CONTRIBUTED BY AU ATHLETICS
AUBURN —
In just his second season at the helm on The Plains, head swimming and diving coach Ryan Wochomurka has vaulted his squad back into the top 10 at the NCAA Championships.
“I don’t know if there’s been a team that’s gone from zero points to top 10 in just two years that I can remember, at least in recent memory,” Wochomurka said. “Just an incredible performance from the guys this weekend but importantly, it was an incredible team performance. They worked together as a group. They loved each other the entire week to help each other. And you saw that manifest itself in the totality of the week.”
On the final day of competition, Wochomurka’s crew went out with a bang, adding two more individual All-America honors as well as a gutty ninth-place effort in the 400 free relay to secure 10th overall with 127 points.
It’s the most points the Orange and Blue have collected since Wochomurka arrived on The Plains and the most since 2017 (127.5). Auburn’s 10th-place finish is also its highest since 2016 (10th).
“So proud of this week but also the entirety of the year and the belief that began two years ago that we could come back to this meet and be a top 10 program,” Wochomurka said. “It wasn’t the goal to be top 10 at this meet. It was to improve upon last year, but this team believed, understood and knew they could do more.”
After a strong effort in the 100 back on Friday, both Aidan Stoffle and Nate Stoffle took their turn at the 200 back on Saturday morning. Stoffle pushed out a sturdy 1:40.07 to qualify 15th and slide into the evening’s B final. Nate grabbed 26th overall, hitting the wall at 1:41.54.
Stoffle saved his best individual swim for last. The captain put together the second-fastest 200 back in school history to hit the wall at 1:39.30 and win the consolation final.
In the 200 breast, it was the trio of Reid Mikuta, Henry Bethel and Jacques Rathle. Mikuta managed a 1:53.58 to grab 25th overall, his best finish in the event. Bethel clocked in 39th with a 1:55.79 while Rathle swam a 1:56.04 to snag 40th.
The 200 fly proved to be an electric race for the Tigers. Freshman Danny Schmidt dropped almost a second from his seed time, hitting the wall at 1:43.25 to finish 28th overall. However, it was one of the last men who qualified for the meet in Evan McInerny who would make the loudest noise in the Orange and Blue. Coming .02 seconds within a personal best, McInerny’s 1:43.24 qualified 16th by .01 seconds to earn the junior a second swim.
Not satisfied with simply making the consolation final, McInerny moved his way up to 13th in the evening to steal even more points for the Tigers.
“Our relays were exceptional all week,” Wochomurka said. “And that’s what it takes to be a top 10 program. You have to be deep on the relays. … When we needed it most and when called upon most, we had people step up. Evan [McInerny] stepped up. Aidan snuck into the B final and then winning the heat lit the fire for the evening.”
One last time this week, the Orange and Blue distance crew took to the blocks, this time in the 1650. Mason Mathias led the contingent, clocking in at 14:48.92 to finish 17th by just 0.92 seconds. Grant Davis solidified 29th and Michael Bonson notched 32nd.
Over in the diving well, Walker Creedon took 43rd on the tower.
Auburn gave the Tiger faithful something to roar about in the 400 free relay. Needing to outlast Ohio State for a top-10 finish, the Auburn quartet of Logan Tirheimer, Kalle Makinen, Ryan Husband and Aidan Stoffle were more than up to the task. Hitting the wall at a blistering 2:48.23, Auburn clocked the fifth fastest time in program history and solidified ninth in the event and 10th place overall.
Wochomurka’s men finished with 28 All-America honors from 12 different athletes, marking the most since 2017 and the most under the second-year skipper. The group also added three school records throughout the week as well as a dozen top-10 swims in program history.
“I’m excited for these guys and appreciative of the continued support of the entirety of our Auburn Family and our Auburn Swimming Family that were behind them all week long,” Wochomurka said. “They know how special that is, they know how special this program is and it’s a special moment for our alumni and fans to see the performance those boys put together this week.”