After a few days on the waiting list, sophomore Kyle Shadeck received some good news which will be sending him to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.
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The championship will take place Indianapolis, Indiana for a three day period starting from March 21 to March 24.
Shadeck will be competing in the 200 meter butterfly, which has been very successful in so far this year.
His qualification for the NCAA Division III Championship marks the ninth straight year that a member of the Keene State men’s swim team has successfully qualified for the overall championship.
Shadeck had a very successful regular season, finishing it up with a qualification time of 1:49.18.
This time set a new school, meet, and pool record on Feb. 18 at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association Championships at the University of Rhode Island.
The top 16 times in the country qualify automatically, and Shadeck’s time had been 17th, leaving him as an alternate for the meet.
After waiting to see how the final result, Shadeck qualified and found his name on the list.
Shadeck’s overall swim career has been overall abundant.
Before coming Keene State College Shadeck was a YMCA Nationals Finalist, the Southern Connecticut Conference Champion, and a Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) State Open Qualifier.
As a first-year at Keene State College, Shadeck won the 400 yard individual medley at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA) Championships, while also finishing as the runner-up in the 200 fly and third in the 200 IM relays.
Now a sophomore, Shadeck will travel to Indiana and compete in a three day NCAA Championship, in hopes to bring back a title to Keene State College on March 25 or 26.
Shadeck said that his main goal of the season was to qualify for the NCAAs, especially since he faced some struggles and injuries during regular season.
“It feels good to have your hard work pay off and to be recognized in your sport. It’s just a good way to end the season,” Shadeck said.
Caroline Perry can be contacted at cperry@kscequinox.com