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John Carroll University Athletics

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Bart Kubis NCAC
Br. Matt Wooters, S.J.

Men's Swimming & Diving Notches 3rd at NCAC Championships

| By: Joe Ginley '16, SID

Kubis Crowned a Champ in the 200 Breaststroke

GRANVILLE, Ohio – While the mountaintop was not discoverable for John Carroll Men's Swimming & Diving in the first year as members of the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Blue Streaks more than held their own. 

The Blue Streaks can claim the first individual champion at the NCAC Championships not from Kenyon or Denison since 2020. And most importantly, John Carroll stood clearly above all teams not from Granville or Gambier. 

At the 2026 NCAC Championships hosted by Denison University, the Blue Streaks claimed third place with 1192.5 points, behind Denison (1958.5) and Kenyon (1741.5).

Full Meet Results
Saturday Final Results

As mentioned above, the Big Red and the Owls have dominated the NCAC for many a year. But a crack in the armor appeared on Saturday in the 200 Breaststroke.

For the first time since 2023, a swimmer not wearing a red or purple swim cap won an event tonight. And for the first time since 2016, a Denison or Kenyon swimmer did not win the 200 Breaststroke at the NCAC Championships (Denison had a 5-year winning streak going). 

Bart Kubis shined in the event with an exceptional time of 2:00.78. The Park Ridge, Illinois native roared in the 200 Breaststroke by shaving off over a second of time from prelims. The junior's victorious time secured an NCAA B cut as well. And so, one day during JCU Athletics trivia, when the question, "Who was JCU's first NCAC swimming champion?" you can confidently say "Bart Kubis!" 

Beyond Kubis in the 200 Breaststroke, JCU had plenty of other swimmers who added important points. Alex Gallagher just missed out on bronze but his fourth-place time of 2:01.33 is nothing to sneeze at. Joe Nadur cut several seconds to smash a seventh-place time of 2:03.84. Patrick Branch rounded out the A final with a time of 2:04.37. In the B final, Ian Hofmann cut time for 12th in 2:06.56. 

Without a doubt, Kubis can be called one of the top Blue Streaks of the meet. Another star? A first year swimmer who broke onto the scene: Jacob Florio. 

The North Royalton native roared in the 200 Backstroke with third place and an NCAC medal. Not only that, the freshman clinched an NCAA B cut with a time of 1:47.49. Florio enjoyed a fantastic weekend and many more great things are in store for him. Also in the event, David Miller cut time to finish seventh, touching the wall in 1:50.05. In the B final, Logan Snively cut time for 14th in 1:54.79. 

Cameron Cook continued his outstanding meet. The Fredericksburg, Virginia native rocked a new B cut in the 100 Free with a time of 44.94, good for fourth place. While just outside of medal range, Cook definitely had to feel great about the B cut and strong time. Kyle Priset (13th, 47.05), Dominic Falcon (15th, 47.21), Nathan Reigle (16th, 47.33), and Owen Holm (17th, 47.47) also compiled points in the 100 Free. 

In the final individual event of the evening, Michael Vertikoff rocked the 200 Fly. The Hilliard native clocked a time of 1:53.61 for eighth. In the B final, Bailey Parsons (12th, 1:57.33) and Mario Bondy (14th, 1:58.54) repped JCU. The evening ended soon after with a DQ in the 400 Free Relay. 

Earlier in the evening, Jacob Burton repped JCU well in the mile, finishing in the top 10 with a mark of 17:02.08 in the 1650 Free. 

"It was a fantastic first outing for us at the NCAC Championships," said Head Coach Mark de Swardt. "The step up in competition has been great for our team and we really showed our depth this week. Looking forward to moving up in the conference each year."

Next Up
The Blue Streaks will await the NCAA Division III Championships selections.
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