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Junior Max Cory, a 2022 graduate of Dublin High, broke the NCAA Division III record in the 100-yard freestyle and won the first national championship in Bates College swimming and diving history Saturday night at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
The following is from a news release from Bates in Maine:
Cory raced to the finish in 42.88 seconds in the championship final, breaking the previous DIII record of 42.98 seconds set seven years ago by Emory’s Oliver Smith.
“The first thing I felt when I touched the wall was just pure surprise,” Cory said. “I knew from my swim this morning that I had a great shot at the record, but I was so stressed leading up to the final it didn’t feel real until I saw the time on the board. After that, I was just so proud knowing my parents and family saw the swim, and I was just excited to get out of the water and give them a call!”
Cory becomes the first Bobcat to win an NCAA championship since the 2021 Bates women’s rowing team won that program’s fifth national title.
He’s the first individual representing Bates to win a national title since Ahmed Abdel Khalek won the second of his two College Squash Association individual national championships in 2016, and Cory is the first Bates individual to win an NCAA title since 2013. He is the 31st national champion in Bates College history.
And for Bates swimming and diving, Cory is the first Bobcat to reach the mountain top.
“What a historic moment for the program; I’m so proud of him,” head coach Peter Casares said. He worked extremely hard for this moment and dealt with a tremendous amount of expectations and pressure. I know he’s made all of Bates College very proud!”
Cory got to Saturday’s championship final by swimming the fastest prelims time in the field that morning at 43.05 seconds.
Then, the 10-time All-American torched the competition Saturday night, breaking through after having finished national runner-up in the 50-yard freestyle three days earlier.
His “slower” prelims time in the 100 free still would have won the national title, as runner-up David Bajwa of Calvin College raced to the finish in the championship final in 43.25 seconds.
Amador boys’ lacrosse
The Amador Valley High boys’ lacrosse team split games last week, beating Dougherty Valley and losing a tough one to Granada.
In the 16-2 win over Dougherty Valley, Owen Heck paced the offensive effort with three goals and five assists. Henry Wanis, Brady MacIsaac and Brady McMillin each also had three goals.
Wanis had an assist and scooped up five ground balls. Heck added ground balls, with McMillin adding three assists and five ground balls.
Evan Soares scored two goals and an assist, Joseph D’Onofrio had a goal and Paolo Casentini had a goal. Matteo Gervasoni got five ground balls and had four takeaways.
Joey Bechwati was 6-for-16 on faceoffs. Alexander Michail saved 11 of the 13 shots he faced.
In the 12-11 loss to Granada, Wanis, Heck and Hunter Selkow had three goals each, with McMillin and MacIsaac adding one goal each.
Selkow added a pair of assists and finished with seven ground balls. Soares also had a pair of assists.
Heck, MacIsaac and Dylin Palmaffy all had one assist. Adam Castro picked up five ground balls, with Gervasoni getting four.
Foothill boys’ volleyball
The Falcons saw mixed results last week, beating Dougherty Valley but losing against Dublin.
In the 25-20, 27-25, 24-26, 26-24 win over Dougherty Valley, highlights came from Dean Caudill (19 kills, 8 digs), Grey Garofalo (14 assists, 8 service points), Jeremy Sun (7 kills, 6 digs, 3 aces) and Caleb Lai (13 digs).
The loss to Dublin was by 23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 17-25. The highlights here were from Josh Salonga (31 assists, 8 digs, 6 kills), Caudill (9 kills, 5 digs), Thomas Paduraru (8 kills, 3 blocks) and Cam Hitchan (8 kills, 1 block).
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
