Berry made history in multiple events last week at the NCAA Championships. He turned in the best finish ever recorded by a member of the Bates men's swimming and diving program at the NCAA Championships, taking second in the country with his finals time of 19.77 seconds in the 50 free. That came on the heels of his morning prelims swim of 19.71 seconds, the fastest prelim swim of the day by any competitor and a new Bates record in the event.
Berry led off the 200-yard medley relay, which also featured first-year Marrich Somridhivej, senior captain Edmond Giang, and first-year Max Cory, as the foursome combined for a time of 1:27.74 in the prelims, second-fastest in the country and a new Bates record. Then the Bobcats took sixth place in the championship final in 1:27.87, the first top-8 finish for a Bates men's relay team at the NCAA Championships in program history.
Then he helped the the men's 200-yard freestyle relay team also finish on the podium with a seventh-place showing. The Bobcats raced to the finish in 1:21.21 in the morning prelims and dropped some more time in the championship final, with a school-record mark of 1:21.11.
On Friday, Berry finished fifth in the country in the 100-yard backstroke. He took third in the prelims with a time of 47.29 seconds before placing fifth in the championship final in 47.05, good for All-America honors.
He led the way for the Bobcats again on Saturday, earning an 8th place finish in the 100-yard freestyle. He recorded a time of 44.34 seconds in the prelims and 45.05 seconds in the final.
Berry became a 10-time All-American when he anchored the 400-yard freestyle relay team. The Bobcats recorded a time of 3:01.23 in the prelims and broke the school record in the final with a time of 3:00.38, good for 12th place.
Berry is now tied with men's track and field thrower David Pless '13 as the second-most decorated male athlete in Bates athletics history, behind only 11-time All-American swimmer Teddy Pender '18.
The Bates men scored 104 points over the course of four days, and the 14th-place showing matches the 2017-18 team for the best finish in the program's history.
