MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Denver men's and women's swimming and diving programs, for the 10^th time in 11 years, have swept the Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships. Denver's women won their 11^th-straight and the men won their 10^th in 11 tries to lift Summit League hardware on Saturday night at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.
 
Nika Spehar and Dylan Wright highlighted the night with two individual event wins each on Saturday. In total, Denver won nine events, earned eight NCAA B Standards and earned eight new spots in the top-10 in DU history on an event.

Team Scores – Through Event 42 of 42:
Women's Top-3:
Denver 980
South Dakota 719.5
Lindenwood 486.5
 
Men's Top-3:
Denver 868
Lindenwood 820
South Dakota 472

2024 Summit League Championship Awards
Women's Newcomer of the Championship: Sabrina Rachjaibun
Women's Diver of the Championship – Olivia Gordon
Women's Swimmer of the Championship – Jessica Maeda
Women's Diving Coach of the Year – Aaron D'Addario
Women's Swimming Coach of the Year – Alicia Hicken-Franklin
Men's Diver of the Championship – Zyad Morsy
Men's Diving Coach of the Year – Aaron D'Addario
 
Saturday Night Event Wins
Women's 1650 Free – Nika Spehar – 16:38.89
Men's 1650 Free – Kieran Watson – 15:01.61
Women's 200 Back – Nika Spehar – 1:57.28
Men's 200 Back – Dylan Wright – 1:42.86
Women's 200 Breast – Jessica Maeda – 2:11.01
Men's 200 Breast – Alex Lynch – 1:56.19
Women's 200 Fly – Sarah Turchanik – 2:02.38
Men's 200 Fly – Dylan Wright – 1:45.95
Women's 3-Meter Dive – Kaitlin Calvery – 304.10
 
Saturday Night NCAA Standards:
Kieran Watson – Men's 1650 Free – 15:01.61 – NCAA B Standard
Joseph Hancock – Men's 1650 Free – 15:21.56 – NCAA B Standard
Nika Spehar – Women's 200 Back – 1:57.28 – NCAA B Standard
Dylan Wright – Men's 200 Back – 1:42.86 – NCAA B Standard
Jessica Maeda – Women's 200 Breast – 2:11.01 – NCAA B Standard
Alex Lynch – Men's 200 Breast – 1:56.19 – NCAA B Standard
Kaitlin Calvery – Women's 3-Meter Dive – 304.10 – NCAA Zone Cut
Olivia Gordon – Women's 3-Meter Dive – 299.45 – NCAA Zone Cut
 
Saturday Night Top-10 in DU Record Book
Nika Spehar – 1650 Free – 6^th – 16:38.89
Kieran Watson – Men's 1650 Free – 3^rd – 15:01.61 (new personal best, stayed at No. 3 in DU history)
Joseph Hancock – Men's 1650 Free – 8^th – 15:21.56 (new personal best, stayed at No. 8 in DU history)
Nika Spehar – Women's 200 Back – 8^th – 1:57.28
Jessica Maeda – Women's 200 Breast – 4^th - 2:11.01
Zoe Lynch – Women's 200 Breast – 10^th – 2:16.74
Dylan Wright – Men's 200 Fly – 5^th – 1:45.95
Kaitlin Calvery – Women's 3-Meter Dive – 7^th – 304.10
 
How it Happened
Saturday night's action started with the mile. On the women's side, Nika Spehar got Denver in the win column to start the evening with a 16:38.89, good for the sixth-fastest time in the program's history. Daniela Alfaro finished fourth in 17:12.18 to round out the Pioneers in the event. The conference championship for Spehar was her second in as many years in the mile.
 
Kieran Watson made it a Denver sweep in the mile with a personal best time of 15:01.61 to improve upon his No. 3 ranking in Denver's top-10 chart in the event. Joseph Hancock also earned a spot on the podium, finishing second in 15:21.56 to give Denver two NCAA B Standards in the Saturday night event. Hancock's time ranks eighth in DU history. Connor Hughes gave Denver three swimmers in the top four with a 15:40.85, pushing the lead to 33 through the first men's event of the night. Watson won the Summit League Championship in the mile for the third-consecutive season.
 
Following a quick turnaround from her win in the mile to start the night, Spehar won her second-consecutive women's race with a time of 1:57.28 in the women's 200 back. That time was not only good enough for an NCAA B Standard, but put her eighth in Denver's history. Darian Koler earned third for the Pioneers with a 1:59.25, Mina Ada Solaker finished fourth in 1:59.93 and Haley Chesno grabbed seventh in 2:02.34. Spehar, who finished fifth in the event last season, won her third career conference title overall and the first in a backstroke event.
 
Dylan Wright won the men's race in 1:42.86, his best time of the season. Quinn Collins earned points for fourth with a 1:46.90 and Liam Simmons got to the wall in seventh in 1:47.73. Denver's men's lead ballooned to 57 after the backstroke event. The win for Wright was his third-straight Summit League title.
 
Denver put four women's swimmers in the 100 free final on Saturday night. Erika Remington finished second in the final with a 50.03, Ines Marin clocked in at 50.39 to finish third, Kali Metuzals reached the wall seventh in 50.87 and Megan Lucyshyn was scored eighth in 51.09.
 
The Pioneers had three men score in the 100 free A-Final. Donat Fabian finished fifth in 44.47, Frank Tirone took seventh in 44.54 and Nikola Tadic clocked in at 44.70, good for eighth.
 
Jessica Maeda got Denver back in the win column in the 200 breast, turning in the fourth-best time in DU history with a 2:11.01 to take the conference championship. Zoe Lynch finished fourth in 2:16.74, the 10^th-best time in the program's history, and Tenaya Winter clocked in at 2:21.18 to take seventh. The conference title was Maeda's third in as many years in the event.
 
Denver's men pushed the lead to 77 to clearly separate from the rest of the field after the 200 breast. Alex Lynch led a quartet of Pios in the A-Final of the event with a time of 1:56.19, his top time in the event this season. The conference title for Lynch was his second in as many years. Marco Nosack rounded out the podium places with a 1:57.57, Luca Foord finished fourth in 1:59.41 and Kelby Modene took seventh with a 2:01.06.
 
In the women's 200 fly, Sarah Turchanik got a Summit League championship with a 2:02.38 to lead a trio of Pios in the A-Final. Sabrina Rachjaibun was right behind her in second in 2:02.46 and Mary O'Neil clocked in at 2:06.78 to take seventh.
 
Wright earned his second event win of the night to lead a 1-2 finish in 200 fly after his 1:45.95 in the event, the fifth-best time in the program's history. Brandon Chapman completed the 1-2 finish with a 1:46.98, improving on his prelims time by nearly a second.
 
The meet shifted to diving following the butterfly events. Kaelyn Hinesley was scored ninth with a 248.90 in the semifinals. Kaitlin Calvery won her first conference title with a 304.10, an NCAA B Standard and the seventh-best score in our program's history. Olivia Gordon finished right behind her teammate in second with a 299.45.
 
Remington, Marin, Lucyshyn and Metuzals rounded out the 11^th-straight conference title with a second-place finish in the women's 400 free relay. The quartet clocked in at 3:21.50.
 
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