Stevens Men's Swimming Takes 11th at NCAA's for Best Finish in Program History
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (March 23, 2012) – The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s swimming team placed 11th in the nation at the 2012 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. The Ducks finished with a team total of 78 points which gave them the highest placement in program history. Stevens was led on Day 4 by freshman Wesley Elford (Phoenix, Ariz.) who placed third in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
The previous program-high finish for Stevens was 14th one year ago. Denison University won the title and Kenyon College placed second. Emory University was third, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Redlands rounding out the top five.
Day 4 Preliminaries
Sophomore Shawn Hanak (North Royalton, Ohio) placed 20th in the 200-yard backstroke prelims, and the 400-yard freestyle relay team earned a trip to the consolation finals by taking 15th. Sophomore Joe Huyett (Blandon, Pa.), junior John Hu (Oak Harbor, Wash.), Hanak and sophomore Nick Noga (Oriskany, N.Y.) teamed to turn in a 3:05.53.
Day 4 Finals
The last day’s finals started with the 1,650-yard freestyle. Elford took third, breaking his own school-record by 13 seconds and completing the event in 15:26.79. Junior Alex Benham (Raleigh, N.C.) carded a 15:44.53 which was good for sixth overall as the duo both earned All-America honors and tallied the team 29 points.
The final event of the 2012 national championships saw the Ducks’ 400-free relay squad place 16th with a time of 3:05.03. Huyett, Hu, Hanak and Noga earned a pair of team points and all nabbed honorable mention All-America honors.
In total, Stevens had three All-America honors and 14 honorable mention All-America accolades.