2016 NAIA National Championships – Men’s Meet
- Dates: Wednesday, March 2 – Saturday, March 5, 2016; prelims 9 am, finals 5 pm
- Location: Columbus Aquatic Center, Columbus, Georgia (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champions: Oklahoma Baptist University (results)
- Live Results: Available here
- Live Video: Available here
- Championship Central
The 2016 NAIA National Championships kicked off in Columbus, Georgia on Thursday with a new NAIA national record in the first individual event: SCAD Savannah’s Joel Ax lowered his own mark in the 500 free to set the tone for the morning session. Overall the field is more balanced this year and thus there will be wider representation on the podium in finals.
The team battle in the men’s meet is going to be intense, with Olivet Nazarene University, who has been runner-up in each of the last two years, and SCAD Savannah vying for the top step of the podium. ONU picked up 53.5 points from their psych sheet seedings in the morning session, while SCAD improved by 8.
200 Medley Relay – Prelims
- SCAD Savannah 1:31.38
- Cumberlands 1:33.12
- Lindenwood-Belleville 1:33.50
Karl Hegwein (23.30), Tim Jarnvik (25.61), Mark Shvartsman (22.09), and Anton Arvidsson (30.28) of SCAD topped the field in the 200 medley relay with their qualifying time of 1:31.38. University of the Cumberlands led six teams qualifying with 1:33s including Lindenwood-Belleville (1:33.50), WVU Tech (1:33.56), ONU (1:33.57), St. Andrews (1:33.30), and Wayland Baptist (1:33.70). Thomas (1:35.28) rounded out the top eight.
500 Freestyle – Prelims
- Joel Ax, SCAD Savannah 4:21.49
- Bart Sommeling, Lindenwood-Belleville 4:33.92
- Frank Tapia, ONU 4:35.32
SCAD Savannah’s Ax posted the top time of 4:21.49, about a half-second under the NAIA national mark which Ax established in last year’s championship meet. Lindenwood freshman Bart Sommeling was the second qualifier with 4:33.92. The big winner in this event, though, was ONU as the Tigers managed to fill half the A final, with junior Frank Tapia (4:36.51), senior Sam Borgman (4:36.82), sophomore Joshua Bouma (4:38.42), and senior Andrew Fischer (4:39.17). SCAD freshman Ryan Sweat qualified fourth (4:36.51) and Lindenwood sophomore Lucas Dengler-Harles was sixth (4:37.18).
200 Individual Medley – Prelims
- Daniil Kuzmin, ONU 1:49.25
- Keith Jessee, Asbury 1:50.85
- Daniel Buijs, Lindenwood-Belleville 1:52.96
ONU freshman Daniil Kuzmin paced the field in the 200 IM, qualifying with a season-best time of 1:49.25. Asbury freshman Keith Jessee improved his seed time by nearly 5 seconds to qualify second with 1:50.85. Another freshman, Daniel Buijs of Lindenwood, was third in 1:52.96.
ONU continued to outperform the psych sheet by getting a second A finalist when sophomore Charles Bennett posted the fourth-fastest time of 1:53.56. SCAD’s Tyler Prescott (1:54.00), Union College freshman Ivar de Jong (1:54.30), Wayland Baptist junior Bjoern Globke (1:54.68), and WVU Tech sophomore Manuel Serrano Laguna (1:54.89) complete the top eight.
50 Freestyle – Prelims
- Anton Arvidsson, SCAD Savannah 20.81
- Josiah Morales, Wayland Baptist 20.88
- Guilherme Magnoler, ONU 20.93 and Quentin Cooper, WVU Tech 20.93
The team race will continue to be tight heading into the 50 free final tonight, and both SCAD and ONU have two up and one down. SCAD sophomore Anton Arvidsson posted the leading time, clocking a 20.81 to win his heat. Top-seeded Josiah Morales of Wayland Baptist went 20.88 for second, while both Quentin Cooper of WVU Tech and Guilherme Magnoler of ONU hit the wall in 20.93 to qualify third.
The rest of the A final will consist of Jacob Anderson of ONU (20.95), Mark Shvartsman of SCAD (20.96), Riley Crandall of Thomas (20.99), and Andrew Gurley of St. Andrews (21.05).
Ups/Downs – Day One
| Team | A/B Finalists |
| Olivet Nazarene University | 8/4 |
| SCAD Savannah | 5/3 |
| Lindenwood University – Belleville | 3/0 |
| Wayland Baptist University | 2/2 |
| West Virginia University Institute of Technology | 2/2 |
| St. Andrews University | 1/2 |
| Asbury University | 1/1 |
| Thomas University | 1/1 |
| Union College | 1/0 |
| University of the Cumberlands | 0/5 |
| The College of Idaho | 0/3 |
| Lindsey Wilson College | 0/1 |
Tonight’s finals session begins at 5 PM Eastern time.
“The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics.
In 2000, the NAIA reaffirmed its purpose to enhance the character building aspects of sport. Through Champions of Character, the NAIA seeks to create an environment in which every student-athlete, coach, official and spectator is committed to the true spirit of competition through five core values.”