COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Ursinus has a pair of swimmers set to compete at the 2022 NCAA Division III Swimming Championships from March 16-19 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Senior Sophie Lear represents the women's team while senior Ryan Carkhuff will represent the men's team at the Championships.
Lear is making her second overall appearance at the NCAA Championships after qualifying in her collegiate debut season of 2019. She is seeded 17th for the 50 freestyle (23.35), 24th in the 100 freestyle (51.10), and 34th in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.34). Lear competed in six events (three individual, three relay) during the 2019 NCAA championships with all three individual races being the ones she qualified for this year and came home with three All-American certificates in relay races. She garnered her second career Centennial Conference Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer award at the conference championships and was most recently named the Centennial Conference Women's Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Lear won three individual gold medals and two relay golds at the 2022 Centennial Championships, finishing off her collegiate career by going undefeated in individual events at the conference meet. She set the program and Centennial Conference record in the 50 freestyle during the championship meet Lear is a 12-time gold medalist at the Centennial Championships and was also named the 2019 Most Outstanding Rookie Women's Swimmer.
Carkhuff becomes the first men's swimmer in Ursinus program history to qualify for the NCAA Championship meet. He is seeded 20th for the 50 freestyle (20.27), 50th in the 100 freestyle (45.34), and 51st in the 200 freestyle (1:42.08). Carkhuff holds the school record in the 50 and 100 freestyle after his performance at the Centennial Championships this year. He earned a silver medal in the 50 freestyle and earned the bronze medal in the 100 free with a time of 45.38. Carkhuff is a four-time medalist at the Centennial Championships after earning a bronze for the 50 free and a silver in the 100 free during the 2019 championship meet.
A total of 579 men and women (526 swimmers and 53 divers) will compete in the championships. Student-athletes qualified for the swimming portion of the championships by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered.
Below are the events that Lear and Carkhuff will be competing in during the four-day championship meet.
NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16
10:00 A.M. – 50 free prelims (Lear and Carkhuff)
THURSDAY, MARCH 17
10:00 A.M. – 200 free prelims (Carkhuff)
FRIDAY, MARCH 18
10:00 A.M. – 100 breast prelims (Lear)
SATURDAY, MARCH 19
10:00 A.M. - 100 free prelims (Lear and Carkhuff)
*NOTE: The eight fastest competitors in each event during the prelims advance to the championships finals, while the next eight advance to the consolation finals.