Season Preview: Men’s Swimming and Diving primed for success in 2023-24

By Wes Mayberry

| 2023-24 Men's Swimming & Diving Schedule | 2023-24 Men's Swimming & Diving Roster |

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's swimming and diving team enters the 2023-24 season primed for success under sixth-year head coach Austin Veltman.

The Polar Bears return 18 lettermen, including six All-Ohio Athletic Conference performers, from a year ago when they finished 7-2 overall and third at the OAC Championships.

Junior diver Holden Cubberley (Celina) headlines that group as a four-time OAC champion and two-time OAC Diver of the Year.

Cubberley is coming off a sophomore season in which he set the school record in both the 1- and 3-meter diving while winning OAC titles in both events. His 524.35 points in the 1-meter diving event last season was a new OAC record.

Cubberley enters this season as a two-time NCAA Regional qualifier and is looking to earn his second career NCAA national qualification after doing so as a freshman in 2022.

Sophomore Selby Wilt (Findlay) is also coming off a record-breaking season in 2022-23. He earned All-OAC honors in the 50 free with a school-record time of :20.34. He was also All-OAC in the 100 free and 200 free relay en route to scoring a team-best 77.5 points at the conference meet.

Sophomore Nathan Clark (Cleves/Elder) earned a pair of All-OAC accolades last season, doing so in the 100 breast and 200 free relay.

Senior Charlie Spyker (Harrod/Shawnee), junior Brady Horgan (New Richmond/McNicholas) and sophomore Aiden Magoolaghan (Hinckley/Highland) also return coming off All-OAC seasons in 2022-23.

Spyker was All-OAC in 1-meter diving last year and owns four career All-OAC accolades. He qualified for the NCAA Regionals in 1-meter diving in 2022.

Horgan and Magoolaghan joined Wilt and Clark on ONU's All-OAC 200 free relay team last season. Horgan enters his junior year with four career All-OAC accolades.

The remaining returning lettermen include juniors Nathan Gibbs (Parker, Colo./Legend), Vincent Morando (Mansfield/Lexington), Brandon Parkins (DuPont, Wash./Steilacoom), Noah Shaw (Port Clinton) and Ben Starling (Mansfield/Lexington) and sophomores Simon Bopple (Cleveland/Shaker Heights), Declan Brady (Cleveland/Saint Edward), Tyler Edmonds (Youngsville, La./Southside), Max Etheridge (Ashley/Rutherford B. Hayes), Long Huynh (Billings, Mt./West), Isaac Reddy (Maryland Heights, Mo./Pattonville) and Nathan Wion (Ashley/Big Walnut).

Northern also welcomes seven freshmen to the roster.

The Polar Bears open their 2023-24 season on Oct. 14 against Bethel (Ind.) and Aquinas (Mich.) at Bethel.

The OAC opener is Oct. 20 at Wilmington followed by home duals against conference foes Heidelberg on Oct. 27 and John Carroll on Oct. 28.

November competitions include the two-day Calvin (Mich.) Quad and the three-day Wabash (Ind.) Invitational.

Northern is set to host three meets in January before wrapping up the regular season at Baldwin Wallace on Jan. 20 and Grove City (Pa.) on Jan. 27.

The 2024 OAC Championships are scheduled for Feb. 14-17 in Akron followed by the NCAA Division III Championships in Greensboro, N.C., on March 20-23.