Justin Finkel ’25 named NESCAC Swimmer of the Year for second consecutive year

After winning three events at the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships this past weekend, Justin Finkel ’25 was named NESCAC Swimmer of the Year for the second year in a row. Finkel is just the fourth NESCAC swimmer to earn the honor in consecutive seasons and the first from Connecticut College.

Finkel won the 200 butterfly on the final day of competition, setting a meet and pool record with a time of 1:44.62. Earlier in the four-day event, Finkel defended his titles in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. After trailing for most of the 200 free, Finkel caught Tufts’ Nathaniel Taft on the last turn and pulled away over the final 25 yards. He shaved more than a second off his preliminary time and notched an NCAA “A” cut, clocking in with a time of 1:35.69. In the 500 free, he broke his own meet record with a time of 4:24.66.

Finkel won the same three races during the 2023 championships en route to his first NESCAC Swimmer of the Year honors. He went on to finish second in the 500 freestyle at the 2023 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships, earning All-America honors.

Finkel will next swim all three events at the 2024 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships March 20-23 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.

Going into the championship meet, Finkel holds the nation’s top times in both free events and ranks second in the fly. The full four-day event will be video streamed on NCAA.com.

Finkel is one of two Camels to earn top NESCAC honors this season; Men’s Basketball’s David Murray ’24 was named NESCAC Player of the Year in late February.