Hayden Koh (‘25) became the first member of Drew’s Men’s Swimming and Diving Team to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Division III Championships this past weekend.
Koh placed 13th in the 200-butterfly, finishing in a time of 1:48.53, to secure the All-American honorable mention status. The top eight finishes earn All-American All Stars, while 9th-16th places earn All-American honorable mention.
Koh’s time also lowered his own school and Landmark Conference record in the 200-butterfly from its previous time of 1:48.56.
In addition to his tremendous showing in the 200-butterfly, Koh competed in the 100-butterfly and 100-freestyle. He placed 21st and 36th, respectively.
Coming off of what he described as decent swims at the Landmark Conference Championships in February when he competed with a recent shoulder injury, Koh said he was pleasantly surprised by how close he was to his best times and overall happy with his performance.
As the only swimmer from Drew competing at the NCAA Division III Championships, Koh said that he felt nervous going into his races, but the support from his coaches helped motivate him throughout the weekend. He also explained that he had no expectations going into the competition since it was his first time racing at NCAAs.
Despite the nerves, Koh was excited for the opportunity to represent Drew at such a high level of competition.
“It was an honor. I’m very happy to represent Drew, and hopefully we can get more swimmers to go next year,” Koh said. “My favorite part was meeting new people. A friend from my home country [Malaysia] who goes to University of Chicago was there, and I met competitors from meets over the season.”
The experience seemed to be a great learning opportunity for Koh, as he repeatedly described how much he appreciated swimming against and interacting with the other swimmers.
“I learned a lot from other teams and how to keep the hype up the whole time. If applicable, I’d like to apply that to our team,” Koh said.
Officially done with racing for the 2022-2023 season, Koh is looking forward to his next season with the Rangers.
Charlotte Wells is a junior majoring in English and French.
