Eight members of the Case Western Reserve University men's and women's swimming and diving teams earned All-America honors on the second day of the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday.
The eight All-Americans are the most for the CWRU swimming and diving teams in a single season since 2002, when 11 Spartans received national recognition. Six will receive All-America First Team selection while two will receive honorable mention.
Junior Abigail Wilkov claimed her fourth career All-America honors with a score of 435.05 and a seventh-place finish in the 1-meter dive. The placement matches the best-ever finish by a Spartan in the event, which Wilkov achieved at last year's championships. In the preliminary round, she had the second-best score among the 29 divers with a mark of 448.05. She was also an All-America honoree in the 3-meter dive in 2023 (10th place) and 2022 (seventh place).
In the 400 IM, junior Peter Meng placed seventh in 3:55.25 to earn his first career All-America honors. He swam the fourth-fastest time in the preliminary heats, touching the wall at 3:53.35 to reach the championship final. Meng broke his own school record in the event of 3:53.90 set at the University Athletic Association Championships earlier this year. The finish is the best for a Spartan since Guy Genin placed sixth in 1989 and marks the sixth time a Spartan has scored in the event.
The 200 Free Relay of sophomores Claire Kozma and Eliza Dixon and juniors Kelly Vann and Gabriella Chambers placed eighth with a time of 1:34.08 to earn their first career All-America honors. The quartet reached the championship final with a school record time of 1:33.86 in the prelims, the eighth-fastest time in the morning session. They broke their own record of 1:34.05 from the Total Performance Invite earlier this season. The eighth-place national finish is the best in the event for CWRU since Kelly Alexander, Ellen Kaminski, Veronica Luri, and Meredith Stakem placed third in 2001. The top 16 finish marks the third time the Spartans have scored in the event and first since 2002.
The 400 Medley Relay of Kozma, Chambers, junior Erica Rice, and junior Kate Menzer ended the night with a 16th place finish in 3:50.59 in the consolation final. In the prelims, the relay recorded the 16th-fastest time of 3:50.20. The relay, which will receive All-America honorable mention, becomes the fourth in program history to earn national recognition and first since 2020. Kozma and Chambers became two-time All-Americans and Rice and Menzer received their first career honors.
Also, sophomore John Drumm placed 26th in the 100 Fly, finishing in 49.06 seconds, the fastest time by a Spartan in the event this season, and Kozma added a 28th-place finish as an individual in the 100 Fly, completing the race in 56.15 seconds.
After two days of competition, the Case Western Reserve women's team is tied for 14th in the team standings with 36 points, and the CWRU men's team is 30th in the team standings with 12 points. The 36 points so far are the most for a Spartan women's team at a national championship since 2007 (47 points), and the 12 points so far are the most for a Spartan men's team since 2016 (21 points).
CWRU swimmers will compete in three events on the third day of the NCAA Championships tomorrow with preliminary action scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and finals scheduled for 6 p.m. Drumm and Kozma will swim in the 200 Fly, and Chambers, Kozma, junior Angeli Paull, and first-year Maggie Rose Rook will swim in the 800 Free Relay.
