Johns Hopkins senior Evan Holder won the 200-yard freestyle on day two of the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships in Shenandoah, Texas, on Thursday night, outpacing the pack in a record-setting time of 1:36.32. Holder's time broke a 29-year-old national record, the longest-standing NCAA DIII swimming record on the books, by two-tenths of a second.
It was a fitting finish for the senior in his final meet with the Blue Jays. Holder finished 20th in the 200 free as a freshman in 2014, fourth as a sophomore, and second as a junior. On Thursday, in his final swim in the 200 free, he found himself in third place after 100 yards and in second after 150 yards, by just five-hundreths of a second. Holder closed strong for the win over the last 50 yards, finishing .66 seconds ahead of runner-up Thomas Gordon of Emory.
In the same event, Hopkins sophomore Michael Wohl placed eighth and senior Andrew Greenhalgh placed 10th.
Holder also contributed to a pair of top-three relay finishes for the Blue Jays—Holder, Wohl, Mark Wilson, Michael Ashmead took second in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:21.07; and Holder, Wohl, Wilson, and Emile Kuyl placed third in the 400 medley relay in 3:16.04.
JHU finished the day in fourth place with 177 total points. Emory remains in first place with 244 points, followed by Kenyon (214.5), and Denison (193).
The NCAA championship meet continues through Saturday at Conroe ISD Natatorium.
