AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - The NCAA Championships were held in Indianapolis, Indiana this week, and the Tigers earned 21 All-American selections and finished in 12th place, earning exactly 100 points.
Beginning on Wednesday, Tigers Nate Stoffle, Henry Bethel, Sohib Khaled, and Kalle Makinen set the tone in the 200 medley relay with a 1:22.57, which earned an 8th place finish and 1st team All-American honors.
Later that day, four more Tigers earned All-American honors as Mason Mathias, Danny Schmidt, Ryan Husband, and Michael Bonson placed 13th in the 800 free relay with a 6:12.16.
These two events set the tone for the rest of the week, and head coach Ryan Wochomurka was impressed with how his team fought against fierce competition through the highs and the lows of the week.
“The thing I’m most impressed with was our fight all week. We challenged them after those things didn’t go our way. It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you respond to it. And they kept responding. They kept fighting back.”
On Thursday, the Tigers swam four more events and earned more honors.
Junior Mason Mathias broke a school record with his 500 free time, finishing with a time of 4:10.82. Later that day, Mathias recorded a 4:14.00 in the finals, finishing in 8th place and earning 1st team All-American honors. He also moved up to 4th place in Auburn’s 200 free record book, recording a 1:33.06 and cementing a stellar individual performance on the day.
Sophomore Danny Schmidt also moved up Auburn’s swimming leaderboards, finishing the 200 IM with a 1:42.61 that was good enough for 3rd all-time in the Auburn record books.
Senior Logan Tirheimer recorded an 18.79 in the 50 free, which sits him at 5th place all-time on the Auburn leaderboard.
In the final event on Thursday, Tigers Logan Tirheimer, Kalle Makinen, and Nate and Aidan Stoffle recorded the 3rd fastest 200 free relay time in Auburn history and 6th place finish in the race.
On Friday and Saturday, it was the same names that racked up more accolades.
Schmidt earned another All-American nod with his 3:41.31 in the 400 IM, solidifying his race as the second-fastest time in school history.
Graduate Student Aidan Stoffle earned more All-American nods in the 100 back, 400 free relay and the 200 back, earning Stoffle four total All-American selections. His 200 back time of 1:38.36 was the fastest in Auburn history.
Mathias earned another All-American selection with his 1650 freestyle time of 14:43.69, finishing in 10th place in the meet.
Finally, Tigers Logan Tirheimer, Kalle Makinen, Ryan Husband, and Aidan Stoffle secured an 11th place finish and All-American honors in the 400 free relay with a 2:47.75.
Winning was a family affair for brothers Aidan and Nate Stoffle, who finished with six total All-American selections and a school record. The impact Aidan Stoffle has left on the program is apparent to Wochomurka.
“We’re not able to do the things we’ve done here over the last three years without somebody like Aidan,” Wochomurka said. “A three-year captain, a guy that does all the things right. Certainly a leader in terms of performance but out of the pool as well, from the way he carries himself to the way he recovers. He's led the way for us performance-wise and in our locker room in showing us the way that we build this program to be a perennial top 10 contender."
The Tigers now turn their attention toward the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France as multiple swimmers will compete in Olympic Trials.
