Matthew Cinque [above on left] and Nick Fabian [above on right], two distance freestyle specialists from Boston College, are coached by 12-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres and Olympic coach Chris Morgan. The two freshman will travel the furthest of all the swimmers from 19 universities competing at the 5 km MPSF Open Water Swimming Championships.

The event will be held in Marine Stadium in Long Beach, California on October 18th and live streamed by Game On Live Studio here.

The two BC freshmen do an occasional open water swimming workout at Walden Pond in Massachusetts that is calm and tranquil like the conditions the organizers expect in Marine Stadium.

But the two Boston College Eagles will be pushed hard by defending champion Thomas Langlois of Whittier College [shown below in middle], 2023 winner Mark Kovacsics of California Baptist University [shown on left], and Turkish swimmer Batu Servi of Grand Canyon University [shown on right] who are very familiar with the rectangular course in the 1932 and 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games rowing basin. in Long Beach.

Sunny skies, little to no wind, tranquil conditions, and 17°C – 19°C water are expected in Marine Stadium.

Langlois is a French-Canadian from Quebec who posted the fastest 1000-yard freestyle time in NCAA Division III last year in a 9:39 while finishing sixth at the 2024 USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Championships. He will have his hands full with the 9:14 speed of Cinque and the 9:09 speed of Fabian. But Hungarian swimmer Kovacsics has the fastest closing speed as a 4:16 500-yard freestyler that he combines with the most tactical open water experience.

Others to look for in the lead pack include BYU’s distance specialists Tanner Nelson and Easton Mousser, California Baptist University’s Cody Meyer who finished fourth in the 2024 event, Grand Canyon University’s Colin Campbell and Joe Stephenson, and UC Santa Barbara’s Owen Berry.

Crowds can expect a pack of at least seven men closing with a frantic sprint to the onshore finish at Marine Stadium.

Participating Universities

• Biola University men and women
• Boston College men
• BYU men and women
• California Baptist University men and women
• Chapman University men and women
• Fresno State University men and women
• Grand Canyon University men and women
• University of Idaho women
• New Mexico State University women
• Northern Colorado University women
• Occidental College men and women
• Pepperdine University women
• Rice University women
• University of San Diego women
• University of California Santa Barbara men and women
• Utah Tech University women
• Washington State University women
• Westmont College women
• Whittier College men and women 

2025 Men’s 5 km Results

1. Thomas Langlois, 20, Whittier College 59:26.00
2. Mark Kovacsics, 22, California Baptist University 59:30.00
3. Batu Servi, 19, Grand Canyon University 59:34.00
4. Cody Meyer, 22, California Baptist University 1:01:24.00
5. Kyle Brill, 21, University of California Santa Barbara 1:01:28.00
6. Connor Martilla, 20, University of California Santa Barbara 1:03:07.00
7. Colin Campbell, 20, Grand Canyon University 1:03:52.00
8. Josh Delizo, 21, California Baptist University 1:03:58.00
9. Joe Stephenson, 19, Grand Canyon University 1:04:40.00
10. Owen Berry, 19, University of California Santa Barbara1:06:13.00
11. Noah Hall, 20, Biola University 1:06:23.00
12. Kyle Huang, 19, Pomona Pitzer 1:07:53.00
13. Easton Mousser, 17, Grand Canyon University 1:08:05.00
14. Austin De La O, 20, California Baptist University 1:08:16.00
15. Atu Ambala, 23, Grand Canyon University 1:08:34.00
16. Theo Holtzman, 18, Pomona Pitzer 1:08:42.00
17. Allen Chang, 21, Pomona Pitzer 1:08:59.00
18. Jack Christy, 18, Pomona Pitzer 1:10:54.00
19. James Saw, 20, Whittier College 1:14:44.00
20. Nick Coltrin, 21, Whittier College 1:16:48.00

2024 Championship photos courtesy of Karina Toriz.

For more information, visit here. For information on the women’s 5 km race, visit here.

The MPSF Open Water Swimming Championships will be held in a rectangular course in Marine Stadium, site of the rowing events at the 1932 and 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The Olympic 10K Marathon Swim will be held nearby in Long Beach near the Belmont Plaza Pier in the Pacific Ocean.

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

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