Minichowski’s 50 Free title highlights #11 Men’s Swimming’s Day Two at SAC Championships

Greensboro, N.C. —- Reigning SAC Male Swimmer of the Year Maks Minichowski successfully defended his South Atlantic Conference 50 Yard Freestyle title on Wednesday night at the Greensboro Aquatic Center for 11th-ranked Catawba Men's Swimming at the 2025 SAC Championships.

HOW IT HAPPENED

1000 Freestyle

- Nazar Herashchenko contended until the last reach, finishing less than a half a second behind the conference champion with a time of 9:04.10, besting the previous SAC meet record and earning an NCAA B-cut mark

- Fellow freshman Jurek Larys earned fourth in his SAC Championships debut, followed by Elias Hysing with a seventh-place effort

200 Yard Individual Medley

- Joao Oliveira earned another runner-up finish for the Catawba Indians with a 1:50.24 in the 200 IM, good for an NCAA B-cut

- Balazs Meszaros finished fourth with a 1:50.39, while Alejandro Alvarez was seventh with a 1:52.09

50 Yard Freestyle

- From lane three, Minichowski beat out Wingate and Carson-Newman's top contender by less than a quarter of a second with a time of 20.01 to earn his second straight title in the event

- Ryan Case earned a fourth-place finish with a B-cut time of 20.36

200 Yard Medley Relay

- Catawba's medley relay team was disqualified during competition

AFTER DAY TWO

- Catawba ranks second with 376.5 points, behind meet leader Wingate's 469.5 points and ahead of third-place Carson-Newman with 306 points

UP NEXT

- Catawba returns to the pool tomorrow with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m.; SAC titles will be earned in the 100 Butterfly, 400 Individual Medley, 200 Freestyle and 400 Medley Relay on Thursday