2018 NCAA Division II Men’s Championships – Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

2018 NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, March 14 – Saturday, March 17
• Swimming: prelims 10am, finals 6pm; Diving: 2pm
• Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champions: Queens (results)
• Psych Sheet
• Video
• Live Results
• Championship Central

Day 4

Men’s 100 Yard Freestyle – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 42.61 3/17/2012 Andrey Seryy, Wayne State
• Meet: 42.61 3/17/2012 Andrey Seryy, Wayne State

Qualifiers:

1. Marius Kusch, JR Queens (NC) 42.76
2. Victor Rocha Furtado, JR Florida Tech 43.56
3. Mattia Schirru, JR Delta State 43.61
4. Jerome Heidrich, JR Cal Baptist 43.69
5. Dmitry Belolipetskiy, SO Fresno Pacific 43.75
6. Guilherme Zavaneli, JR Indy 43.85
7. Hunter Bains, SR Saint Leo 43.94
8. Alen Mosic, FR Queens (NC) 43.99
9. Christopher Mayes, SR Queens (NC) 44.03
10. Julien-Pierre Goyeche, SR Oklahoma Baptist 44.12
11. Matija Pucarevic, FR McKendree 44.17
12. Lukas Kraft, FR Wingate 44.26
13. David Lambert, SR Oklahoma Baptist 44.28
14. Zachary Linder, FR Lindenwood 44.34
15. Julian Coster, JR Nova S’eastern 44.37
16. Samuel Heveroh, JR Truman St. 44.39

Wayne State sophomore Sasha Palazzo dropped 9/10 to win heat 1 in 44.67, a good half a body length ahead of the field. Carson-Newman junior Jonathan Lancaster touched out Wingate freshman Marco Faerber-Gonzalez, 45.44 to 45.46, for second in the heat. Florida Southern junior Matthew Holmes went 4/10 better than his seed time to win heat 2 with 44.44 over Queens senior Bradford Hancock (45.10) and Wingate junior Lennart Queiss (45.16). Heat 3 was much closer; Truman State junior Samuel Heveroh (44.39) got his hand to the wall just in front of Queens senior Enzo Pazos (44.51) and Cal Baptist freshman Josh Walters (44.64).

Delta State junior Mattia Schirru opened the championship-seeded heats with a 43.61 win over Cal Baptist junior Jerome Heidrich (43.69) and Saint Leo senior Hunter Bains (43.94). Florida Tech junior Victor Rocha Furtado (43.56) followed in the next heat with a tight win over Fresno Pacific sophomore Dmitry Belolipetskiy (43.75) and Queens freshman Alen Mosic (43.99).

Queens junior Marius Kusch cleaned up on the final heat, winning by 1.1 seconds with 42.76, the only sub-43 of the morning. Behind him were Guilherme Zavaneli of UIndy (43.85) and Oklahoma Baptist seniors Julien-Pierre Goyeche (44.12) and David Lambert (44.28).

Men’s 200 Yard Backstroke – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 1:40.74 3/15/2014 Matthew Josa, Queens (NC)
• Meet: 1:40.74 3/15/2014 Matthew Josa, Queens (NC)

Qualifiers:

1. Paul Pijulet, SR Queens (NC) 1:44.13
2. Renars Bundzis, JR NMU 1:44.20
3. Baptiste Leger, FR Queens (NC) 1:44.52
4. Rodrigo Codo Berti  JR Indy 1:44.81
5. Harry Shalamon, SO Grand Valley 1:45.11
6. Matias Lopez, FR Florida Southern 1:45.41
7. Dmytro Drobnych, JR Wayne State 1:45.67
8. Aleksei Averchenko, SO Fresno Pacific 1:45.71
9. Daniel Buijs, JR McKendree 1:45.72
10. Felipe Zapata, JR Oklahoma Baptist 1:45.82
11. Jan Suchan, FR Tiffin 1:45.82
12. Brandon Dyck, FR Florida Southern 1:46.30
13. Tyler Prescott, JR Southern Conn 1:46.78
14. Wilmar Du, Plessis JR Bridgeport 1:46.80
15. Giulio Brugnoni, FR Delta State 1:47.12
16. Clayton Howerton, JR Saint Leo 1:47.26

Fresno Pacific sophomore Aleksei Averchenko had a monster swim in the opening heat of 200 backstrokes. He erased 2.8 seconds from his seed time to win with 1:45.71. Colorado Mesa freshman Torsten Rau dropped 1.8 for a second-place 1:47.80. Henderson State freshman Leonardo Chaves was third in 1:50.39.

Queens freshman Baptiste Leger came from behind to win heat 2. Grand Valley sophomore Harry Shalamon held the lead throughout the race, with Leger and Bridgeport junior Wilmar du Plessis on his tail. Shalamon had a slight lead on du Plessis and Leger at the 100. Du Plessis fell off pace but Leger stayed with Shalamon, then made his move over the final 50 yards to win with 1:44.52, a 1.2-second improvement from his seed time. Shalamon (1:45.11) touched second, with du Plessis (1:46.80) finishing third.

The penultimate heat was never close. Northern Michigan junior Renars Bundzis got off to a quick start and never let up. He won with 1:44.20 over Wayne State junior Dmytro Drobnych (1:45.67) and McKendree junior Daniel Buijs (1:45.72).

Top-seeded Paul Pijulet of Queens cruised to a 1:44.13 win in the final heat, coming to the wall ahead of Indy junior Rodrigo Codo Berti (1:44.81) and Florida Southern freshman Matias Lopez (1:45.41).

Men’s 200 Yard Breaststroke – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 1:51.71 3/14/2015 Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern
• Meet: 1:51.71 3/14/2015 Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern

Qualifiers:

1. Eric Tolman, SO Cal Baptist 1:55.09
2. Luis Jasso, SR Florida Southern 1:56.93
3. Giacomo Viazzo, SO Wingate 1:57.01
4. Marius Mikalauskas, JR Grand Valley 1:57.03
5. Nicholas Arakelian, SR Queens (NC) 1:57.70
6. Henrik Dahrendorff, SO Saint Leo 1:58.07
7. Inigo Alarcia, SR Queens (NC) 1:58.10
8. Fernando Morillas, SR Oklahoma Baptist 1:58.79
9. Young Tae Seo, JR Drury 1:59.08
10. Justin Winnett, JR Lindenwood 1:59.19
11. Caleb Howell, SO Carson-Newman 1:59.95
12. Adan Diaz, FR Nova S’eastern 2:00.02
13. Andrea Bazzoli, SR Drury University 2:00.14
14. Jesus Flores, JR Drury University 2:00.24
15. Thomas Leseure, SO Indy 2:01.25
16. Kosta Mitrovic, FR Bridgeport 2:01.33

With only three heats of breast, they were all championship heats, and as it turns out, the winner of heat 1 had the quickest time of the morning. Cal Baptist sophomore Eric Tolman blasted a best-by-1.5 time of 1:55.90 to win emphatically over Lindenwood junior Justin Winnett (1:59.19) and Drury senior Andrea Bazzoli (2:00.14).

Florida Southern senior Luis Jasso followed with a much closer race, just edging Grand Valley junior Marius Mikalauskas, 1:56.93 to 1:57.03. Saint Leo sophomore Henrik Dahrendorff was third in the heat with 1:58.07.

Wingate sophomore Giacomo Viazzo carried the final heat. He got off to a very quick start and held on through the end, winning with 1:57.01. Queens seniors Nick Arakelian (1:57.70) and Inigo Alarcia (1:58.10) followed in quick succession.

Men’s 3 Meter Diving – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 615.95 3/15/2014 Heath Calhoun, Clarion
• Meet: 615.95 3/15/2014 Heath Calhoun, Clarion

Qualifiers:

1. Ammar Hassan, FR Colorado Mesa 537.95
2. Noah Macomber, SO Colorado Mesa 535.20
3. David Sufficool, SR St. Cloud St 511.35
4. Otto Lehtonen, SO Oklahoma Baptist 498.90
5. Zachary Parry, SR Cal Baptist 496.80
6. Sage D’Ambrosia, SR Colorado Mesa 496.40
7. Payton Staman, SO Indy 494.80
8. Jared Gregory, SR Grand Valley 488.95
9. Cary Johns, JR Clarion 475.45
10. Jared Berger, FR Grand Valley 468.90
11. Garret Chew, JR Cal Baptist 468.10
12. Joshua Zylstra, SO Indy 453.65
13. Scott Stellick, JR St. Cloud St 444.80
14. Christopher Kelly, FR Grand Valley 438.35
15. Kyle Weesner, SO Delta State 437.15
16. Joseph Gucwa, SR Grand Valley 429.50

Colorado Mesa dominated the 3-meter board on Saturday morning, qualifying all three divers for the A final. Freshman Ammar Hassan led the field with 537.95 points, followed closely by teammate Noah Macomber (535.20). Macomber was 7th last year. Also contesting the championship final tonight will be: St. Cloud State senior David Sufficool (511.35); Otto Lehtonen of Oklahoma Baptist (498.90); Cal Baptist senior and 2017 runner-up Zachary Parry (496.80); Colorado Mesa senior and 6th-place finisher last year Sage D’Ambrosia (406.40); Indy sophomore Payton Staman (494.80); and Grand Valley senior Jared Gregory (488.95), who was 10th in 2017.

Men’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 2:53.00 3/11/2017 Queens (NC) (Kusch, Dreesens, Mayes, Arakelian)
• Meet: 2:53.00 3/11/2017 Queens (NC) (Kusch, Dreesens, Mayes, Arakelian)

Qualifiers:

1. Queens (NC) 2:54.75
2. Cal Baptist 2:56.53
3. Florida Tech 2:56.56
4. Saint Leo 2:57.04
5. Florida Southern 2:57.29
6. Fresno Pacific 2:57.40
7. Missouri S & T 2:57.46
8. Wingate 2:57.85
9. Oklahoma Baptist 2:57.86
10. Delta State 2:58.36
11. Lindenwood 2:58.61
12. Nova S’eastern 2:58.69
13. Grand Valley 2:58.94
14. Indy 2:58.94
15. TAMPA 2:59.18
16. McKendree 3:00.40

Men’s 1650 Yard Freestyle – Slower Heats

• NCAA DII: 15:00.51 3/14/2009 Mitch Snyder, Drury
• Meet: 15:00.51 3/14/2009 Mitch Snyder, Drury

Top 8 from morning session:

1. Marti Penedes, FR Oklahoma Baptist 15:28.22
2. Throstur Bjanason, FR McKendree 15:29.89
3. Federico Brumana, SO Drury University 15:29.99
4. Andrew Woinoski, SO Simon Fraser 15:30.89
5. Matija Rafaj, FR Saint Leo 15:32.64
6. Joan Casanovas, SO Drury University 15:38.20
7. Robert Griffith, SR Cal Baptist 15:42.31
8. Reed McKinney, FR Drury University 15:42.97

The first heat of men’s miles was surprisingly bunched up. Four lanes turned together at the 1500 wall: Oklahoma Baptist freshman Marti Penedes, Saint Leo freshman Matija Rafaj and McKendree freshman Throstru Bjanason who were tied, and Drury sophomore Federico Brumana. Penedes pulled ahead and got out to a body length lead, winning in 15:28.22. Bjanason touched out Brumana by .10, 15:29.89 to 15:29.99, and Rafaj finished in 15:32.64.

Simon Fraser sophomore Andrew Woinoski swam heat 2 all alone against the clock. He took 4.4 seconds off his seed time and finished with 15:30.89. Next to the wall was Drury freshman Reed McKinney (15:42.97), followed by Missouri-Saint Louis sophomore Patryk Golinski (15:45.10) and Rollins freshman Alex Norcini (15:46.18).

Lindenwood junior Cristian Vasquez and Northern Michigan junior Grantas Dapkus swam the final heat like it was synchronized swimming for the first 500 yards, at which point Vasquez slowly began to extricate himself and move into clean water. He ended up winning the heat with 15:51.17 to Dapkus’s 15:56.88.