GENEVA, Ohio – The Ouachita swimming and diving teams wrapped up the 2024 NCAA Division II Championships with three finals appearances, and All-American, and the best finish for the men's team since 2013.
 
The Tigershark men tallied 20 total points at the championships to secure a 25th place finish out of 34 scoring teams. This marks the first time since 2016 that Ouachita has recorded points at nationals and is the best finish for the men since 2013 when they placed 16th overall with 90 points.
 
Miles Schulze earned All-American honors for his Championship Final performance in the 200-yard Breaststroke on Saturday in which the Prosper, Texas native placed eighth in the nation with a time of 1:57.82 to score 11 points for the Tigersharks. Schulze placed eighth in the preliminaries as well with a time of 1:57.58 to make it to the "A" finals. The junior also competed in the 100-yard Breaststroke and placed 21st in the prelims with a time of 54.20.
 
Elijah Christenson, the 2024 NCAA Elite 90 Award winner, made it into the Consolation Championship Final for the 200-yard Butterfly where he took home a fourth-place (12th overall) finish with a time of 1:47.30 to score five points for Ouachita. The Saint Michael, Minnesota native finished ninth in the prelims, missing the A final by a margin of just 0.11 seconds. Elijah also swam in the 200-yard Freestyle with a time of 1:39.25 and placed 29th.
 
Zsombor Bujdoso placed fifth in the Consolation Championship Final (13th overall) in the 400-yard Individual Medley with a time of 3:53.09 to score four points for the Tigersharks. The Hungarian placed ninth overall in the prelims with a time of 3:51.38, just 0.12 seconds out of the Championship final. Bujdoso also competed in the 200 IM where he placed 18th in the prelims with a time of 1:47.91 and the 200-yard Breaststroke, where he also placed 18th with a time of 1:59.48.
 
On the Women's side, Didi Christenson competed in the 100-yard Butterfly and placed 22nd in the prelims with a time of 55.70. Christenson was the first women's swimmer to make a National Championships appearance for Ouachita since Ksenia Gromova went in 2011.
 
The 2023-24 season was one for the history books as multiple program and Waggoner Pool records were broken over the course of the season and Ouachita achieved feats that had not been accomplished in more than a decade. The men beat rival Henderson State in a dual meet for the first time since 2014, and the women tallied three straight wins over the Red Wave this season. As previously mentioned, this year saw the most points recorded at nationals by the men since 2013 and the first Tigershark woman to make it to nationals since 2011.
 
The Tigersharks are on an upward trajectory, and it will be exciting to see what Head Coach Steven Bostick, Assistant Coach Dawson Pritchard, and the rest of the Tigershark swim teams have in store for next season.