Ben Wainman, Ella Dyson Win Titles at CSCAA Open Water Championships
Saginaw Valley State’s Ben Wainman and Ella Dyson of Rice University took home individual titles Sunday at the CSCAA Open Water National Championship.
Dyson successfully defended her title from 2022, the last edition of the meet, an event that was also won by the Owls.
Wainman, a native of Australia attending school in the noted outdoor swimming oasis of northern Michigan, covered five kilometers in 1 hour, 41.97 seconds. He was nearly 30 seconds up on Max Vega Cuevas of Texas A&M, who finished in 1:01.10.17. South Carolina’s Connor Fry was third, with Trey Dickey of Texas A&M fourth. Sixth overall was Division III winner Thomas Langlois of Whittier College.
Fry led South Carolina to the team title. Ryan Turner finished ninth, and Umut Yildrim was 13th. Their combined time of 3:30.58 was more than two minutes ahead of Denver, which was led by seventh-place Connor Hughes and included three in the top 15. The University of Cincinnati was third as a team, with Ido Gal the top individual in eighth.
On the women’s side, Dyson walked away with both individual and team titles for the second straight year. She covered the course in 1:03.31.40, three minutes clear of the field in an impressive showing. Her fellow Owls came through in fifth, sixth and seventh, the first two times of Ava Hamblett and Amelia Kane counting toward the team title of the top three finishers. Ava Portello was there for good measure in seventh.
Rice posted a combined time of 3:17.44, 4.5 minutes ahead of the combined time of South Carolina.
Youngstown State’s Miriam Frass earned the silver medal, the Penguin clocking in at 1:06.40.41. She was barely a second up on Villanova’s Marlene Blanke. South Carolina’s team medal was powered by Nora Fluck in fourth place overall. Purdue was led by 11th place Adele Sands, who finished a spot ahead of Division II top finisher Tori Shoemaker of Alaska Fairbanks.
The event sponsored by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America took place in Biscayne Bay in Miami, on the campus of Florida International. It’s the seventh edition of the race, the last one held in 2022. It drew 240 student-athletes from more than 50 schools, with competitors from all three NCAA divisions for a 5-kilometer swim in 70 degree weather.
