Week 3 Roundup

Why didn't we think of this before?

Maybe we should just have a new recurring feature called…

Eagle of the Week

Revisiting Crow Thorsen

Every week, there seems to be an athlete on Emory that deserves special mention. Last week, it was Crow Thorsen. We probably should have started this feature last week but whatever. There are few rules in D3 swim blogging.

So, retroactively, we are announcing that the first ever D3SO Eagle of the Week is (was) Crow Thorsen. An excerpt from last week’s report on Mr. Thorsen is in the footnotes.¹ Additionally, this week Mr. Thorsen swam the fastest 100 Free so far in Men’s D3.²

Megan Jungers

That tee’s it up for our new Eagle of the Week: Megan Jungers.

Emory Senior Megan Jungers

Easy pick. Here’s what we said about her last week: On the Women’s side, Megan Jungers exercised a little restraint and brushed up against a B Cut in the 100 Back (56.94, 0.18 off the B Cut time) without garishly crossing the line on the first day of the season. See guys, that’s how it is done. You leave a little something for later.

And that’s just what she did. On October 13th, against Georgia Tech, Ms. Jungers swam 100 Back in 56.73, becoming the first woman in Division III to get a B Cut. She made us wait the extra week, and then added to the drama by finishing right under the line (56.76). That’s just good showmanship.

Here's some context on Ms. Jungers: During the 2021-22 season, sophomore Megan Jungers found herself locked in a 100 Back duel with NYU's Jess Flynn. What constitutes a 'duel'? Ms. Flynn recorded the season's fastest 100 Back in Division III (53.69) and claimed five of the top ten times. Ms. Jungers posted the second and third fastest times, and held four of the top 10 spots, and 11 of the top 20 spots.³ Jess Flynn might have had a slight edge, but it was close.

Last year, Ms. Jungers dominated, clocking a 53.80 in the 100 Back at her conference meet (the insanely fast UAA conference championship) and secured three of the top five 100 Back swims in Women’s D3.

Which gets us thinking about Celia Oberholzer. She used to swim for Kenyon and at the 2013 Nationals Ms. Oberholzer dropped a 53.46 in 100 Back. That’s the D3 record and it has stood-up for more than a decade.

Could Ms. Jungers challenge this record? On the one hand, the faster you get, the more difficult each further increment of improvement. On the other hand, Ms. Jungers’ season is off to a great start, and she’s an exceptional athlete. For the rest of the season, when Ms. Jungers swim 100 Back, we will be paying attention.

For now: Congratulations Ms. Jungers. You are D3SO’s Eagle of the Week.

Calvin

Maggie Farrell

On the following day, October 14, Calvin senior Maggie Farrell recorded the second B Cut in Women’s D3 swimming, finishing the 100 Fly in 55.78.

If you are a Women’s 100 Fly competitor, that should make you plenty nervous. Last year at this time, Ms. Farrell posted a 58.12 100 Fly, which she improved to 54.88 at conferences and 55.05 at Nationals (A Finals).

This year she is starting at 55.78.

Let’s assume this won’t be the last time we write about her.

Additionally, keep an eye on Calvin's 5th-year swimmer, Julien Camy. He didn't compete in the 100 Fly at all last Fall. Yet, by the time conferences rolled around, he clocked in a 48.04. Had he duplicated that performance at Nationals, he would have made it to the B Final. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. This year, he's set the pace with a D3-leading 48.60 in the 100 Fly, positioning himself as a significant contender.

Currently, we believe there are seven B Cuts across Division III — five in Men’s events and two in Women’s. All the B Cuts are held by swimmers from either Emory or Calvin.

Denison

Denison went up to Akron to swim in the Zips Classic Invitational. They swam fine but did nothing to change the landscape of Division III times tables. We've come to expect slow starts from Denison, safe in the knowledge that when it comes to conferences and Nationals, having to compete against them will be a total nightmare.

And this is interesting:

from the @swimintel Instagram

D3 Overview

We are still trying to figure out how to do some sort of (prioritized and fair) round-up of results across Division III. We will always cover the goings on the top teams and the most interesting athlete/event pairings. But there is a lot of cool stuff going on throughout the division, with a range of teams pushing to play a larger role in their conference championships and (eventually) Nationals. They deserve more coverage than we can give (for now). As we try to figure out a good way to do this, we are going to keep posting meet notices, team records and (occasional) dual meet scores on our IG story. It is not enough, but it is a start and will have to suffice until we have a better system for recognizing a broader range of teams doing cool stuff across D3.⁴

Finally, Kenyon

Please, on this post, don’t submit any comments related to the situation at Kenyon. We will have a follow up post on NCAA policies, and what we know about Kenyon policies, and maybe a short review of current status of the relevant Ohio laws. Please save any comments for that post, which should be out tomorrow.

Just remember, if you post a comment that contains personal identifiable information I will delete your comment and block you. And I am not a lawyer, but if you post something that fits this layman’s understanding of defamation, I am going to take it down. I know I am not responsible for the content of comments, but if it feels defamatory, it will be deleted.

1. Day of the Crow: Is Crow Thorsen the most valuable swimmer in Men’s Division III right now? He won the 500 Free and 400 IM and came in second in the 200 Free by 0.14 seconds. Oh, and that 200 Free, you know the one where he slacked-off and came in second place? That was a B Cut.

2. Also, over the weekend, Crow Thorsen’s purported (and possibly fictional) younger brother “McKee Thorsen” posted another B Cut in 200 Fly. Add in Jake Meyer and Jeff Echols and we are starting the year with a backlog of Eagles to honor.

3. According to SwimCloud it looked like this:

4. Because I don’t want to talk about Kenyon, and because in my actual job I spend a lot of time with LLMs, I asked one to rewrite the above paragraph as if it was William Faulkner, and it came back with:

In our enduring endeavor to craft a system, one which serves justice and efficiency in rounding up the myriad results across the vast realm of Division III, we find ourselves at the precipice of understanding and appreciation. Forever shall we shine a light upon those eminent teams, and the enthralling dance of athletes with their chosen events. Yet, as one gazes upon this realm, a realization dawns that there exists an expansive tapestry of events, brimming with fervor. A multitude of teams, each with dreams as vast as the Mississippi, fervently yearn to etch their names in the annals of their conference championships, and in time, upon the hallowed grounds of the Nationals. Their aspirations, their struggles, their triumphs, they cry out for acknowledgment—a voice, louder and clearer than what our present circumstances permit us to amplify. And so, as we wade through this intricate labyrinth, we shall persistently convey, through the ephemeral tales of our IG stories, the meet notices, the records that stand testimony to prowess, and the scores that echo duels of yore. It might not embody the entirety of our aspirations, but it stands as a beacon, a promise that the dawn shall witness a system, more profound, more encompassing, casting its glow upon every team that dares to challenge the waves of D3.