Greensboro, N.C. — Connecticut College junior Justin Finkel was crowned national champion in the 500 freestyle Wednesday at the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

After turning in the fastest time in the morning preliminaries, Finkel outdid himself in the championship finals. He finished in 4 minutes, 21.32 seconds, breaking his own school record.

Finkel is Conn’s first individual national champion since women’s swimmer Mary Erb in 2017 and the first men’s swimmer to reach the pinnacle since Sam Gill in 2014. He now joins a short list of Conn College national champions that also includes Michael LeDuc (men’s track and cross country), Alex Samma (men’s track) and Kate Kovenock (women’s swimming).

“It certainly means a lot,” Finkel said of his first national title. “It’s a dream of every swimmer. I’ve been working on this for a while, so I’m glad I’m finally here, and it’s a dream come true.”

The championship final featured eight swimmers, six of whom competed in the same heat as Finkel in the morning session. Finkel hung back in the early stages of the race and was in fifth at the midway point, which is where Brandeis’ Samuel Dienstag overtook Tufts’ Rafae Shafi for the lead.

Dienstag built a sizable advantage over the field before Finkel chased him down in the back half. By the 400-yard mark it was a two-man race, although Finkel still trailed by a body length. On the bell lap, Finkel pulled even by the final turn and overtook Dienstag over the final 25 yards to clinch the victory.

“I had a lot more in the last half than I thought I would,” Finkel said in a press release. “I went out how I wanted to, but I’m just glad I had that last kick in the end.”

Finkel will continue competing at the nationals, taking part Thursday in the 200 free, where he is the top seed, and Friday in the 200 butterfly.

Baseball

• Ryan Karman pitched three innings to earn his first career save for Coast Guard Academy in a 4-3 victory over Trinity. Karman allowed one run on one hit, preserving the win for Raymond Priddy, who gave up just three hits over six innings. Blake George had three hits for the Bears (6-3), including a double, and Carson Cho and Richard Barkley had two hits each.

• Freshman Ben Centurelli fired six strong innings, striking out five, as UConn Avery Point defeated the Nichols junior varsity 9-1 in the home-opener at Roger Bidwell Field. Freshman John Bureau of East Lyme had three hits for the Pointers.

Men’s lacrosse

• Ryan Hunter had two goals and three assists for Coast Guard Academy in a 17-11 loss to Trinity. Patrick Smith, Ben Nocerito, Ian Feely and Eric Key also had two goals each and Mason LaForte added one for the Bears (1-5). Jay Ottomanelli had five goals for Trinity, which got off to a 7-2 lead after one quarter.

Women’s water polo

• Conn College beat Washington & Jefferson 16-9 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Gigi Sandull scored seven goals, Emma Luna had two goals and five assists and Melia Lorch had a goal and five assists for Camels (6-1).

Softball

• Waterford’s Emma Marelli was named the Little East Conference Player of the Week. The sophomore shortstop at Eastern Connecticut State batted .462, scored 12 runs from the leadoff spot, drove in two runs and handled 26 chances without an error. The Warriors went 7-1 in Tucson, Ariz.