DANVILLE, Ky. - The Trinity Tigers had a phenomenal day as they begin to pull away from the competition in the 2026 Southern Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championship.
Rhodes College set the tone in the 100 butterfly, claiming the top two podium spots. Jonas Hostetler captured gold in 49.07, while teammate Liam Ashton secured silver in 49.56. Trinity University’s Nate Perez rounded out the podium with a 49.81 finish.
The 400 IM belonged to Trinity, as Theodore Ho led a Tiger sweep with a winning time of 4:01.45. Ryan O’Leary followed closely behind in 4:01.63 for silver, and Grant Bibza secured bronze in 4:05.12 to complete the podium sweep.
Trinity’s sophomore-freshman duo of Luke Fender and Sean Easley dominated the 200 freestyle, touching first and second in 1:39.84 and 1:40.96, respectively. Centre College freshman Gavin Schoeling earned bronze with a 1:41.66 performance.
Centre earned its first gold medal of the evening in the 100 breaststroke, as Tiernan Moore powered to a 53.08 finish — a time that surpasses last year’s NCAA Division III invited mark. Trinity freshman Daniel Apostol claimed silver in 54.51, with Rhodes’ Jack Whitten close behind in 54.66 for third.
Freshman standout Jack Hester added another victory in the 100 backstroke, touching first in 48.25. Sewanee’s Andrew Olsen finished second in 49.30, while Rhodes’ Josh Denckhoff earned bronze.
Centre had a sweep of the 3-meter diving podium. Garrett George led the way with a winning score of 514.20, followed by teammate Justin Toth in second (500.30) and Ro Fitzsimmons in third (487.30).
Trinity closed out the session with a first place victory in the 400 Medley Relay with a new meet and open record (3:17.73) from Jack Hester, Daniel Apostolic, Nate Perez, and Luke Fender. Rhodes and Centre both swam great times at 3:18.48 and 3:18.54 which would have also been meet and open records.
Standings:
1. Trinity - 722
2. Centre - 555
3. Rhodes - 442
4. Berry - 340
5. Sewanee - 325
6. Southwestern - 167
The final day of competition begins tomorrow at 10 AM with prelims, finals will begin at 6 PM.
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