Frank Applebaum Breaks Own NCAA Record in Dual Meet with Pomona-Pitzer

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Frank Applebaum swam a 1:43.87 in the 200-yard butterfly to break his own NCAA Division III record in the annual Sixth Street Rivalry meet with Pomona-Pitzer at Axelrood Pool on Saturday.

Applebaum also added a pool record to win the 100 fly, but Pomona-Pitzer was able to earn the win in the two-day meet by a final score of 194-158. 

It marked the third time that Applebaum has had an NCAA record win, but the first two came on the way to winning national championships. He swam a 1:44.01 to set a new national record in 2022, breaking the old mark by a half-second. He then trimmed .05 off that mark to win the national title again in 2023. He was pushed by the competition at nationals, but in the dual with the Sagehens on Saturday, he was way ahead of the field and still managed to eclipse his personal-best time by another .09. 

The meet began for CMS on Friday with a win in the 400-yard medley relay, as Applebaum swam a 46.77 in the butterfly leg, jumping in the pool with CMS down by 1.7 seconds and exiting with the Stags ahead by .63. Dylan Krueger was able to finish off the win with a strong 45.12 in the freestyle leg. 

Lucas Lang also had a win on Friday in the 500 free, edging out Anderson Breazeale by just a quarter of a second (4:35.21 to 4:35.46) as part of a 1-2-3-4 CMS finish. Adam VanLuvanee came in third place, while Alex Johnson was fourth. 

Pomona-Pitzer held a five-point lead coming into Saturday, and CMS got the lead back in the one-meter dive, with Ben Smith finishing first, Bennet Matazzoni second and Luke Vlases third. The Sagehens took the lead back with a 1-2-3 finish in the 400 IM, though, and held it the rest of the way.

In addition to Applebaum's highlight swim, Evan Deedy won a tight race in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:02.37, edging out Jack Hoppe of Pomona-Pitzer by .12. Lang earned his second distance win of the weekend with a 15:58.32 in the 1650, with VanLuvanee second and Johnson third. 

CMS will be back in action after the new year, when it competes at Occidental on January 6.