From University of Chicago Athletics
For the second-straight year, University of Chicago's Garrett Clasen captured the national championship in the men's 200-yard IM to kick off day one of the 2023 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships on Wednesday.
Clasen's victory marked the 27th NCAA individual championship in the school's Division III era. The Maroon junior became UChicago's first repeat champion since Kendra Higgins and Chrissy Hu won the women's tennis doubles titles in 2009 and 2010.
Clasen started strong in the 200 IM morning prelims and was the top seed going into the evening finals. He proved to be unbeatable in the final, as his school-record time of 1:45.65 was the third-fastest 200 IM time in NCAA Division III history. Clasen also bettered his 2022 NCAA title mark (1:46.19).
The men's 200 IM marked the first time UChicago had placed two swimmers in a championship final in the same event. Kyle Garcia joined Clasen on the All-American podium by finishing fifth in a time of 1:48.01.
The women's three-meter dive saw two Maroons reach the championship final. Veronica Fong finished third overall with 462.70 points, and Cynthia Tang took sixth with a score of 412.95. UChicago women's divers increased their All-American awards haul to 26 since 2017.
The men's 200-yard medley relay claimed All-American status by finishing fifth with a school-record time of 1:27.14. The quartet included Hudson Tritter, Jason Starbuck, Jesse Ssengonzi and Arthur Kiselnikov.
In the women's 200-yard medley relay, the Maroons grabbed eighth place and First Team All-American status. The relay of Ioanna Georgopoulou, Julia Luo, Jane Candy and Grace Schwieters finished in 1:44.13.
UChicago garnered a pair of Second Team All-American accolades in the men's and women's 500-yard freestyles. Samantha Bertschi set a new school record by touching the wall in 4:57.39 to take 12th in the women's race. Marcell Milo-Sidlo placed 14th in the men's race in 4:28.35.
Emily Xu secured Second Team All-America in the women's 50-yard freestyle. She set a new school record with a time of 23.47 as she tied for 13th place.
UChicago Men's Top Finishers
200-yard IM – Garrett Clasen (1st, 1:45.65); Kyle Garcia (5th, 1:48.01)
200-yard Medley Relay – 5th, 1:27.14 (Hudson Tritter, Jason Starbuck, Jesse Ssengonzi, Arthur Kiselnikov)
500-yard Freestyle – Marcell Milo-Sidlo (14th, 4:28.35); Junichiro Asano (25th, 4:32.23)
50-yard Freestyle – Jason Starbuck (21st, 20.32); Jared Zhang (22nd, 20.37); Jonathan Tang (24th, 20.42)
UChicago Women's Top Finishers
Three-meter Dive – Veronica Fong (3rd, 462.70); Cynthia Tang (6th, 412.95)
200-yard Medley Relay – 8th, 1:44.13 (Ioanna Georgopoulou, Julia Luo, Jane Candy, Grace Schwieters)
500-yard Freestyle – Samantha Bertschi (12th, 4:57.39)
50-yard Freestyle – Emily Xu (13th, 23.47); Karen Zhao (22nd, 23.59)