On the strength of four conference titles, the Emory University men's swimming & diving team has a built a sizeable lead through three days of competition at the UAA Championships in Chicago, Illinois.
Through Friday, the Eagles hold a commanding advantage over the rest of the conference as Emory stands in first place with 1,188 points. Host Chicago is in second place with 941.5 points and NYU sits in third with 927 points.
The Eagles will look to claim their 25th consecutive UAA championship on Saturday with a Saturday schedule featuring the 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 1650 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke, 200 Fly, men's 3-meter diving and the 400 Freestyle Relay.
After ending Thursday night in electric fashion with a UAA record in the 400 Medley Relay, the Eagles rode that momentum into Friday's jam-packed slate. Emory captured three individual conference titles as well as another relay championship in record-breaking fashion. All told, the Eagles secured eight more All-UAA finishes on the night.
Junior Crow Thorsen set the tone for the evening with a record-breaking performance in the night's first event in the 400 IM. After posting the second-fastest time in prelims, Thorsen dropped four seconds off his time in the finals to win at 3:51.18. The win is Thorsen's first-ever individual conference title while his finals time broke the school record of 3:51.40 set by Zach Lorsen at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Thorsen was one of four Eagles in the championship final with his younger brother McKee Thorsen garnering All-UAA acclaim, finishing third at 3:54.67, senior Ryan Gibbons taking seventh (3:55.65) and junior Zachary Zhao placing eighth (3:58.06).
The next title came in the 200 Freestyle with senior Nicholas Goudie winning his first-ever UAA championship in the event. Goudie led eight Eagles in the finals, posting a winning time of 1:37.76. Junior Alexander Pollack took third for All-UAA honors with a time of 1:39.05 while senior Logan D'Amore (6th, 1:39.76) and freshman Graham Zucker (8th, 1:40.63) rounded out the Eagles in the A final.
Senior Jake Meyer followed suit in the next event of the session, capturing his first-ever UAA individual crown with a win in the 100 Breaststroke. Meyer paced three Eagles inside the top-five, recording a winning mark of 52.92. Sophomore Henri Bonnault earned bronze with a time of 53.97 and junior Liyang Sun placed fifth at 54.11.
The Eagles fourth and final title of the night came in the 200 Medley Relay as Meyer, Goudie, senior Ryan Soh and junior Jeff Echols replicated their Thursday success with another UAA record-breaking showing. After setting the conference record in the 400 Medley Relay a night prior, the quartet did it again on Friday, establishing a new UAA meet record at 1:26.81.
Echols added All-UAA honors on the night as he finished third in the 100 Fly, leading four Eagles that finished inside the top-nine. Soh was also an Emory leader on Friday, pacing five Eagles inside the top-15 in the 100 Back as he placed fifth at 48.61.