GARLAND, Texas – The Tiger men's swimming & diving team won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons on Saturday.

Trinity has won 16 overall SCAC titles and this year's victory is the fifth consecutive championship for the program. The Tigers finished with 1,085 points to beat out Colorado College's score of 932 points in second place, followed by Southwestern University and its 639 points in third. McMurry finished fourth (272), followed by Austin College (213), University of the Ozarks (191), Centenary College (161), and the University of St. Thomas (32). 

Senior All-American Michael Kohl (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) earned the SCAC Men's Swimmer of the Meet title for the fourth straight year, becoming the first swimmer in SCAC history to win the conference's top honor all four years of his career. Senior All-American Konstantine Partalas (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) earned the SCAC Men's Diver of the Meet title for the third consecutive season. Additionally, senior Kendal Southwell (Rio Rancho, N.M. / Calvert Online Academy) was honored with the SCAC Men's Swimming & Diving Elite 19 award, which is given to the student-athlete with the top GPA among All-SCAC honorees at a given championship. Southwell is the first Trinity men's swimmer or diver to win the award since 2020, as well as becoming just the third overall men's winner for the Tigers.

Partalas opened the Saturday finals in the 3-meter diving competition with a championship-winning score of 505.30 points on the high board. Three other divers finished in the top seven to bring in huge points for the Tigers to start the day.

Caleb del Rosario (Sudbury, Mass. / Lincoln-Sudbury) was the top Trinity swimmer with a seventh-place finish in the 1,650 free (17:42.48) race that kicked off the final swimming session of the weekend.

Though Daniel Itkins (Houston, Texas / The Village School) was the only Tiger swimmer to earn All-SCAC honors in the 200 backstroke, he was joined by three other teammates in the championship final and the quartet took third through sixth in the event to rack up huge points. Itkins finished third with a time of 1:54.11 that moves him into the top 10 all-time at Trinity.

The 100 free was also a strong event for Trinity with four more swimmers in the finals. Kohl led the way with a personal-best time of 44.35 seconds that was good for a "B" cut time and a new SCAC meet record. Nathaniel Early (Austin, Texas / Westwood) finished second with a time of 45.40 to move up to fourth in Trinity history as well.

Southwell broke his own school record in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:59.79 that also set a new SCAC meet and SCAC open record, as well as qualifying as a "B" cut time for the NCAA Championships. John Key (El Paso, Texas / Franklin) was also an All-SCAC performer in the event with his time of 2:03.39. The two Tigers led another group of four swimmers in the finals to continue piling up critical points for the overall team score.

Trinity had two simmers in the top four of the 200 butterfly finals, including a swim of 1:52.14 that earned second place for William Walker (Houston, Texas / Westside). That time also places Walker in the top five all-time at Trinity for the 200 fly. Nathan Perez (Alpharetta, Ga. / Johns Creek) was fourth in a time of 1:53.26 that was just 0.13 seconds from his personal best.

The meet concluded with the 400 free relay that saw Trinity sweep both the consolation and the championship finals once again. The team of Itkins, Chase Hays (Austin, Texas / Anderson), William Kitto IV (Prairieville, La. / Catholic High School), and Walker finished in 3:07.56 to win the consolations, though that time would have been third in the championship final. The SCAC Championship relay team in the 400 free was made up of Kohl, Perez, Trace Briones (San Antonio, Texas / Health Careers), and Early. Those four hit a "B" cut time of 3:01.77 to win it and also improve their career-best time as a team in the event.

Coach Speak

"The men exceeded expectations by a monumental amount this week," revealed Head Coach Cathleen Pruden. "The Tigers ran away with a meet that we expected to be close. Kendal's 200 breaststroke was a swim several years in the making that was such a privilege to witness. Caleb del Rosario stepped up and fought back from injury to score crucial team points in the 200 back and mile. Konstantine overcame huge odds to take home the three-meter title. Top to bottom this was another stellar session to cap off an incredible week. I am so proud of this team."

Up Next

Trinity's swimmers will await official selections for the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, held March 20-23 in Greensboro, N.C. The Tiger divers will be hoping to qualify for the NCAA Regional Diving Championships, which will be hosted by Trinity at the Alamo Heights High School Natatorium on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2.