March 16, 2024- As the curtains closed on the 2024 CSCAA National Invitational Championship, records continued to crumble, and champions emerged from the intense competition. The final day witnessed exceptional performances, with five National Invitational records falling.

The day commenced with the simultaneous thrill of the 1,650 and 1,000-yard freestyle events, a distinctive feature of the NIC championship. UC San Diego's Juli Arzave stamped her authority on the women's events, clinching double gold with impressive performances. TCU's Aaron Wilmes demonstrated his prowess by securing victory in the men's 1,000, while Seton Hall's Cili Haalevi powered to triumph in the 1,650 race.

Records fell in both the men and women’s 100 IM event. Akron’s Rebecca Reid finished first in a time of 54.56. TCU’s Geremia Freri was first for the men with a 47.72.

Torie Buerger from Kentucky had a come-from-behind win in the 200 backstroke, clocking a 1:54.59. The CAA conference had a strong showing in the men’s 200 backstroke with Delaware’s Gavin Currie and Towson’s Sean Colson going one-two in the event. Currie set a new NIC record with his first place time of 1:41.69.

Records were shattered in both the men and women’s 100 Freestyle event this evening. Danielle Melilli from Queens (NC) set a new NIC mark at 48.37. Grand Canyon’s Yigit Eksioglu won on the men’s side in a time of 43.95.

The Horned Frogs dominated the 200 breaststroke event. Nina Vadovicova took gold on the women’s side with a record-setting time of 2:10.65, and Guilherme Camossato earned first record and first place finish with a 1:54.78.

The final individual event of the night was the 200 butterfly. UC San Diego’s Asia Kozan collected her second gold of the meet in a time of 1:58.20. There was tie for first in the men’s 200 fly. Dartmouth’s Yan Dvoretskiy and Queen’s Yannick Plasil share gold after touching the wall in a time of 1:43.99.

The meet concluded with 400 Freestyle relay. The women of TCU finished first at 3:17.43. The time of 2:52.25, from Queens was good enough to put the Royals on top of the podium.

As the 10th Annual CSCAA Annual National Championship Invitational closes out, Executive Director, Samantha Barany remarked on the event:

"The CSCAA takes immense pride in orchestrating the largest Collegiate National Swimming and Diving Championship. This event was built from some of the best visionaries in our sport and continues because of the support of our loyal sponsors, including the NIC presenting sponsor, Myrtha Pools.” Barany continued, “With over 64 Division I teams and representation from more than 20 conferences, witnessing these elite athletes competing in such a meaningful and fiercely competitive event is truly astounding. This site and location was the perfect backdrop and we can’t wait to be back in 2025!"

At the conclusion of the meet, NIC team and major awards were announced. Both the NIC Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year award are voted on by the participating coaches at the National Invitational Championship.

The Women’s Athlete of the Year was presented to Madeline Padavic from Miami (OH). Madeline took gold and a set records in the 50 backstroke and 100 backstroke events. She was also a top finalist in the 50 and 100 freestyle events. 

The Men’s Athlete of the Year was presented to Matej Dusa from Queens (NC). Dusa broke two individual meet records in the 50 free and the 100 free. Additionally, Dusa won the 50 butterfly for the Royals

The Women’s Coach of the Year, for a second consecutive year, went to Brian Peresie from Akron. The Akron women earned three individual golds over the course of the week, lifting the Zips to a second overall finish in the 2024 NIC team race.

The Men’s Coach of the Year went to James Winchester from TCU. The Horned Frogs won both the men and women’s meet. The TCU men took home 5 individual and took gold medals and two relay golds.

In the the final team standing for the women, TCU amassed 619 total points to finish on top. Akron was second with 588.5 points and Kentucky was third with a total of 552 points.

On the men’s side, TCU was the 2024 NIC Champions with 822 points. Finishing second was Queens (NC) with 621.5 points. Third place went to Grand Canyon with a total of 558.5 points.

The 2025 National Invitational is set to return to Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training Aquatics Center on March 13th.