INDIANAPOLIS -- Bates men's swimming made a splash this weekend by finishing in sixth place out of 46 scoring teams at the NCAA Championships, the best performance at the national level in program history. 

"Finishing in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships is something I promised the team we would do 19 years ago during my first team meeting when we were 11th in NESCAC," head coach Peter Casares said. "Now, that day is here and I couldn't be prouder of these men." 

Previously, the best finishes for the respective Bates swim teams at the NCAA Championships were 11th for the women in 2015 and 13th for the men in 2025. The Bates men's team led all NESCAC schools with a program-record 185 points this year, winning a pair of national titles along the way. 

On Saturday, the Bobcats turned in six All-America performances to finish the four-day national meet in style.

• Senior captain Max Cory (Dublin, Calif.) placed fourth in the 100-yard freestyle in 43.24 seconds.
• Junior Tim Johnson (Brewster, Mass.) broke his own Bates record in the 200-yard backstroke and took fifth in the championship final in 1:45.22, the best finish ever by a Bobcat in the 200 back at NCAAs.
• Junior Sarah Palmer (Brunswick, Maine) represented the women's team with panache, finishing sixth in the championship final of the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:17.50. Palmer scored 19 points at the meet, which put the Bates women in a tie for 26th place out of 44 scoring teams. She is now a six-time All-American and her sixth-place showing in the 200 breast is the best ever by a Bobcat at the NCAA Championships.
• Senior captain Marrich Somridhivej (South Windsor, Conn.) broke his own Bates record in the 200-yard breaststroke in the morning prelims with his time of 1:59.61. Then he placed fifth in the consolation final in 2:00.14, good for 13th place overall. Somridhivej finishes his Bates career as a two-time national champion and a 10-time All-American.
• Junior John Weigel (Iowa City, Iowa) recorded a time of 44.32 seconds in the morning prelims of the 100-yard freestyle to qualify for the consolation final, where he took seventh in 44.48 seconds to place 15th overall in the event. 
• The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Weigel, Johnson, senior Nate Pierce (Fairfield, Maine), and Cory took fourth in the championship final in 2:57.90, the best finish by a Bates 400 free relay at NCAAs in program history. Weigel is now a six-time All-American, Johnson is a nine-time All-American, Pierce graduates as a three-time All-American, and Cory wraps up his Bates career as the most decorated men's sport athlete in school history with 15 All-America honors and two national championships.

With national championships in the 400-yard medley relay and the 100-yard breaststroke this year, Bates men's swimming can claim three NCAA titles, tied for the fourth-most among Bates sports with women's outdoor track and field. Overall, Bates athletics has won 33 national championships.