 seconds. Wooster also made strides in a longer event as Timken placed 7th in the 1650 with a time of 17:52.96.
The Scots also took home a 5th place finish in the 400 free relay as Findlan, Timken, Wiley and Bream completed the event in 3:37.12. On the men’s side, Andrewjeski broke his own school record in the 200 breaststroke, lowering his time from 2:05.43 to 2:05.38 and finishing 8th in the event. Drappatz and Laubacher led the Scots in the 1650 with times of 16:43.07 and 16:45.48 to finish in 9th and 10th, respectively. Shaker set a personal record in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:53.42 to place 5th. Will Laymon finished 9th in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:57.02. During relays, a team of Glover, Laubacher, Sullivan and Gross placed 6th in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:11.36. On the diving board, McDonald scored 289.15 points in the 3-meter dive to place 6th.
By the tournament’s conclusion, Wooster’s women finished 4th out of 8 teams while the men finished 5th out of 9, with each team putting forth a remarkable effort in a competitive conference. Throughout the tournament, the team focused on encouraging one another through this final competition.
“It felt amazing to compete,” Conner Morgan ’28 said. “I was with my entire team, encouraging them, shouting, screaming and cheering for every single race … It was an amazing meet!”
This sentiment was echoed by Eakins: “We’re a very loud team and are always cheering for each other, no matter what event is happening,” Eakins said. “This season really showed the determination and grit we have as a team. I’m very proud of this team and everything we accomplished throughout the season.”
With the Conference meet’s conclusion, the Fighting Scots Swim and Dive season comes to a close for most, aside from a small number of athletes who will compete in the upcoming NCAA Division III Championships in March.
“I felt great about the season,” McDonald said. “The team improved physically and mentally throughout the year and when it was time to compete, we competed, and I feel like we are going to take the same mentality into the next season.”
Ollie Bream will continue on to the NCAA Division III Championships on Mar. 20-22. Congratulations to the team for a successful season and go Scots!
