Freshman swimmer earns All-America honor

(SHENANDOAH, Texas. – March 18, 2017) Cal Lutheran freshman Benjamin Brewer made history for Cal Lutheran today, swimming his way to the first All-America recognition in the sport for the university on the final day of the 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Swimming & Diving National Championships.

After setting a new Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), SCIAC Championships Meet and Cal Lutheran record 1650 time of 15:28.26 to take home gold at last month’s conference meet, the first-year swimmer stepped up to race the top swimmers from the rest of the country in his signature event.

Entering with a seed time that was the third fastest in the country, Brewer clocked a 15:28.80 to place fourth and bring home his first national honor.

“It feels pretty cool to be able to put Cal Lutheran on the national map with the first All-America,” Brewer said. “I had a great time here at nationals and I hope I got the attention of potential recruits, because it is an amazing school that many don’t know about.”

Additionally, with a Thursday 400 Individual Medley preliminary swim of 4:01.83 he earned a spot in the consolation finals. At night he swam a 4:03.75 to finish 16th and earn Honorable Mention All-America.

Finally, with a 500 free swim of 4:31.59 he was named the second alternate for finals. The time was also the fastest SCIAC showing of the meet.

The Santa Barbara, California, native acknowledged he could not have gotten here alone, saying, “I want to thank all the coaches who pushed me all year and allowed me to achieve this accomplishment.”

With a year of collegiate competition under his belt, the distance specialist is sure to make waves for the remainder of his career at Cal Lutheran.

Joining Brewer at the 2017 NCAA DIII Championships was sophomore women’s swimmer Mardell Ramirez who also swam three events this week.