Karsen Diepholz set three new records with his 1650 Yard Freestyle swim (photo credit: Stephen Bates, WCS Photography).
Posted: Feb 17, 2018
DECORAH, Iowa – The Illinois Tech men's swimming and diving team swam strong on the final day of the season, holding third place in the Liberal Arts Championships at Luther College. Tech finished with 534 points, 29.5 behind second-place Nebraska Wesleyan and 179 points ahead of fourth-place Loras.
Final Rankings
- Franklin (811)
- Nebraska Wesleyan (563.5)
- Illinois Tech (534)
- Loras (355)
- Coe (287)
- Luther (279)
- Morningside (268.5)
- Simpson 9188)
- Principia (82)
Day Four Highlights
- Karsen Diepholz added to his already storied career with an amazing 1650 Yard Freestyle swim, winning the race with a time of 15:59.97. His time is a Division III B-Cut, broke the Liberal Arts Conference meet record from last season, set a new Illinois Tech record, and set the Luther College pool record. Miles Thompson (fourth, 16:43.77), Zachary Bonson (fifth, 17:12.42), Peyton Goetschel (eighth, 17:16.33), RJ Schroeders (ninth, 17:28.64), and Grant Kitahata (13th, 18:25.51) also swam well in the event.
- Matthew Randle (sixth, 1:57.73), Benjamin Cohen (ninth, 2:04.18), and John Wolniak (12th, 2:07.58) all reached the finals in the 200 Yard Backstroke.
- Julian Escasa (eighth, 48.31s) and Tyler Van Wagener (12th, 48.67s) recorded finals times in the 100 Yard Freestyle.
- Jay Korhonen was strong in his final collegiate meet, placing second in the 200 Yard Breaststroke at 2:09.56. Louis German (eighth, 2:17.57) also joined him in the finals.
- Ryan Escasa (1:58.00) and Seth Wissenbach (1:58.68) both were outstanding in the 200 Yard Butterfly, finishing seventh and eighth respectively.
- The day wrapped up with a fifth-place finish in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, as Julian Escasa, Korhonen, Wissenbach, and Diepholz recorded a time of 3:12.81.