Record-setting performances and two all-conference efforts helped Wabash secure a third-place finish at the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.
 
The Little Giants topped the 1,000-point mark with a total score of 1,117 points over the four-day meet. Denison won the men's conference championship with a score of 1,978.5 points, finishing ahead of Kenyon College in second place with 1,973.5 points. DePauw finished in fourth place with a score of 994 points. Wooster took fifth place (973.5), followed by Oberlin (695.5), Allegheny (589.5), Ohio Wesleyan (491.5), Hiram (329), and Wittenberg (310).
 
Junior Caleb McCarty earned all-conference with a record-setting performance in the 100-yard freestyle. He broke the former Wabash record of 45.18 set by Elliot Johns in 2016 by qualifying for the "A" final with a time of 45.12 in the morning prelims. McCarty nearly won the event, just getting out-touched at the wall by 3/100ths of a second. He finished the race in 44.67 to break his own morning record and earn all-conference honors with the second-place finish overall. His time meets the NCAA "B" cut qualifying time, providing an possible opportunity for McCarty to compete at the Division III National Championships in March. Ethan Johns also competed in the "A" final of the 100 free, finishing in ninth place with a time of 46.38. Connor Craig swam in the "B" final of the 100 free. He finished the race in 47.77 to place 13^th overall.
 
McCarty, Johns, and Craig joined Daren Glore to finish in third place and earn all-conference honors in the final event of the meet, the 400-yard medley relay. The foursome tied the existing school record in the event by finishing in 3:03.57 set in 2020 by Wesley Slaughter, Justin Wallar, Jan Dziadek, and Kyle Louks.
 
"What an amazing finish to an incredible meet," Wabash head coach Will Bernhardt said. "Yet again, our men stepped up to the challenge and take home another third-place finish at the conference championship. We started the meet with our backs against the wall with the disqualification of our 800 free relay. For them to overcome such a huge point deficit on night one is incredible. They continued to fight each session and never let up."
 
Justin Dusza placed fifth in the "A" final of the 200-yard backstroke, finishing the race in 1:51.43. Marc Nicholson qualified for the "B" final of the 200 backstroke and finished 16^th overall with a time of 2:03.64. Keane Albright took 17^th place by finishing in 2:04.38.
 
A pair of Little Giants earned top-eight finishes in the 1650 freestyle. Daren Glore finished in seventh place overall with a time of 16:20.99. Jacob Penrose captured eighth place by finishing in 16:59.61. Ryan Sacco scored a 12^th-place finish mile with a time of 17:14.73. Adam El-Khalili placed 16^th overall by finishing in 17:44.98.
 
Nicholson qualified for the "B" final of the 100-yard individual medley and finished 12^th overall with a time of 55.43. Lucas Daniken completed the event in 55.60 to earn a 13^th-place finish.
 
Justice Wenz won the "B" final of the 200-yard breaststroke. The freshman finished 10^th overall with a time of 2:08.05. Isaac Temores finished 12^th overall by completing the race in 2:10.79. Jack Pendleton and Sam Bleisch competed in the "C" final. Pendleton finished in 2:21.23 to place 24^th overall. Bleisch placed 25^th with a time of 2:22.88.
 
Penrose scored a 12th-place finish in the "B" final of the 200-yard butterfly. He finished with a time of 1:56.88. Nicolas Hakimian finished in 2:02.64 to place 16^th overall. Ethan Comeyne captured 18^th place with a time of 2:06.50. El-Khalili touched the wall for the final time in 2:10.48 to place 23^rd in the "C" final.

"It was a total team effort and everyone on the squad scored valuable points and contributed greatly to our team total," Bernhardt said. "However, I would be remiss to not mention the outstanding performances from our three divers; William Morris, Thomas Gaines, and Tanner Carver. They truly shined and made Coach Alistair Frost's first year at the helm and huge success. Additionally, our relays were spectacular as we finished all four relays in third place to earn all-conference honors.

"I also would like to give a special mention to Caleb McCarty. He finished the meet in a big way by taking home conference runner-up honors in the 100 free with the 12th fastest time in the country. Couple that with some of the fastest split times on our relays and he was just on another level. He had an amazing meet and it was so much fun to watch. Lastly, I want to thank our seniors for their superb leadership and guidance not only this weekend but throughout the year. We are truly a better team because of their efforts."