RESULTS  I  CHAMPIONSHIP SITE

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Kenyon College Ladies capped off Thursday's session of the 2018 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championship with a title-winning swim in the 400-yard medley relay. It was the Ladies' second event title in the first two days of the four-day meet, which is being held at Indiana University Natatorium.

During that title swim, the Ladies found themselves trailing Denison University by nearly two seconds after the first two legs. Kenyon freshman Crile Hart then took over the butterfly leg, as well as the race. She covered her 100 yards in 52.94, erased the deficit and put the Ladies ahead by a half of a second going into the final leg. Junior Hannah Orbach-Mandel anchored the team and closed out the win by completing her freestyle duties in 49.51.

The team's final time of 3:39.95 was a Kenyon record, topping the previous College mark of 3:40.13 set at the 2013 national meet.

The NCAA event title was a first for Orbach-Mandel, who previously had 11 top-five finishes in national events. It also was a first for junior Caitlin Foley, who swam the backstroke leg, and for Julia Wilson, now a 14-time All-American, who swam the breaststroke leg. The title was the second for Hart, who won the 200-yard individual medley Wednesday night.



While the Ladies made a huge push late in the session, it wasn't enough from them to gain any ground in the overall team standings. In fact, the Ladies, who were in second place after Wednesday night, dropped to third place at the conclusion of Thursday's races.

Eight-time defending champion Emory University remains in first place with 318 points at the meet's halfway point. Williams College got three events wins and powered past Kenyon, taking over second place with 254 points. Kenyon is now third with 243 points, while Denison crept into the race and holds fourth place with 203 points.

Kenyon held on to its second-place position after the night's first event, the 200-yard freestyle relay. In that race, the Ladies team placed runner-up with a time of 1:32.77. Zoe Toscos, Abby Wilson, Princess Vilan Ferguson-Nguyen and Emmerson Mirus were responsible for that Kenyon finish. Williams got a 21.95 split from its anchor and won the event with a time of 1:32.48. The win temporarily put the Ephs in first place, just two points ahead of the Ladies.

The standings were shuffled again at the conclusion of the 400-yard individual medley. Emory and Denison swimmers claimed five of the top six spots, while Kenyon's best finish was a 14th-place showing from junior Marysol Arce, who finished in 4:26.65. Those results thrust Emory back into the lead with 191 points. Williams dropped to second with 174 points and Kenyon slid to third place with 155 points.

Without a qualifier in the 100-yard butterfly, the idle Ladies could only watch as Emory and Williams tacked on more points. Additionally, Denison, scored 29 points in the event and pulled within one point of Kenyon, which remained in third with 155 points.

The only other event of the night for the women was the 200-yard freestyle. The Ladies had great success in the event, but Emory, once again, stole the show with the top-two finishes and four of the top-nine finishes. Kenyon was led by Orbach-Mandel, who captured third with a time of 1:48.45. Sophomore Kendall Vanderhoof was fifth with a personal record of 1:49.19. Abby Wilson placed eighth in 1:50.57 and Delaney Ambrosen was 10th, hitting the wall in 1:50.24.