Jamie Burgasser threw a scoreless complete game on the mound during the Bears sweep of Fontbonne. (Jialing Sun | Student Life)

Swim and dive competed at NCAA DIII nationals, both track and field teams won a home meet, and baseball and softball competed in key home series as they geared up for conference play. Here’s everything you need to know about WashU athletics from the past week, March 18-24.

Men’s Swimming & Diving

The Bears finished up the 2024 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in 11th place, recording 155 points. Senior Alex McCormick won a national title in the 200-meter backstroke, setting a program record with a time of 1:43.40. McCormick also took home a second award — the ELITE 90 Award, given to the swimmer with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals. Altogether, the Bears concluded the weekend with eight First Team All-Americans and 18 All-America Honorable Mentions.

Women’s Swimming & Diving

WashU concluded the 2024 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in 19th place, with 46 points. The Bears wrapped up the weekend with seven First Team All-Americans, including first-year divers Madison Okon and Shanze Karimi, who finished 15th and 16th overall, respectively. The Bears’ 800-meter freestyle relay team, consisting of sophomore Rin Iimi, junior Isabella Barrientos, first-year Rachel Bello, and sophomore Ali Roche, finished on the podium with an 8th-place performance.

Women’s Track & Field

After finishing second at indoor nationals, the Bears began their outdoor Track & Field season strong, winning the five-team WashU Triangular on Saturday. The weekend was highlighted by the team’s performances in the 800-meter race, where they notched each of the top seven times, and the 1500-meter, where they finished in each of the top six. The Bears excelled in several other events: sophomore Elizabeth Wagner (400-meter), junior Julia Patterson (3,000-meter steeplechase), senior Ebun Opata (long jump), sophomore Jenae Bothe (discus throw), and junior Yasmin Ruff (pole vault) each placed first in their respective events. WashU also won the 4 x 400 relay and set the best time this season in Division III. The Bears will host the WashU Distance Carnival and the WashU Invite next weekend.

After finishing second at indoor nationals, women’s track and field carried the momentum into the outdoor season. (Sam Powers | Student Life)

Men’s Track & Field

Men’s Track and Field also dominated on Saturday at the WashU Triangular, taking first place among the four participating teams. The Bears recorded seven individual wins: graduate student Jackson Cox (400-meter), senior Will Dehmler (800-meter), senior William Houser (1500-meter), sophomore Alexander Bullard (3000-meter), junior Charlie Fallon (3,000-meter steeplechase), sophomore Eli Goldman (high jump), first-year Peter Lichtenberger (pole vault). Highlights of the weekend included the team’s victory in the 4 x 400 relay, along with Bullard’s performance in the 3000-meter, which was won by nearly 25 seconds. The Bears will host both the WashU Distance Carnival and the WashU Invite next weekend.

Softball

After returning from a trip to Alabama last week, softball kicked off a jam-packed six-game week with a sweep of Thursday’s doubleheader versus Fontbonne University: 2-0, 1-0. Junior Jamie Burgasser and first-year Maria Brooks were nearly perfect for the Bears on the mound, while junior Maggie Baumstark broke a scoreless tie with a two-out, walk-off single in the eighth inning to win the second game. Over the weekend, the Bears would split their home games versus Wartburg College and Spalding University, finishing the week 4-2 to improve their record to 10-5. The Bears will begin division play versus Brandeis on Friday.

Baseball

After receiving votes in the DIII baseball Top 25 Poll, WashU baseball started the week with a 10-6 win at Webster on Wednesday. However, the Bears went on to get swept by No. 9 University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse over the weekend. The Bear’s pitching struggled all series long, giving up 37 runs over the three-game set. While most of WashU’s bats fell cold over the weekend, sophomore Shane Pellegrino capped off a strong week, recording 6 hits and 5 RBIS over the 4 games. After this week’s games, the Bears fall to 14-8 and will begin their University Athletic Association season next weekend against New York University, who is also on the cusp of the national rankings.