WQIO Ohio's Super Station
GAMBIER, Ohio — With a history that already includes 26 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship titles, including a pair over the last two seasons, the Kenyon College men’s swimming and diving team will be focused on obtaining yet another title when it travels to Denison University for this season’s four-day championship.
Things get underway Wednesday evening with two relay competitions at the Trumbull Aquatics Center. The following three days will include two diving events and the rest of the swimming events, which will play out with preliminary heats beginning at 9:30 a.m. and final heats kicking off at 6:00 p.m. each day.
Since the first NCAC Championship was contested in 1985, Kenyon and Denison have finished in the top two spots. The Owls have 26 conference crowns, while the Big Red own 13. In 2020, Kenyon snapped a string of 11 straight Denison titles. The Big Red returned to the top of the podium in 2022, but Kenyon followed with victories in 2023 and 2024.
In last year’s championship, the Owls trailed the Big Red by as many as 129 points. The Kenyon men then rode a final-day surge that included four event wins, two conference records and a 44-point margin of victory over the host institution.
Things will look a lot different for the Owls at the 2025 championship. Last year’s team had seven members combine for nine individual-event wins at the conference championship. Of that group, only juniors Djordje Dragojlovic and Ethan Manske remain on the team. At that 2024 meet, Dragojlovic won the 100-yard freestyle in a conference record time and also chalked up a win in the 100-yard backstroke. Manske was the top finisher in the 400-yard individual medley.
The Owls’ rally to victory last season was also fueled by triumphs in all five relay events. Across those relays, Kenyon used a total of seven swimmers to fill out their lineups. Again, only Dragojlovic and Manske are back from that group. The Kenyon team takes an additional hit with last year’s graduation of Israel Zavaleta, a six-time, undefeated champion in conference competition.
With some big vacancies to fill, the Owls will start by leaning on Dragojlovic and Manske. Dragojlovic will enter the championship with the conference’s top time in the 100-yard freestyle (43.91) and the 100-yard backstroke (47.79). He also has the NCAC’s second-fastest time in the 50-yard freestyle (20.14). Manske will check in with the conference’s top time in the 200-yard butterfly (1:48.59) and the second-fastest time in the 200-yard backstroke (1:46.58).
Newcomer and junior Kirill Sidorko will certainly have a say in the individual medleys. He possesses the NCAC’s top times in the 100 (50.63) and 400 (3:50.46), while also posting the second-fastest time in the 200 (1:47.72).
Look for sophomores Roman Savage and Noel Tumbasz to make some waves, too. Savage has the top seed in the 100-yard butterfly (47.34) and the four seed in the 1,650-yard freestyle (15:50.29). Tumbasz excels in the breaststroke and has registered top-four times in the two races.
First-year Charlie Green rounds out Kenyon’s list of top-seeded swimmers as he carries the NCAC’s best time (1:46.31) in the 200-yard backstroke.
In diving, the Owls will look to junior Owen Peterson and first-year James Lackner. They currently own the NCAC’s top scores on the one-meter and three-meter boards, respectively.
In relay competition, Kenyon has the conference’s second-best time in all five races.
