The Case Western Reserve University men's swimming and diving team scored at the national championship for the first time in seven years and recorded its best national finish in eight years during the 2023-24 season.
The Spartans placed 33rd out of 40 scoring teams at the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships with 17.0 points. Junior Peter Meng earned a pair of All-America honors at the championships, the first Spartan to be a multiple All-American since Drew Hamilton in 2017. Meng earned All-America First Team honors in the 400 IM, placing seventh in the championship final with a time of 3:55.25 after setting the school record in the prelims. He recorded the best finish in an individual event and first podium finish for a CWRU male swimmer since 2006. Later in the championship, Meng finished 14th in the timed final of the 1650 Free to receive All-America honorable mention.
Sophomore John Drumm also scored for the Spartans at the meet. He placed 15th in the 200 Fly in 1:49.11 to receive the first All-America honorable mention of his career. Drumm added a 30th-place finish in the 500 Free and 26th-place finish in the 200 Fly. The two scoring swimmers marked the first time Case Western Reserve had multiple All-Americans at the same championship in eight years.
Earlier in the season, at the 2024 University Athletic Association Championships, the Spartans placed sixth in the conference with 812.5 points. Meng earned a pair of All-UAA honors, finishing as the runner-up in the 400 IM and placing third in the 1650 Free, and placed seventh in the 200 IM. Drumm reached the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 200 Fly. Sophomores Mason Bencurik (100 Free) and Emil LaSida (50 Free) each added an eighth-place finish, and junior diver Alex Waltman placed seventh in the 1-meter dive and eighth in the 3-meter dive.
The Spartans set 13 school records during the 2023-24 campaign, including new program best times in every single relay. Nine of the records fell at the conference championships. Individually, LaSida swam program-best times in the 50 and 100 Free and 100 Back, and Meng set school records in the 1000 Free and 200 IM. In addition, records fell in the 200 Free Relay (LaSida, juniors Ben Zuo and Jackson Pollard, and sophomore Ben Borvendeg), 400 Free Relay (LaSida, Meng, Drumm, Bencurik), 800 Free Relay (Drumm, Meng, Bencurik, and junior Stephen Hogeman), and 400 Medley Relay (LaSida, Drumm, Bencurik, and senior Ethan Chuang). Meng (200 Free) and Drumm (200 Fly) broke program records in the fall at the Total Performance Invite, hosted by Kenyon. Finally, the 200 Medley Relay of LaSida, Chuang, Bencurik, and sophomore William Froass recorded a school record at the Midwest Invitational in the spring.
In dual meets, Case Western Reserve posted a 5-1 record, recording victories over Carnegie Mellon and SUNY Geneseo, who both finished the season in the CSCAA Top 25. The team's lone loss was to national runner-up Kenyon.
In the classroom, Bencurik, Chuang, Drumm, and LaSida all earned Academic All-District honors from College Sports Communicators. In addition, 32 members of the team received UAA All-Academic recognition.
The Spartans earned the following honors during the 2023-24 swimming and diving season:
All-America
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Peter Meng
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400 IM (7th)
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First Team
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1650 Free (14th)
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Honorable Mention
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John Drumm
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200 Fly (15th)
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Honorable Mention
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NCAA Championship Participants
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John Drumm
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200 Fly (15th), 100 Fly (26th), 500 Free (30th)
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Peter Meng
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400 IM (7th), 1650 Free (14th), 200 IM (25th)
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The following were the top times/marks for the Spartans during the 2023-24 season:
50 Free
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Emil LaSida
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20.36 *SR
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UAA Championships
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100 Free
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Emil LaSida
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45.19 *SR
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UAA Championships
|
200 Free
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Peter Meng
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1:39.62 *SR
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Total Performance Invite
|
500 Free
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John Drumm
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4:33.19
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UAA Championships
|
1000 Free
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Peter Meng
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9:27.83 *SR
|
UAA Championships
|
1650 Free
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Peter Meng
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15:39.10
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UAA Championships
|
100 Back
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Emil LaSida
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48.99 *SR
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UAA Championships
|
200 Back
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William Froass
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1:51.97
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Total Performance Invite
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100 Breast
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Ethan Chuang
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55.65
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UAA Championships
|
200 Breast
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Ethan Chuang
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2:02.54
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UAA Championships
|
100 Fly
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John Drumm
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49.06
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NCAA Championships
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200 Fly
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John Drumm
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1:47.11 *SR
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Total Performance Invite
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200 IM
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Peter Meng
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1:48.96 *SR
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UAA Championships
|
400 IM
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Peter Meng
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3:53.35 *SR
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NCAA Championships
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1-Meter Dive (11 dives)
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Alex Waltman
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417.15
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UAA Championships
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3-Meter Dive (11 dives)
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Alex Waltman
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416.00
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Carnegie Mellon Invite
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200 Free Relay
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Emil LaSida, Ben Zuo, Jackson Pollard, Ben Borvendeg
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1:22.38 *SR
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UAA Championships
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400 Free Relay
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Emil LaSida, Peter Meng, John Drumm, Mason Bencurik
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3:01.39 *SR
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UAA Championships
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800 Free Relay
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John Drumm, Peter Meng, Mason Bencurik, Stephen Hogeman
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6:42.10 *SR
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UAA Championships
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200 Medley Relay
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Emil LaSida, Ethan Chuang, William Froass, Mason Bencurik
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1:29.29 *SR
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Midwest Invite
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400 Medley Relay
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Emil LaSida, Ethan Chuang, John Drumm, Mason Bencurik
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3:17.37 *SR
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UAA Championships
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*SR indicates school record