INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Brandeis University sophomore Sam Dienstag (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) finished in 19th place today in the 1,650-yard freestyle event at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in Indianapolis.
Seeded 11th coming into the event, Dienstag finished fifth in his heat with a time of 15:54.30. He was about 20 seconds off his school-record and NCAA qualifying time. With the final standings based on time, Dienstag was three spots and about five seconds out of a top-16 scoring position that would have secured him All-America honors for the second year in a row. Dienstag was among the top three in his heat for the first third of the race, posting times under 29 seconds in 11 of the first 12 laps, but he was unable to keep up the pace for the remainder of the race, falling back to fifth place.