Max Cory ‘26 capped the Bates men’s swim team’s performance at NESCAC championships with an apparent DIII record 50-yard freestyle split on Feb. 22 in Middlebury, Vt.
Anchoring the 200-yard medley relay, Cory swam the stretch in 18.59 seconds. While these splits are not always officially recorded, this time “is believed to be the fastest 50-free split in NCAA Division III history,” according to Bates Athletics.
Cory, alongside Tim Johnson ‘27, Marrich Somridhivej ‘26, and John Weigel ‘27, set a Bates record in the event with a time of 1:27.24. They came in second behind Tufts University, who claimed a new NESCAC record.
For Cory, who also set a NESCAC record in the 100-yard freestyle event with a time of 43.2 seconds and later won the event in 43.55 seconds, the record meant all the more because it was part of a team effort.
“I swim a lot better on relays, and that’s mostly just because the adrenaline really kicks in for me, and I love swimming for the team more than I do for myself,” he said. Before he started his split, Cory saw that his teammates had set him up for success with good relay splits. “I knew it was a great opportunity for us to go do something awesome,” the junior reflected.
Still, the result came as a bit of a shock. “When I hit the wall, I didn’t think it would be quite as fast as it was,” he said. “And so I was pretty surprised as well, but I knew it was going to be something special.”
Early in the season on Jan. 14, Cory told the Bates Bobcast that there was “only one thing on my mind right now, and that’s winning a relay at NESCACs.” He predicted they would win titles in two. Now, Cory says this team is at its best.
“We’ve got a super great freshman class, and the sophomores had a great season this year,” Cory said. He mentioned that Weigel, Johnson, and Nate Oppenheim ‘28 have all had stellar break-out seasons, fostering a “huge team-wide improvement, which is why we did so much better this year.”
Cory spent the fall semester abroad in Stockholm, where he was swimming “probably on average, two times a week.” When he got back to the U.S. and joined his team on their December trip to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., it was challenging to get back into the groove.
“Those 10 days were rough, rough, rough,” Cory said. “Most of the month of January was a lot of work, just getting my feel for the water back, getting back in the proper aerobic shape.”
Now, ahead of the national championship in Greensboro, NC, starting March 19, Cory isn’t quitting.
“I’m sort of taking it a little easy for the next three days, just recovering because NESCACs is a four day meet of just…a lot of work,” he said. But then, “we’re just gonna get right back into it…Upwards of 20 hours a week, just trying to fine tune the stuff that wasn’t perfect at conferences and make it perfect at Nationals.”
