Amherst’s divers received special recognition for their performances at the meet. Junior Kai Robinson earned Diver of the Year honors, and senior Connor Boyd was named Four-Year High Point Diver for tallying up the most points among divers in NESCAC Championship meets during his collegiate career. Robinson had individual wins in both the one- and three-meter diving events. He also established a pool and NESCAC meet record with 558.65 points in the three-meter dive. Boyd placed right behind Robinson for second place in the one-meter dive and placed third in the three-meter event.
In addition, the Jeffs had winning performances in the freestyle relays. First-year Alex Fraser, sophomore Tad Homchick, junior Christian Witzke and senior Andrew Maslan took first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay. As a first event of the meet, the Jeffs set a high tone for the rest of the day with this early victory on the scoreboard. The combination of talented freestylers set a new NESCAC meet record with a time of 1:23.15. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Fraser, Homchick and Witzke, joined senior Derek Prill in making a record-breaking combination to finish the event with a time of 3:04.27, setting a new pool record at Middlebury.
Veteran and rookie swimmers alike helped Amherst gain its third-place standing on the championship podium. Seniors and tri-captains Maslan, Prill and Waskom ended their final NESCAC meet with top finishes in various events. Maslan finished third and fourth in the 200- and 400-yard individual medley events, respectively, while Prill placed second and fifth in the 50- and 100-yard breaststroke events, respectively. Waskom also took second place in the 100-yard and third place in the 50-yard backstroke events.
Witzke was an important component of the freestyle relay teams and recorded a third place finish in the 200-yard freestyle event. First-year Alex Fraser had an outstanding meet with double second-place finishes in the 500- and 200-yard freestyles. Fellow first-year Ryan Colby took a solid third place in the 1,000-yard freestyle as well. Waslam emphasized the rookies’ contributions. “Even though we did not place as high as last year, we had a much better meet,” he said. “Everyone swam well beyond what was expected—most notably, the performances by first-years Ryan Colby and Alex Fraser.”
For some Jeffs, the season is not yet over. “We are expecting to bring seven swimmers and two divers to nationals at the end of March,” said Waslam. “I am very excited to see what our team can do on the national level as I am confident we will place well.”