By Eddie Young
Sports Editor
The College’s men’s swimming and diving team finished tied for 17th place in the Division III NCAA Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Lions had 10 All-American performances in the championships, giving them an impressive way to have ended their season.
Seniors Ryan Higgins and Ryan VanDeVeen led the Lions on the weekend, with each being involved in four All-American swims. They were also the only two Lions to earn first-team All-American honors, with Higgins getting the title in two events and VanDeVeen in one.
Higgins’ first first-team All-American honor came in the 400-yard individual medley. He came in sixth place in the event, swimming the final in 3:52.21. It was Higgins’ third straight year with an All-American finish in this event and his second straight first-team All-American.
Junior Gavin Formon also earned All-American recognition in that event, swimming it in 3:55.92 and coming in 13th place. It was also Formon’s third straight year earning All-American honors in the event.
Higgins’ second first-team All-American came in the 200-yard backstroke on the final day of the championships. In his final swim as a Lion, Higgins broke a program record in the event, finishing in fourth place with a time of 1:45.00.
Higgins earned second-team All-American honors in the 200-yard individual medley, where he placed 10th with a time of 1:48.18 in the final.
He also teamed up with freshman M.J. Hoban, sophomore Steven Bendoraitis and Formon to get second-team All-American in the 800-yard freestyle relay, coming in 13th with a time of 6:41.17. This was Formon’s third All-American in this event and everyone else’s first.
Higgins finished his career as a Lion with seven All-Americans.
“Ending my career on a high note like I did was all I could really ask for,” Higgins, a mathematics major, said. “The 200 back is my favorite event so to close out my career with that event, that way, meant a lot to me.”
VanDeVeen earned his first-team All-American in his final swim as a Lion, like Higgins. After setting a program record in the preliminary round, he finished in sixth place in the 200-yard breaststroke after finishing in 1:58.74.
He also earned another individual All-American in the 100-yard breaststroke, coming in 12th after swimming the event in 54.40.
VanDeVeen was a part of two second-team All-American relay teams, too. On the first night of the event, he joined junior Andrew Kidchob, freshman Joe McChesney and Hoban to come in 16th in the 400-yard medley relay, finishing in 3:17.36.
The four of them ran it back two days later to get another All-American finish in the 200-yard medley relay, this time moving up a few places to 13th with a time of 1:28.47.
VanDeVeen’s four All-Americans this year helped to give him nine during his tenure as a Lion.
“There’s no better feeling than being able to end my career the way I did,” VanDeVeen, a business management major, said. “Being able to break some school records and get All-American status in some of my final swims is really special to me, and getting to be a part of the nationals team the last three years has been an amazing experience. From not even qualifying for NCAAs my freshman year to getting on the podium has shown me how much hard work can pay off.”
Bendoraitis got second-team All-American in the 500-yard freestyle. He finished the event in 12th place and swam it in 4:26.17.
All seven of the swimmers the College sent to the national championships earned All-American honors in at least two events.
The losses of Higgins and VanDeVeen will hurt the Lions, but things will still look bright for them next season. Formon already has one year of captaincy under his belt, and he and Kidchob will look to lead the team to a fifth straight conference title during their upcoming senior seasons.
