Sidorko claims event title, Owls move into second

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- All the hard work paid off Thursday night for Kenyon College junior Kirill Sidorko, who won the national title in the 400-yard individual medley, as the Owls moved up two spots and into second place at the halfway point of the four-day 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championship.

When the lights were turned off following Thursday's session at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, Kenyon had 126 team points. Only Denison University had a better total. The Big Red currently own first place with 166 points. University of Chicago is third with 124 points, New York University is fourth with 121.5, and Emory University sits fifth with a total of 116.5.

Sidorko started the day by taking the runner-up spot in the 400-yard individual medley preliminary heats. He was edged by Sean Lyman of the U.S. Coast Guard. Lyman had a prelim time of 3:50.29, while Sidorko touched in 3:50.84. When the evening's championship final came up, Sidorko shaved more than two seconds off his prelim time and took the title in 3:48.75. It was his first career NCAA Division III event title, the Owls' first event title of the 2025 Championship, and the program's fourth title in the 400-yard individual medley over the last five seasons.

In the same event, another Kenyon junior, Ethan Manske, clocked in at 3:53.68 to take seventh place. That result was Manske's third straight top-10 finish in the NCAA race and it netted him his seventh career All-America award. Additionally, his finish, combined with Sidorko's, gave the Owls 32 team points and pushed them into second place in the standings.

In the evening's next event, the 100-yard butterfly, sophomore Roman Savage won the consolation heat. His time of 47.37 was good for ninth place overall and tacked on another nine points to Kenyon's total, keeping the Owls in second place.
Kenyon did not have any swimmers in the 200-yard freestyle, but the Owls maintained their second-place spot, still trailing only Denison, 138-100.

The Thursday night finale was the 200-yard freestyle relay in which Kenyon placed sixth and earned another 26 team points. The Owls' foursome of Djordje Dragojlovic, Neil Abrahamson, Spencer Stluka, and Peter Dunson clocked in at 1:19:62, which was a season best for Kenyon and a bit better than the relay squad's preliminary time of 1:19.74. With the exception of Dragojlovic, the result gave each relay member his first All-America award. For Dragojlovic, it was All-America award No. 16.

NCAA Championship action will resume tomorrow with preliminary heats at 10 a.m. followed by final heats at 6 p.m.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Djordje Dragojlovic: Junior

Peter Dunson: Sophomore

Ethan Manske: Junior

Roman Savage: Sophomore

Kirill Sidorko: Junior

Neil Abrahamson: First-Year

Spencer Stluka: First-Year

Players Mentioned

Djordje Dragojlovic
: Junior

Peter Dunson
: Sophomore

Ethan Manske
: Junior

Roman Savage
: Sophomore

Kirill Sidorko
: Junior

Neil Abrahamson
: First-Year

Spencer Stluka
: First-Year