PHOTO GALLERY GENEVA, OHIO

– Senior McKenzie Hemingway (Chestertown, Md./Queen Anne's County) finished eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke and helped the 200 freestyle relay place 11th to lead West Chester University on Day 4 of the 2024 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships at the Spire Institute Friday evening.
 
West Chester stands in 14th place with 79 points with one more day to go at nationals. Nova Southeastern still leads the pack with 381 points. However, Colorado Mesa passed Drury and is now second with 332.5 points. Drury is third with 287.5 points.
 
Hemingway earned that All-America certificate in perhaps the most difficult manner possible. She tied Wingate University's Amanda Wenhold for eighth in the prelims during the morning session, and the two of them had to have a swim-off to determine who would race in the 'A' final at night. Hemingway won that head-to-head matchup. Incidentally, her time of 1 minute, 2.13 seconds that tied with Wenhold was a personal best. However, she swam faster than that during the swim-off, touching in 1:01.81 which is second all-time at WCU. Hemingway put the race out of reach in the final 25 yards.
 
"I didn't really know what to expect this morning," Hemingway said. "But, I knew I had my training behind me. I had a rush of adrenaline going through me for that swim-off. This is what I've wanted since my sophomore year when I watched all my teammates swim at night, and I told myself, 'That is gonna be me one day' and here I am."
 
Teammate Keeley Durkin (Brookhaven, Pa./Sun Valley) placed 16th in the 500 free to earn points for the Golden Rams. Mikayla Niness (Spring City, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) placed 19th in the 500 free with teammates Sophia Gerhart (Spring Mills, Pa./Penn Valley Area) and Danielle Stewart (Dover, Del./Caesar Rodney) finishing 24th and 25th, respectively. Gerhart also placed 22nd in the 200 butterfly during prelims.
 
Hemingway teamed up with Niness, Isabella Kil (Enola, Pa./East Pennsboro) and Samantha Trumble (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown) in the 200 free relay for that 11th-place showing. They put up a time of 1:33.41.
 
Saturday's final day of the championships will see swimmers compete in the 100 free, 200 back and 200 breast, along with the 1650 free. The 400 free relay at night will put a bow on the 2024 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships.