The dust has settled

Regret, satisfaction and doubt. The usual emotions leading up to nationals.

Justin Finkel

Partly out of spite, one of the predictions we thought to make was that Justin Finkel would be a back-to-back Swimmer of the Year award winner.

Justin Finkel, in the middle

But our nerve failed us. It just seemed like too much of a long shot.

Coming out of the NESCAC Men’s Championship, Justin Finkel leads all of men’s Division III swimming in the category of gaudy single swim SRS.

Justin Finkel, Connecticut: 200 Free, 1:35.57, 3.46 SRS

So, maybe not such a long-shot. Keep in mind, he is the current D3 record holder in men’s 200 Fly.

Kaley McIntyre

Also the earth has tilted back onto it’s axis with Kaley McIntyre reclaiming the top (two) spot(s) in women’s single swim SRS.

Kaley McIntyre, NYU: 100 Free, 48.58, 4.42 SRS
Kaley McIntyre, NYU: 200 Free, 1:46.15, 4.21 SRS

Hey, remember last year, when Kaley McIntyre broke a 15 year old record going 48.79 in 100 Free at Nationals? She just bested her own record by more than two-tenths of a second. At her conference champs. She still gets to swim the event a couple more times.

A week or so back we jokingly pondered whether Ms. McIntyre would swim the 200 Free at nationals this year. You got that we were joking, right?

The 200 Free record is one of the last of the unassailable Kendra Stern records (200 Free and 500 Free still standing), set back when Ms. McIntyre was still watching Dora the Explorer.¹

Ms. Stern’s 1:44.82 record stands further from the contemporary average than even Andrew Wilson’s 100 Breast record—and he has an Olympic gold medal for being ungodly fast in that event. Yet, Kendra Stern’s 200 Free remains the most impressive record in Division III history.

And that is the record Kaley McIntyre has in her sites.²

Kate Augustyn

Kate Augustyn of MIT already owns the 100 Back record, and decided to move it even further out of sight, going 53.29 in 100 Back. She set the new record at nationals last season. Ms. Augustyn seems likely to retire the undisputed D3 queen in 100 Back. The more intriguing questions revolve around her quest for the division record in 200 Back.

Someone Racing Right Next To Me

SRS

Anyway, the SRS tables are up. Go ahead and check them out. They suggest that - compared to the history of Division III swims - Denison is the best men’s team in Division III. They also suggest that, in women’s events, the two teams that were the most extraordinary - compared to recent D3 history - were Emory and NYU. We think that Emory’s roster, and the usual intangibles, will play a big role in determining which team ruins a bunch of track suits in the diving well in Greensboro this March.

1. Just guessing here. Don’t know if people in Northern California allow their children to watch TV.

2. No pressure, Kaley.