Four Kenyon swimmers were named to the 2016-17 NCAA Division III Academic All-America At-Large teams, as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Arthur Conover ’17, Trevor Manz ’17 and Julia Wilson ’18 were first-team selections, while Ellie Crawford ’17 earned a position on the second team.
Those four brought Kenyon’s overall total to 99 Academic All-America honorees since 1970 — a tally that ranks top-20 among all NCAA Division III institutions and top-60 among all NCAA divisions, as well as National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, Canadian and two-year institutions.
The 2016-17 Academic All-America At-Large teams consisted of 45 men and 45 women from NCAA Division III who participated in the sports of field hockey, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, water polo and/or wrestling. In order to be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete had to be at least of sophomore standing, possess a minimum 3.30 cumulative grade point average, own legitimate athletic credentials and have been previously selected to an Academic All-District team.
Manz amassed six top-10 finishes at the 2017 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championship, including a fourth-place showing in the 200-yard individual medley. Those results gave him a total of 23 career NCAA All-America certificates to go along with two career national relay tiles. He was a 2016 Goldwater Scholarship recipient and Kenyon’s 2017 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Conover scored 15 NCAA All-American awards and won three national event titles during his collegiate career. Two of those titles were captured at this past season’s NCAA meet, where he set Division III records in the 1,650-yard and 500-yard freestyle races. He was voted Kenyon’s 2016-17 Senior Athlete of the Year and, like Manz, was a four-time College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-American and three-time member of the NCAC Academic Honor Roll.
Wilson is the owner of 11 NCAA All-America awards. At this past season's national meet, she registered top-five finishes in five events, including third-place finishes in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke races. She holds Kenyon and NCAC records in those same two events and last summer was an Olympic trials qualifier in the 100-meter breaststroke. She’s a two-time NCAC Academic Honor Roll honoree and a three-time CSCAA Scholar All-America award recipient.
Crawford graduated as a three-time NCAA Championship qualifier with four career All-America certificates. At the 2017 national meet, she piled up top-25 finishes in the 200- and 400-yard individual medleys and the 200-yard breaststroke. She was a 2016 Goldwater Scholarship recipient and Kenyon’s 2017 NCAC female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Additionally, her Kenyon career included four CSCAA Scholar All-America awards and three NCAC Academic Honor Roll accolades.