Applebaum, Conati Earn All-America Honors, 400 Medley Relay Earns Runner-Up

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Frank Applebaum and Marco Conati both earned first-team All-America honors in the 100-yard butterfly, with the top two times in program history, and then contributed to a 400-yard medley relay team which finished second, to highlight the performance of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's swimming and diving team on the second day of the NCAA Division III Championships on Thursday at the IU Natatorium.  

Applebaum finished in fifth place in the 100 fly with a 47.45, and Conati was right behind in seventh with a 47.56 as the Stags put two swimmers on the podium. They were also the No. 1 and No. 2 times in Stag history, with both breaking the previous record of 47.80 set by Matt Williams in 2017. Conati earned his second trip to the podium as well, after coming in fourth in 2019 the last time that CMS competed at nationals.  

The CMS 400-yard medley team earned first-team All-America honors for the Stags by breaking their own program record with a second-place finish in 3:12.34, moving up from third to second after a disqualification from the runner-up. It was a big performance from Nick Tekieli, Walter Limm, Applebaum and Conati, who earned the eighth spot in prelims to take the last spot in the finals and then moved up to second in the final. The 200-yard medley team yesterday finished second as well, with Tekieli, Limm and Conati swimming in that one as well, with Anderson Breazeale swimming the backstroke leg. 

The CMS 200-yard freestyle relay team began Thursday by setting a new program record with a 1:20.53, finishing in tenth place by coming in second in the consolation heat. Tekieli, Dylan Krueger, Theo Johnson, and Conati surpassed the previous mark of 1:21.16, set by the 2015 team in the NCAAs.

CMS held in seventh place overall in the team standings after the second day. The Stags have 130 points, with Emory in first with 243, followed by Denison with 171 and Johns Hopkins third with 170. 

The third day of the SCIAC Championships will take place tomorrow, with the 200-yard butterfly, the 100-yard backstroke, the 100-yard breaststroke the 800-yard freestyle relay, and the one-meter dive. Applebaum is the top seed in the 200-yard butterfly, as he will try to earn his second individual trip to the podium and challenge for a national title.