2024 NCAA Division II Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2024 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: March 12-16, 2024
• Times: Finals 10AM Eastern, Finals 5:30PM Eastern
• Location: SPIRE Institute Aquatics Center in Geneva, Ohio
• Defending Champions:
  • Nova S’eastern women (1x)
  • Indianapolis men (1x)
• Psych Sheets:
  • Women’s Psych Sheet
  • Men’s Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Video (NCAA.com)

Day 3

Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly – Finals

• NCAA DII: 52.06 – Ann Carozza, West Chester (2022)
• Meet: 52.06 – Ann Carozza, West Chester (2022)

Podium:

1. Rafaela Raurich, Nova S’eastern – 53.16
2. Luna Mertins, Lynn – 53.27
3. Emily Mears-Bentley, Findlay – 53.39
4. Isabelle Sering, Tampa – 53.57
5. Mellie Wijk, Drury – 53.92
6. Madysen Barnes, Tampa – 54.01
7. Mikayla Kloth, Delta State – 54.64
8. Tehani Kong, CSU East Bay – 54.65

It was an exciting battle in the two middle lanes, as the top two seeds coming into the meet, Rafaela Raurich of Nova S’eastern and Luna Mertins of Lynn, blasted off the start. Raurich had earned a narrow victory over Mertins at the Sunshine State Conference Championships, beating Mertins’s conference record, but Mertins showed promise with the fastest fly split in the medley relays last night.

Mertins was out first with 24.68, turning .16 ahead of Raurich at the 50 wall. Raurich came home in 28.32 for the win in 53.16, while Raurich went 53.27 for second place. Emily Mears-Bentley of Findlay had the fastest second 50 in the heat (28.10). She moved from 6th at the halfway mark to 3rd at the finish, stopping the clock at 53.39, just in front of Tampa’s Isabelle Sering.

Men’s 100 Yard Butterfly – Finals

• NCAA DII: 44.32 – Marius Kusch, Queens Charlotte (2019)
• Meet: 44.32 – Marius Kusch, Queens Charlotte (2019)

Podium:

1. Tim Stollings, Findlay – 45.96
2. Camilo Marrugo, Findlay – 45.99
3. Jase Pinckney, Henderson St. – 46.17
4. Alejandro Villarejo, Drury – 46.37
5. Adrian Aguilar, Tampa – 46.41
6. Jackson Lustig, McKendree – 46.44
7. Daniel de Oliveira, Carson-Newman – 46.63
8. Jack Armstrong, Henderson St. – 47.37

Findlay’s Tim Stollings made it back to the top step of the podium in the last 100 fly final of his collegiate career. He won the NCAA Division II title in 2021, was runner-up in 2022, and placed 4th in 2023. This time, he was swimming in lane 3, having qualified third behind teammate Camilo Marrugo and Henderson State’s Jase Pinckney.

Marrugo took it out quickly, turning first at the 25 wall with about a third of a body lead. He was still in the lead at the 50, turning at 21.08. Stollings (21.20) and Tampa’s Adrian Agular (21.23) were just behind. Pinckney (21.36) was right there, too.

Stollings went .25 faster than his teammate on the second 50 to finish with 45.96. Marrugo went 45.99 to give Findlay a 1-2 finish. Pinckney hung on for third place, fending off Drury’s Alejandro Villarejo, who came home with 24.65, a tenth faster than Stollings.

The fastest back half came from McKendree’s Jackson Lustig, who went from 8th at the 50 to 6th at the finish.

Women’s 400 Yard Individual Medley – Finals

• NCAA DII: 4:08.56 – Patri Castro Ortega, Queens Charlotte (2016)
• Meet: 4:08.56 – Patri Castro Ortega, Queens Charlotte (2016)

Podium:

1. Benedict Nagy, Colorado Mesa – 4:10.40
2. Andrea Gomez Espinosa, Indy – 4:15.05
3. May Lowy, Nova S’eastern – 4:15.55
4. Maria Fe Munoz, Drury – 4:16.96
5. Claire Conover, Drury – 4:17.38
6. Celina Schmidt, Indy – 4:17.72
7. Sophia Bains, Colorado Mesa – 4:21.20
8. Sophia Gerhart, WCU – 4:23.65

It was a wire-to-wire victory for Colorado Mesa’s Benedict Nagy, who picked up her second national title of the meet after winning the 200 IM last night. Nagy got out to a half-body length lead on the butterfly with 56.73. She increased her lead with each 50, splitting 1:02.3 on the back, 1:11.8 on the breast, and 59.4 on the free. She notched a PB of 4:10.40 to win with a 4.6-second margin.

Indy’s Andrea Gomez Espinosa had the next-strongest fly and back in the field, much as she had done in prelims. But this time, while she gave up her lead to May Lowy after the breaststoke leg, she came home strong and recaptured her position at second place. Gomez Espinosa went 57.3-1:03.7 on the front half, 1:16.0 on the breast, and 57.9 on the freestyle. That took her past Lowy, for a PR of 4:15.05.

Lowy, who won this event a year ago, finished in third place with 4:15.55.

Drury went 4-5 with Maria Fe Munoz (4:16.96) and Claire Conover (4:17.38). Conover got by Indy’s Celina Schmidt (4:17.72) on the last 50.

Men’s 400 Yard Individual Medley – Finals

• NCAA DII: 3:42.49 – Collyn Gagne, Simon Fraser (2022)
• Meet: 3:42.49 – Collyn Gagne, Simon Fraser (2022)

Podium:

1. Benjamin Sampson, Colorado Mesa – 3:40.22 *NCAA DIVISION II RECORD*
2. Cedric Buessing, Indy – 3:40.23
3. Santiago Corredor, Tampa – 3:46.26
4. Joao Nogueira, Drury – 3:47.95
5. Connor Bichsel, Missouri S&5 – 3:49.54
6. Daniel Aponte, NMU – 3:51.09
7. Kolos Nagy, WCU – 3:51.61
8. Kirill Sidorko, Lewis – 3:56.44

It was the fastest 400 IM race in NCAA Division II history.

Not one, but two swimmers absolutely destroyed the Division II and championship meet record of 3:42.49, set by Collyn Gagne of Simon Fraser in 2022. It was almost a tie, but Colorado Mesa’s Benjamin Sampson touched out Indy’s Cedric Buessing by .01 to get the win and etch his name in the record books.

Buessing led on the first 50 of butterfly but Sampson turned first at the fly-to-back wall with 50.65. Tampa’s Santiago Corredor was .20 back in second place, while Buessing had moved to third. Joao Nogueira of Drury was half a body behind Buessing in 4th.

It was Sampson-Buessing-Corredor on the two 50s of breaststroke, too, but Sampson increased his lead by half a body length.

Sampson held a 1-second lead over Buessing as they began the freestyle. They both split 26.5s on the first 50, but Buessing began to cut into Sampson’s lead on the second 50. As they made their final turn, Sampson still had nearly half a body length on Buessing, but the latter had the momentum. When he got to the flags, Sampson put his head down and just went for it. Buessing took his last breath a stroke later. Just when it looked as if Sampson might run out of gas, he hit the touch pad. But Sampson was right there, too. Photo finish! The scoreboard read 3:40.22 and 3:40.23, the two fastest 400 IMs in Division II history.

Corredor maintained the third position through to the end and clocked in at 3:46.26. Nogueira finished a body length back with 3:47.95.

Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA DII: 1:44.44 – Patri Castro Ortega, Queens Charlotte (2016)
• Meet: 1:45.27 – Patri Castro Ortega, Queens Charlotte (2015)

Podium:

1. Emily Trieschmann, Nova S’eastern – 1:45.60
2. Tori Meklensek, Simon Fraser – 1:47.47
3. Montana White, Azusa Pacific – 1:47.49
4. Josephine Bushell, Drury – 1:48.14
5. Rafaela Raurich, Nova S’eastern – 1:48.15
6. Emilia Ronningdal, Nova S’eastern – 1:48.51
7. Lucy Hedley, Grand Valley – 1:49.49
8. Nina Azirovic, Wingate – 1:49.51

For the second time in as many days, Nova S’eastern’s Emily Trieschmann dominated the field to win a national title. After yesterday’s record-setting performance in the 1000 free, Trieschmann struck gold in the 200 free with 1:45.60, her best time by 1.5 seconds. Trieschmann split 24.81-26.3-27.0-27.4 to beat runner-up Tori Meklensek of Simon Fraser and Montana White from Azusa Pacific by 1.9 seconds.

The race for second place was exciting. White was in second place at the 50, followed by Grand Valley’s Lucy Hedley and Nova S’eastern’s Emilia Ronningdal. White still led the silver medal contenders at the 100, this time followed by Ronningdal and Wingate’s Nina Azirovic. At the 150, White was being challenged by Ronningdal and Josephine Bushell of Drury.

The field shifted again over the final 50 yards, when Meklensek came roaring home with 27.06, moving from 5th place to second at the finish. White was followed by Bushell, while Nova S’eastern’s Rafaela Raurich, who had just won the 100 fly title, squeaked past teammate Ronningdal to take 5th.

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA DII: 1:32.46 – Dion Dreesens, Queens Charlotte (2016)
• Meet: 1:32.46 – Dion Dreesens, Queens Charlotte (2016)

Podium:

1. Marcel Snitko, Nova S’eastern – 1:34.64
2. Matthew Bosch, Grand Valley – 1:34.89
3. Thomas Flower, Nova S’eastern – 1:35.37
4. Aziz Ghaffari, Colorado Mesa – 1:35.62
5. Victor Rosado, Oklahoma Christian – 1:34.75
6. Parker Knollman, Tampa – 1:36.21
7. Barnabas Fluck, Tampa – 1:36.66
8. Caleb Brandon, Tampa – 1:36.82

Half the lanes vying for this year’s title had been in last year’s A final; two more had been in the B final. While Grand Valley’s Matthew Bosch had come into the meet with the fastest seed time, it was Victor Rosado from Oklahoma Christian who put up the fastest time in prelims and was in lane 4. Next to him, in lane 5, was defending champion Thomas Flower of Nova S’eastern. Tampa’s Caleb Brandon was in lane 3; Nova S’eastern’s Marcel Snitko in lane 6.

The middle lanes led the field from the outset, with Flower-Brandon-Snitko-Bosch and Colorado Mesa’s Aziz Ghaffari in tight formation at the 50. Flower still led at the 100, but now Snitko was in 2nd, followed by Ghaffari and Bosch.

Snitko pulled to the front of the pack at the 150. Flower trailed by .18; Ghaffari and Bosch were another half-second behind.

Snitko came home in 24.4, while Bosch was .35 faster. He moved from 4th to second but fell .25 short of catching Snitko. Snitko earned the gold with 1:34.64. His teammate Flower came in third with 1:35.37. Ghaffari touched out Rosado, whose 24.0 was the fastest fourth 50.

Tampa went 6-7-8 with Parker Knollman (1:36.21), Barnabus Fluck (1:36.66), and Brandon (1:36.82).

Women’s 3-Meter Diving – Finals

• NCAA DII: 555.70 – Elizabeth Rawlings, Wayne State (2015)
• Meet: 555.70 – Elizabeth Rawlings, Wayne State (2015)

Podium:

1. Alexa Gonczi, Clarion – 505.00
2. Mikaela Senkus, Wayne State – 498.95
3. Luna Vejarano, Clarion – 471.75
4. Avery Lommel, Augustana – 435.55
5. Kaitlyn Madigan, Clarion – 418.50
6. Colleen Hudson, Clarion – 415.74
7. Olivia Nelson, West Florida – 415.20
8. Alexis Lumaj, Indy – 410.20

Clarion went 1-3-5-6 in the women’s 3-meter diving final, jumping from unranked to 9th in the team standings. Alexa Gonczi, who was 9th last year, won with 505.00 points. Teammate Luna Vejarano, the defending champion, finished 3rd with 471.75, while Kaitlyn Madigan (418.50) and Colleen Hudson (415.74) placed 5th and 6th.

Gonczi averaged 53.05 points per round. That included a tough round 3, where she earned 32.20 for a back 2-1/2 somersault tuck (her five other dives averaged 57.22 per round). She bounced back in round 4 with her best dive, a reverse 2-1/2 somersault tuck that scored 60.20 points.

Wayne State’s Mikaela Senkus, who was runner-up and placed 11th in 2022, finished in second place with 498.95 points. That’s 19.25 more than she scored in 2023 and over 100 points better than her 2022 performance.

Augustana’s Avery Lommel placed fourth with 435.55 points. West Florida’s Olivia Nelson and Indy’s Alexis Lumaj rounded out the A final.

Women’s 400 Yard Medley Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA DII: 3:35.70 – Queens Charlotte (P Lapshina, M Prayson, G DaCruz, K Dobson, 2019)
• Meet: 3:35.70 – Queens Charlotte (P Lapshina, M Prayson, G DaCruz, K Dobson, 2019)

Podium:

1. Colorado Mesa – 3:38.52
2. Nova S’eastern – 3:38.98
3. Drury – 3:39.01
4. Indy 3:40.31
5. Findlay 3:40.89
6. Lynn – 3:41.12
7. Wingate – 3:41.72
8. Tampa – 3:43.15

Colorado Mesa led their heat from start to finish, beginning with a 53.08 backstroke leadoff from Agata Naskret that put them out front by half a body. Lynn was in second place, with a 54.35 from Laura Dekoninck. Maddi Moran kept Mesa in front with a 1:01.51 breaststroke leg, while Celina Schmidt moved Indy into second place with 1:00.39.

Lynn’s Luna Mertins blasted a 52.91 butterfly split and overtook both Indy and Mesa at the 300. Kiara Borchardt split 54.04 for Colorado Mesa.

Ada Qunell swam the anchor for Colorado Mesa in 49.89. She got past Lynn on the first 50 and made it home just in time to hold off Nova S’eastern and Drury, whose respective anchors, Emily Trieschmann (49.15) and Ashlyn Moore (48.92), were charging to the finish.

Colorado Mesa got the win with 3:38.52. Nova S’eastern (3:38.98) just touched out Drury (3:39.01) for second place. Indy finished 4th (3:40.31). Findlay (3:40.89) snuck past Lynn (3:41.12) for 5th.

Men’s 400 Yard Medley Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA DII: 3:07.38 – Queens (Pijulet, Fedyna, Kusch, Dreesens, 2017)
• Meet: 3:07.38 – Queens (Pijulet, Fedyna, Kusch, Dreesens, 2017)

Podium:

1. McKendree – 3:07.11 *NCAA DIVISION II RECORD*
2. Drury – 3:07.31
3. Lewis – 3:08.46
4. Indy – 3:08.57
5. Findlay – 3:09.44
6. Tampa – 3:09.53
7. Colorado Mesa – 3:10.31
8. Missouri S&T – 3:10.36

McKendree’s Patryk Rozenek (46.35), Filipe Pinheiro (52.04), Jackson Lustig (45.85), and Tyson Upton (42.87) combined for 3:07.11 to just touch out Drury and win the 400 medley relay title for the second year in a row. This time, however, they did so with a new NCAA Division II and championship meet record.

Both McKendree and Drury came to the wall under the previous Division II mark set by Queens in 2017.

Rozenek put McKendree in the lead with a 46.35 leadoff backstroke. Drury’s Davi Mourao split 51.19 on the breaststroke but Pinheiro handed off to Lustig with a .18 lead. Alejandro Villarejo put Drury out front on the first 50 of the butterfly, but Lustig regained the lead for McKendree at the 300.

It was a battle of the freshmen on the freestyle leg. Drury’s Yuri Cabral outsplit Upton, 42.77 to 42.87, but it wasn’t enough to close the distance.

McKendree won by .20, with both teams undercutting Queens’ record.

Lewis placed third with an amazing performance out of the previous heat. Nico Jacinto, Ahmed Ismail, Davidson Vincent, and Misha Semenov combined for 3:08.46, destroying their school record.

Women’s Team Scores After Day 3

1. Nova S’eastern –278
2. Drury – 227.5
3. Colorado Mesa – 211.5
4. Indy – 176
5. Lynn – 107
6. Tampa – 98
7. West Florida – 93
8. Findlay – 92.5
9. Wingate – 71
10. Augustana – 70
11. Clarion – 63
12. Simon Fraser – 61.5
13. Wayne State – 59
14. WCU – 48
15. Grand Valley – 44
16. Delta State – 42
17. NMU – 41
18. Carson-Newman – 32
19. MSU Mankato – 30
20. Azusa Pacific –28.5
21. CSU East Bay – 18
22. (tie) Henderson St. / McKendree – 17
23. –
24. Florida Southern – 15.5
25. Oklahoma Christian – 14
26. Mines – 13
27. (tie) UMSL / Truman St. – 10
28. –
29. Lewis – 8
30. Southern Conn – 7
31. Emmanuel – 4
32. UNC- Pembroke – 3
33. Davenport – 2
34. Bentley – 1

Men’s Team Scores After Day 3

1. Tampa – 257
2. Drury – 209
3. Indy – 188
4. McKendree – 147
5. Colorado Mesa – 135
6. Nova S’eastern – 108
7. Grand Valley – 107
8. Findlay – 104
9. Missouri S&T – 97
10. Henderson St. – 90
11. Lewis – 83
12. Oklahoma Christian – 66
13. Florida Southern – 65
14. Wayne State – 51
15. Clarion – 39
16. NMU – 38
17. Carson-Newman – 36
18. Wingate – 30
19. WCU – 29
20. Simon Fraser – 28
21. Delta State – 22
22. Cloud St. – 19
23. Saginaw Valley – 16
24. UT of the Permian Basin – 9
25. (tie) Fresno Pacific / Montevallo / Florida Tech – 6
26. –
27. –
28. Rollins – 5
29. Ouachita – 4
30. Mines – 2
31. (tie) UMSL / Catawba – 1