The Carthage College women's swimming team finished 10th at the NCAA Division III Swimming Championship. This year's national championship was hosted by Beloit College and the College of Wooster at the University of Minnesota's Dorothy L. Sheppard Pool in the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on Wednesday-Saturday, March 17-20.
Emory University won the championship with 568.50 points, followed by Denison University second at 452, Williams College third at 367, Kenyon College fourth at 318, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College fifth at 177, Amherst College sixth at 169, Wisconsin-La Crosse seventh at 130, Gustavus Adolphus College eighth at 114, the College of New Jersey ninth at 108 and Carthage College 10th with 101 points. The Lady Reds finished ninth at last year's championship.
Carthage's Amanda Croix (Jr., Bradley, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) won a national championship in the 50 freestyle (Carthage-record 22.77). Croix is Carthage's first-ever national swimming champion in either gender, and she finished third in the same event at last year's national championship. In addition to the national title, Croix finished second in both the 100 freestyle (Carthage-record 49.35) and the 200 freestyle (1:48.77). In the 100 freestyle, both Croix and the winner, Kendra Stern from Amherst College, broke the NCAA Division III record. Michelle Pelka (Jr., Elgin, Ill./Elgin Academy) finished 12th in the 200 butterfly (Carthage-record 2:04.81) and 13th in the 400 individual medley (4:29.81).
Carthage's 200 freestyle relay team of Sammy Jo Mahler (Jr., Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West), Alyssa Messina (Sr., Medinah, Ill./Roselle-Lake Park), Pelka and Croix finished eighth (1:36.10), and the Lady Reds' 400 freestyle relay team of Pelka, Mahler, Messina and Croix finished 14th.
The Carthage men's team tied for 50th place after tying for 40th place in last year's championship. Carthage had two individual qualifiers for the championship in Kyle Drake (Jr., Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) and Doug Schranck (So., Alton, Ill./Marquette Catholic). Schranck competed in the 200 individual medley and both the 100 butterfly and the 200 butterfly did not reach the finals in any of three events. After three days without scoring any points, the Red Men finally got on the board on the final day when Drake finished 11th in the 200 backstroke (Carthage-record 1:49.43). Earlier in the week, Drake also competed in the 400 individual medley but did not reach the finals.
