Hayden Koh (‘25) made Drew swimming & diving history this past weekend by becoming the first male swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships, often referred to as NCAAs. He is only the third swimmer ever to qualify from the Rangers, alongside Mal Vishwanath (C ’20) and Lauren Kenworthy (C’ 99), who both qualified during their time at Drew.
The NCAA announced the full list of qualifiers and the preliminary psych sheet on Wednesday. Koh is set to compete in two events, having qualified in both the 100-butterfly and 200-butterfly after achieving NCAA “B” cuts at the Ranger Invitational on Dec. 2-3.
Koh is seeded 16th in the 200-butterfly with a time of 1:48.56 and 21st in the 100-butterfly with a time of 48.25. He holds the school and Landmark Conference records in both of these events.
After narrowly missing out on qualifying for NCAAs last year, Koh said he was shocked to have made it this year, as he thought his season was over after the Landmark Conference Championships.
“Somehow I made it, and I would not let this second chance fly away,” Koh said.
In order to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships, swimmers must meet either the “A” or “B” cut time standard. Those who make “A” cuts automatically qualify, while those with “B” cuts can be invited after all of Division III’s conference championships are completed.
According to SwimSwam, the top 16 fastest times in each men’s individual event and the 16 fastest men’s relays are selected for NCAAs, with additional swimmers being invited one-by-one to race at the competition until the maximum number of 260 male athletes is reached.
Koh credited the Rangers’ swimming & diving team and coaching staff with helping him get where he is today.
“Besides my family, I would like to specifically thank the coaches, Rich and Augie, for putting their trust and positivity in me. I would also like to thank my teammates that cheered [for] and supported me throughout the season… Carrying Drew’s name around makes me feel hype and proud,” Koh said.
The NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships will be held March 15-18 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.
