GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior Luke Schwenk (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) had an unbelievable start in his final appearance at the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming & Diving Championships Wednesday (Mar. 19) as Schwenk was crowned the 2025 NCAA Division III 50-Yard Freestyle National Champion!
 
Schwenk became St. Mary's College's first-ever national champion in an NCAA-sponsored sport as he posted a school record time of 19.53, collecting his fifth career All-America award. The Seahawks have previously brought home team and individual national championships in sailing.
 
Schwenk, who entered the morning preliminaries seeded first with an entry time of 19.64, wasted no time in locking up a spot in the evening championship finals. The 6-2 captain clocked a school and Atlantic East Conference record 19.59 to win his heat and head into the finals seeded second, just 0.03 seconds behind the top qualifier, Bates College's Max Cory '26, who finished in 19.56.
 
With all eight championship finalists registering sub-20 second times in the preliminaries, the evening championship was tight from start to finish. Schwenk bested Cory by 0.07 seconds as he touched the wall first in 19.53 for a new school and conference record, finishing his first day at the 2025 NCAA Championships as a three-time All-American in the 50-yard freestyle.
 
Schwenk posted a 14th-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle at the 2023 NCAA Championships for Second Team All-America honors and last season, he moved up nine spots for fifth place and First Team All-America plaudits.
 
He will be back in the pool this Friday, March 21, competing in the 100-yard backstroke. Schwenk will enter Friday's preliminaries seeded seventh with an entry time of 47.95. Last season, he finished seventh in the 100-yard backstroke in 47.98.
 
Catch all the action at NCAA.com.