Finkel Crowned National Champion Once Again – Connecticut College

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Connecticut College senior Justin Finkel (Cheshire, Conn.) won the 200 butterfly in record fashion on Friday night at the 2025 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

Finkel, who successfully defended his national title in the event, also broke his own NCAA Division III record time in the final individual swim of his career. He touched the wall in 1:42.64, shattering the mark of 1:43.21 he set in last year’s winning effort. 

It marked the second national title of the meet for Finkel, as well as the fourth of his illustrious career. He now owns the most individual national titles in school history, and his 12 All-America selections tie the men’s program record set by Sam Gill ’14.

Finkel began the day by qualifying for his third championship final of the meet, winning his 200 fly heat with the second-fastest time (1:45.44) of the session. Chicago’s Cooper Costello posted the fastest time of the morning (1:44.36), setting the stage for a showdown between the two later in the day.

The championship final was a two-horse race, with Costello swimming in lane four and Finkel alongside in lane five. The Chicago sophomore held a slight lead over much of the opening 100, but Finkel tracked him down over the back half of the race. Finkel took a narrow lead by the 150 turn and poured it on down the stretch, covering the final 50 in 27.05 to Costello’s 27.79. Costello finished as runner-up in 1:43.42.

In addition to national titles in the 200 fly and 500 freestyle, Finkel recorded a third-place finish in the 100 fly at this year’s championship. He also helped power the 400 medley relay squad to an eighth-place finish.

Matthew Morris (Alexandria, Va.) also swam in his first-ever NCAA consolation final on Friday night. As the first alternate after the morning session, a late scratch gave him another shot in the pool. He took full advantage and turned in a personal-best time of 48.67 to finish 14th overall.

Earlier in the day, Carrick Shea (Grafton, Mass.) supplied a record-breaking swim in the 100 breaststroke. He touched the wall in 54.88—topping his own school record set at last month’s NESCAC Championship—and finished 20th overall in the session.

Conn’s final performance of the early session came from Cam Bizjak (Willoughby, Ohio) in the 1M dive. He finished 18th in the field of 24 with a score of 407.65.

The Camels will compete in three events on Saturday; Evan Lyons (Longmeadow, Mass.) in the 1,650 free, Morris in the 200 back, and the 400 free relay. Morning preliminaries begin at 10:00 a.m.