Noah Katz

The 400-yard medley relay team won one of four conference titles for Bates Friday at the NESCAC Championships.

Swimming and Diving 2/20/2026 8:37:00 PM Aaron Morse

Men's swimming wins four NESCAC titles in record-breaking day at conference championships

The Bobcats break four meet records and set one new national standard

WATERVILLE, Maine -- In a day that will go down in Bates athletics history, the men's swimming and diving team captured four conference titles and set four meet records Friday at the NESCAC Championships.

The No. 24 nationally ranked Bobcats are in fourth place overall with two days remaining, having tallied 470 points as a team. They are within striking distance of third-place Amherst (496 points) and well-ahead of fifth-place Connecticut College (415 points).

Friday Highlights

The Bates 200-yard freestyle relay team of junior John Weigel (Iowa City, Iowa), senior captain Max Cory (Dublin, Calif.), junior Benjamin Wolking (Micanopy, Fla.), and senior captain Marrich Somridhivej (South Windsor, Conn.) won the NESCAC title with a new school, conference, meet, and pool record time of 1:19.47.
Somridhivej set a new NCAA Division III record in the 50-yard breaststroke with his prelims time of 23.87 seconds. Then he secured the NESCAC title in the championship final in 24.04 seconds.
Cory broke the meet, pool, and school record in the 50-yard freestyle with his prelims time of 19.53 seconds. Then he took home the NESCAC title in the championship final in 19.61 seconds. Meanwhile, Wolking was fourth in the consolation final in 20.64 seconds after swimming a prelims time of 20.63 seconds.
The Bates 400-yard medley relay team of junior Tim Johnson (Brewster, Mass.), Somridhivej, sophomore Nate Oppenheim (Easton, Conn.), and Cory captured the NESCAC title with a new school, conference, meet, and pool record time of 3:09.84.
This marks the second straight year Bates has won the 200-yard freestyle relay title and Cory has won the 50-yard freestyle title. These are the first NESCAC titles in program history in the 50-yard breaststroke and the 400-yard medley relay.
Junior Noah Katz (Hallowell, Maine) broke the Bates record in the 50-yard breaststroke with his morning prelims time of 24.69 seconds, only to see Somridhivej break it again in the very next heat. Then Katz took fourth place in the championship final in 24.82 seconds.
Johnson took fifth place in the championship final of the 200-yard IM in 1:50.16 after swimming a prelims time of 1:50.12. Meanwhile, Oppenheim was fourth in the consolation final in 1:51.18.
The Bates 'B' team in the 200-yard freestyle relay of Oppenheim, senior Kyle Beebe (Chatham, N.J.), senior Kailer Tom (Daly City, Calif.), and senior Nate Pierce (Fairfield, Maine) recorded the second-fastest time of all the 'B' teams in the conference, racing to the finish in 1:22.13.
Junior Liam Friedlander (Pittsburgh, Pa.) took second in the consolation final of the 500-yard freestyle in 4:35.20 after swimming a prelims time of 4:35.08. Sophomore Anton Kondratyev (Belle Mead, N.J.) and first-year Will Trotman (Ridgefield, Conn.) placed second and third respectively in the preconsolation final with times of 4:35.54 and 4:36.82.
Tom was third in the consolation final of the 50-yard breaststroke in 25.74 seconds after swimming a morning prelims time of 25.58 seconds.
Beebe took fifth in the consolation final of the 50-yard backstroke in 23.80 seconds after swimming a prelims time of 23.76 seconds. Meanwhile, sophomore Zach White (Santa Barbara, Calif.) won the preconsolation final in 23.13 seconds.
Sophomore Xander Theodos (Saint Louis, Mo.) placed third in the preconsolation final of the 50-yard butterfly in 22.81 seconds.
White, Tom, Friedlander, and Pierce teamed up to place fourth among the 'B' teams in the 400-yard medley relay, racing to the finish in 3:21.34.