MARLBOROUGH, Mass – U.S. Coast Guard Academy student-athlete
Noah Reice (Wilmington, Del.) and MIT's
Evan Wong (Honolulu, Hawaii) took home Swimmer and Rookie of the Year, respectively, while Springfield College's
Christian Butler (North Haven, Conn.) earned Diver of the Year for their performances at the NEWMAC meet.
Reice won three individual titles: the 100 Butterfly, 200 Butterfly, and 50 Freestyle. He broke the NEWMAC meet record in the 100 Butterfly, swimming a 46.94, which is also the third fastest time in DIII this season. He also swam NCAA B Cut times in the 200 Fly and the 50-Free, which was a sub-20 time of 19.97, and the 10
th fastest time in the nation. He was also a member of the second-place 200 and 400 medley, as well as the 400 Free Relay.
Wong was tabbed NEWMAC Rookie of the Year after winning the 200 Freestyle, which he swam in an NCAA B Cut time of 1:37.98, and the 500 Freestyle, which he swam in a B-Cut time of 4:29.55. He was also a member of the gold-winning 400 Freestyle relay and the 800 Freestyle relay.
Christian Butler swept the 1-meter and 3-meter boards to earn Diver of the Year honors. He won the 3-meter with a score of 530.47 and the 1-meter with a score of 510.65. He achieved NCAA B Cut scores on both boards. This is Butler's third straight NEWMAC Diver of the Year award.
In addition, MIT junior
Jason Wang was awarded the Laurels of Academic Excellence award, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA competing at the NEWMAC Championship. Wang boasts a 4.0 GPA in Biological Engineering and Management.
The WPI and Coast Guard coaching staff share the Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Led by head coach
John Westkott, the Bears finished second in the NEWMAC Championship with 1013 points, behind three first-place finishes and five second-place finishes. The Bears staff also includes
Mary Westkott,
Lt. Kristen Durham-Young,
Lt. Carl Fuhs,
Ltjg Daniel Jenkins,
Todd Owen,
Krisztina Poda, and
Mick Westkott.
The Engineers took home third place at the Championships after four days of competition, finishing with 731 points. The highlight was a third-place finish from first-year
Lucas Brown, swam the 1650 Freestyle in 16:19.23. The WPI staff is led by head coach
Paul Bennett, and includes assistants
Maddie Katz,
Spencer Coffin,
Mark Wild, and
Ashton Lyon.
Springfield won Diving Staff of the Year honors after junior Christian Butler swept the diving boards. This marks the 19th time
Pete Avdoulos and his staff have won the award, and the eighth-straight season that he has earned men's coach of the year recognition. The Springfield dive staff also includes
Melanie Avdoulos.
In addition, the top finisher in each event earns first-team All-Conference honors, while the second-place finisher earns a spot on the second team.
| Team |
Name |
Institution |
Event |
| First Team All-Conference |
Christian Butler |
Springfield College |
1-Meter Diving |
| Second Team All-Conference |
David Krol |
Babson College |
1-Meter Diving |
| First Team All-Conference |
Aitor Arrese-Igor |
MIT |
100 Backstroke |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Zack West |
MIT |
100 Backstroke |
| First Team All-Conference |
Thomas Wu |
MIT |
100 Breaststroke |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Matt Quinney |
Springfield College |
100 Breaststroke |
| First Team All-Conference |
Noah Reice |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
100 Butterfly |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Bryce Roberts |
MIT |
100 Butterfly |
| First Team All-Conference |
Brian Hixson |
Wheaton College |
100 Freestyle |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Marcus Tran |
Wheaton College |
100 Freestyle |
| First Team All-Conference |
Mark O'Mara |
MIT |
1650 Freestyle |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Jay Pawloski |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
1650 Freestyle |
| First Team All-Conference |
Gavin Cullinan |
Wheaton College |
200 Backstroke |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Zack West |
MIT |
200 Backstroke |
| First Team All-Conference |
Daniel Seong |
MIT |
200 Breaststroke |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Blaise Minckler |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
200 Breaststroke |
| First Team All-Conference |
Noah Reice |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
200 Butterfly |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Jason Wang |
MIT |
200 Butterfly |
| First Team All-Conference |
Evan Wong |
MIT |
200 Freestyle |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Aaron Martin |
MIT |
200 Freestyle |
| First Team All-Conference |
Bryce Roberts |
MIT |
200 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Aitor Arrese-Igor |
MIT |
200 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Thomas Wu |
MIT |
200 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Keon McClure |
MIT |
200 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Marcus Tran |
Wheaton College |
200 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Brian Hixson |
Wheaton College |
200 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Gavin Cullinan |
Wheaton College |
200 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Will Larson |
Wheaton College |
200 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Kelson Cantrell |
MIT |
200 IM |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Jason Wang |
MIT |
200 IM |
| First Team All-Conference |
Bryce Roberts |
MIT |
200 Medley Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Aitor Arrese-Igor |
MIT |
200 Medley Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Thomas Wu |
MIT |
200 Medley Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Aaron Martin |
MIT |
200 Medley Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Drew Carlson |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
200 Medley Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Blaise Minckler |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
200 Medley Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Noah Reice |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
200 Medley Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Zach McGowen |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
200 Medley Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Christian Butler |
Springfield College |
3-Meter Diving |
| Second Team All-Conference |
David Krol |
Babson College |
3-Meter Diving |
| First Team All-Conference |
Aaron Martin |
MIT |
400 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Evan Wong |
MIT |
400 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Bryce Roberts |
MIT |
400 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Nathan Kim |
MIT |
400 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Noah Reice |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
400 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Grant Hudson |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
400 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Drew Carlson |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
400 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Zach McGowen |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
400 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Jason Wang |
MIT |
400 IM |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Kelson Cantrell |
MIT |
400 IM |
| First Team All-Conference |
Thomas Wu |
MIT |
400 Medley Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Aitor Arrese-Igor |
MIT |
400 Medley Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Nathan Kim |
MIT |
400 Medley Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Bryce Roberts |
MIT |
400 Medley Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Noah Reice |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
400 Medley Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Zach McGowen |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
400 Medley Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Blaise Minckler |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
400 Medley Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Drew Carlson |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
400 Medley Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Noah Reice |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
50 Freestyle |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Bryce Roberts |
MIT |
50 Freestyle |
| First Team All-Conference |
Evan Wong |
MIT |
500 Freestyle |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Mark O'Mara |
MIT |
500 Freestyle |
| First Team All-Conference |
Evan Wong |
MIT |
800 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Gidean Karp |
MIT |
800 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Grant Hu |
MIT |
800 Freestyle Relay |
| First Team All-Conference |
Nathan Kim |
MIT |
800 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Anthony Taslakov |
Babson College |
800 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
William Iglar |
Babson College |
800 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Evan Hong |
Babson College |
800 Freestyle Relay |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Tommy Hannenian |
Babson College |
800 Freestyle Relay |
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 20 sports.