Two-time national champ from Horseheads named top swimmer in NCAA Division III

Former Horseheads High School standout Sophia Verkleeren was named Swimmer of the Meet at this year's NCAA Division III Women's Swimming & Diving Championships after capturing the first two national championships of her career.

Verkleeren, a sophomore at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, won the 200-yard individual medley in 1 minute, 59.47 seconds on March 15 and topped the finals field in the 200 backstroke three days later in 1:57.66.

She added a third-place finish in the 400 IM (4:20.6) and was part of Williams' third-place effort in the 200 medley relay and fourth-place showing in the 400 medley relay. Verkleeren, 19, earned All-America recognition in seven events at the four-day meet at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in North Carolina, helping the Ephs to fourth in the team standings.

More accolades have followed for Verkleeren, who said she has received an "amazing" amount of support from former Horseheads teammates reaching out to congratulate her. She was named 2023 College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America Division III Swimmer of the Year and one of 11 finalists for the DIII Honda Athlete of the Year award.

The Section 4 record-holder in the 200 IM and 100 backstroke added to the Southern Tier's impact at Williams. Former Elmira Notre Dame standout Molly Craig won national titles for the Ephs in 2018 and 2022.

"There are so many great aspects to Sophia," Williams coach Steve Kuster said when her nomination for the Honda award was announced. "She has an outstanding attitude and approach, loves her team and teammates, and works harder than most anyone in the pool."

Verkleeren, daughter of Ron and Erica Verkleeren of Horseheads, talked about her season and time at Williams.

Question: What has it been like at Williams?

Answer: I think it’s been great. I get a lot of my support from the team. We all spend a lot of time together. We’re really close. Williams is a small school. That has some cons, but I think in a lot of ways that makes the community really close and really tight. That’s been something I’ve really enjoyed here. There’s something special about walking outside and seeing people that you know and walking down the sidewalk and being able to say hi because you’re walking past all your classmates because the school is only two-thousand kids.

It’s been fun getting to know the traditions. For example, Mountain Day. We have a day in the fall where the president cancels classes and we all go hike up a mountain.

Q: How did you enjoy being teammates with Molly Craig?

A: Since I was really little, swimming in a lane with Molly Craig, she’s always been an inspiration for me. I must have been 11 years old at Horseheads Thrashers practice with Molly and we were both in the same lane and she just lapped me four times in this 500 swim for time we did. I remember thinking to myself, ‘I want to be as fast as her one day.’ As long as I’ve been swimming, Molly Craig has been an inspiration for me and I don’t think that has changed since she retired. I would love to accomplish everything she accomplished. Having the time last year to swim with her was really special. I always felt a lot of support from her and she was really nice.

Last year before the 800 free relay at NESCACs, I was very, very nervous because I kind of got thrown into it last second. Twenty minutes before the meet started my coach let me know I was going to be in it. And Molly sat me down and was like, ‘I had an amazing NESCACs my freshman year and I know you will too.’ It just made me feel a lot better.

Q: How would you assess this season?

A: Last year after watching people win the NCAA title, I left the NCAA Championships feeling super inspired and super motivated. I just remember watching Crile Hart win the (200) back and watching Molly Craig win the (400) IM. I remember thinking to myself, ‘I want to do that next year.’ This year my goal was definitely to win an NCAA championship. I wanted to win mostly for my team and I know my coach. Coach Kuster has had an NCAA champion every year for the last 20 years or something like that. That was another thing I wanted to keep going for him. I knew it was going to be difficult and I didn’t really expect it to happen. I just knew that was my main goal for the season.

This year I felt like I was really able to have a great season of training because last year was more of an adjustment period. Trying to adjust to a new environment, atmosphere, new training schedule. This year I knew the drill and I knew what I was able to do a bit more. I felt like that enabled me to work harder in the pool and in the weight room. That kind of comfort helped me train harder. Another factor was we didn’t have to worry about COVID as much this year. Last year COVID was really stressful for swimming. Williams was testing us every week and if you tested positive you would have to be out of the pool for 10 days, plus a five-day moderate exercise period.

Q: How did the 200 IM go at nationals?

A: I actually was not expecting to win the 200 IM at all and I wasn’t expecting to break two minutes. I was really happy for that. I wasn’t swimming it thinking about winning, I was swimming it enjoying the race and just having fun and doing what I love to do. Then obviously the last 25, when I turned ahead of everybody, I was like, ‘Oh God, I’ve got to go.’ I remember swimming into the last 10 yards thinking I need to do this for Coach because he has had a rough year. I wanted to get that championship for him.

Q: What was your mindset for the 200 backstroke?

A: Going into the 200 backstroke I was more focused on winning the title. Also because we were in a pretty tight team battle. Fourth, fifth and sixth place were really close in points.

I was racing Kate Augustyn, who is someone I’m comfortable racing. We raced a lot last year and this year and we’ve become friends. That’s another aspect of Division III swimming I’ve enjoyed a lot. The swimming community at NCAAs is really amazing. I’ve gotten close with people I’ve competed with over these last two years. Everyone is generally nice and we’re all really happy for each other.

I think my favorite race of the whole meet was the 400 freestyle relay prelims on Saturday. I think we were seeded 13th. We were not seeded in the A final. We swam with the intensity of we have to get into the A final, this is our only choice. We dropped a second and a half and we made it into the A final, which was super exciting because that set us up really well to be able to get fourth place at night.

Q: Was Swimmer of the Meet announced at the end of the meet?

A: Yeah, but the way Greensboro Aquatic Center is set up, you can’t really hear what the announcers are saying on deck. Apparently he called my name three times and I didn’t even know. I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Then I looked up and my parents and everyone were yelling at me to go to the podium. So I just ran up there late. That was for sure a surprise to me. I wasn’t expecting to win that.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Sophia Verkleeren named NCAA Division III Swimmer of the Year