2024 NCAA Division II Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2024 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: March 12-16, 2024
• Times: Prelims 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

In the women’s meet, Nova S’eastern’s Rafaela Raurich (53.13) is the top seed in the 100 fly, but she’ll have to get by Luna Mertins, who propelled Lynn to victory in last night’s medley relay with her fly split. Colorado Mesa’s Benedict Nagy is looking for an IM sweep; after winning the 200 IM last night, she comes in with the top time in the 400 (4:11.00). We’ll have familiar faces in the 200 free: Nova S’eastern’s Emily Trieschmann is seeded #1 with 1:47.08 ahead of teammate Emilia Ronningdal (1:47.70). The top 3 finishers from last year’s 3-meter diving event top the field of this year’s entrants: defending champion Luna Vejarano of Clarion, Madison Kooistra from Grand Valley, and Mikaela Senkus from Wayne State.

Henderson State’s Jase Pinckney (46.02) comes in with the fastest time in the 100 fly on the men’s side, followed by Findlay’s Tim Stollings and McKendree’s Jackson Lustig. All three were A finalists last year. 200 IM champion Benjamin Sampson leads the entrants in the 400 IM with a seed time (3:40.20) that is 5 seconds faster than his third-place finals performance a year ago. Defending champion Santiago Corredor of Tampa and 2023 runner-up Cedric Buessing of Indy are also contenders. In the 200 free, 2023 A finalists Matthew Bosch of Grand Valley (1:34.53), Nova S’eastern’s Marcel Snitko (1:34.62), Oklahoma Christian’s Victor Rosado (1:34.79), and Colorado Mesa’s Aziz Ghaffari (1:34.98) top the field, but defending champion Thomas Flower of Nova S’eastern is also in the mix at 6th seed.

Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly – Prelims

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

Top 16 Qualifiers:

1. Rafaela Raurich, Nova S’eastern – 53.54
2. Luna Mertins, Lynn – 53.62
3. Isabelle Sering, Tampa – 54.01
4. Emily Mears-Bentley, Findlay – 54.15
5. Tehani Kong, CSU East Bay – 54.33
6. Mellie Wijk, Drury – 54.37
7. Madysen Barnes, Tampa – 54.44
8. Mikayla Kloth, Delta State – 54.47
9. Kiara Borchardt, Colorado Mesa – 54.48
10. Anastasiya Yermishyna, Drury – 54.69
11. Susana Ungo, Emmanuel – 54.78
12. Alysa Wager, Grand Valley – 54.99
13. Anne Osmun, Mines – 55.19
14. Alicja Pinkowicz, Davenport – 55.21
15. Mariana de Alencar, Drury – 55.28
16. Justice Glasgow, Southern Connecticut – 55.44

Tampa’s Isabelle Sering won the first circle seeded heat with 54.01, improving by nearly .4 over her seed time. She led the qualifiers to that point, followed by Findlay’s Emily Mears-Bentley (54.15), Tehani Kong of Cal State East Bay (54.33), and Anne Osmun from Mines (55.19).

Luna Mertins of Lynn won the next heat with 53.62. Delta State’s Mikayla Kloth was second with 54.47.

Nova S’eastern’s Rafaela Raurich topped the final heat with 53.54, moving to the top of the leaderboard ahead of Mertins. Drury’s Mellie Wijk touched second in 54.37, just ahead of Tampa’s Madysen Barnes (54.44).

Anastasiya Yermishyna from Drury dropped .7 to clock a PB of 54.69 and make the B final, moving up from 22nd seed to 10th qualifier.

Men’s 100 Yard Butterfly – Prelims

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

Top 16 Qualifiers:

1. Camilo Marrugo, Findlay – 45.86
2. Jase Pinckney, Henderson St. – 46.02
3. Tim Stollings, Findlay – 46.19
4. Alejandro Villarejo, Drury – 46.48
5. Adrian Aguilar, Tampa – 46.54
6. Jackson Lustig, McKendree – 46.63
7. Daniel de Oliveira, Carson-Newman – 46.65
8. Jack Armstrong, Henderson St. – 46.99
9. Connor Cary, Clarion – 47.00
10. Alejandro Robles Ruiz, Saginaw Valley – 47.23
11. Oskar Sawicki, Indy – 47.40
12. Mihir Ambre, Indy – 47.42
13. Jan Bialecki, Fresno Pacific – 47.43
14. Patryk Rozenek, McKendree – 47.52
15. Blake Moran, Tampa – 47.53
16. Luke Dinges, Rollins – 47.54

Lorrenzo Tassinari of Wayne State opened heats of men’s 100 fly with a PB of 48.76. Tampa’s Blake Moran followed in the next heat, dropping .9 to win from lane 8 with 47.53. McKendree’s Archie Minto improved his seed time by .6 to finish second in the heat with 47.82.

McKendree’s Jackson Lustig eked out a narrow victory in the first circle-seeded heat with 46.63, thanks largely to a strong back half. He was out in 21.88 and home in 24.75, passing Daniel de Oliveira of Carson-Newman (46.65) and Henderson State’s Jack Armstrong (46.99) down the stretch.

Camilo Marrugo from Findlay dropped nearly .9 from his entry time to win heat 4 in 45.86 and jump to the top of the leaderboard. He was .4 faster than in last year’s championship final, where he placed 5th. Teammate Tim Stollings came to the wall just behind Marrugo with 46.18 (-.18 off his seed time). The rest of the field was a body length behind.

Henderson State’s Jase Pinckney went 46.02 to win the last heat. He was followed by Alejandro Villarejo of Drury (46.48, -.3) and Adrian Aguilar of Tampa (46.65, -.15).

Women’s 400 Yard Individual Medley – Prelims

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

Top 16 Qualifiers:

1. Benedict Nagy, Colorado Mesa – 4:13.99
2. Maria Fe Munoz, Drury – 4:17.38
3. Sophia Bains, Colorado Mesa – 4:18.67
4. May Lowy, Nova S’eastern – 4:18.99
5. Andrea Espinosa, Indy – 4:20.13
6. Celina Schmidt, Indy – 4:21.87
7. Sophia Gerhart, WCU – 4:22.12
8. Claire Conover, Drury – 4:22.56
9. Aurora Duncan, Drury – 4:22.82
10. Larissa Alves, Lewis – 4:23.76
11. Katie O’Connell, Grand Valley – 4:24.06
12. Amanda Anderson, Azusa Pacific – 4:24.27
13. Neta Shiff, Nova S’eastern – 4:24.29
14. Olivia Miles, Florida Southern – 4:25.23
15. Benedect Pepe Pugliese, UNC- Pembroke – 4:25.60
16. Shannah Dillman, West Florida – 4:25.62

2023 runner-up Aurora Duncan of Drury went 4:22.82, beating her entry time by 2.8 seconds, to win heat 2 with 4:22.82. Larissa Alves of Lewis came in second with 4:23.76, dropping 3 seconds to move from 31st seed to finals qualifier.

Indy’s Andrea Gomez Espinosa led heat 3 for the first half of the race, but Colorado Mesa’s Sophia Bains came roaring to the front of the pack on the breaststroke and never let up. Bains took the heat with 4:18.67, dropping 2.5 seconds. Gomez Espinoza touched second in 4:20.13. West Chester’s Sophia Gerhart was third (4:22.12).

Drury’s Maria Fe Munoz led heat 4 from start to finish. Swimming in lane 5, she went 4:18.38 to improve her entry time by over 2 seconds. Indy’s Celina Schmidt came to the wall in 4:21.87, just ahead of Drury’s Claire Conover (4:22.56).

It was a wire-to-wire victory for Colorado Mesa’s Benedict Nagy in the final heat. Last night’s 200 IM champion went 4:13.99 to win by several body lengths ahead of May Lowy from Nova S’eastern (4:18.99) and Katie O’Connell from Grand Valley (4:24.06).

Men’s 400 Yard Individual Medley – Prelims

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

Top 16 Qualifiers:

1. Cedric Buessing, Indy – 3:48.27
2. Benjamin Sampson, Colorado Mesa – 3:48.53
3. Connor Bischel, Missouri S&5 – 3:49.44
4. Daniel Aponte, NMU – 3:49.99
5. Joao Nogueira, Drury – 3:50.19
6. Santiago Corredor, Tampa – 3:50.39
7. Kolos Nagy, WCU – 3:51.08
8. Kirill Sidorko, Lewis – 3:51.26
9. Zsombor Bujdoso, Ouachita – 3:51.38
10. Akos Hajagos, Florida Tech – 3:51.45
11. Silas Buessing, Indy – 3:51.68
12. Marcus Mak, Simon Fraser – 3:51.84
13. Ronan Lauinger, Mines – 3:53.49
14. Eli Rollen, Oklahoma Christi – 3:54.79
15. Trevor Jones, Wayne State – 3:54.93
16. Miguel Marcos, Wingate – 3:56.27

Daniel Aponte of Northern Michigan took 3.8 seconds off his entry time to win a tight race in the first circle-seeded heats of the 400 IM. He touched in 3:49.99, just ahead of defending champion Santiago Corredor of Tampa (3:50.39), Indy’s Silas Buessing (3:51.68), and Simpon Fraser’s Marcus Mak (3:51.84).

Cedric Buessing, Silas’s older brother and the 1000 free champion last night, took the next heat in 3:48.27. Missouri S&T’s Connor Bischel (3:49.44) and Oklahoma Christian’s Zsombor Bujdoso (3:51.38, -1.4) were second and third.

Colorado Mesa’s Benjamin Sampson was the final heat winner with 3:48.53. The 200 IM champion ranked second overall behind Cedric Buessing and will have lane 5 for tonight’s final. Last year, Buessing and Sampson finished 2nd and 3rd behind Corredor. Finishing in rapid succession behind Sampson were Joao Nogueira of Drury (3:50.19), West Chester’s Kolos Nagy (3:51.08), and Lewis’s Kirill Sidorko (3:51.26).

Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle – Prelims

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

Top 16 Qualifiers:

1. Emily Trieschmann, Nova S’eastern – 1:46.88
2. Tori Meklensek, Simon Fraser – 1:47.70
3. Montana White, Azusa Pacific – 1:48.12
4. Josephine Bushell, Drury – 1:48.38
5. Emilia Ronningdal, Nova S’eastern – 1:48.41
6. Nina Azirovic, Wingate – 1:48.92
7. Lucy Hedley, Grand Valley – 1:49.11
8. Rafaela Raurich, Nova S’eastern – 1:49.21
9. Kiara Pozvai, Henderson St. – 1:49.32
10. Jordan Fox, Wayne State – 1:49.36
11. Emily Traube, Truman St. – 1:49.72
12. Laura Dekoninck, Lynn – 1:49.74
13. Lauren White, Colorado Mesa – 1:49.80
14. Sofija Kendzior, West Florida – 1:50.03
15. Jocelyn Zgola, McKendree – 1:50.11
16. Mikayla Niness, WCU – 1:50.20

Emily Traub from Truman State dropped 1.3 seconds to win heat 2 with 1:49.72 and move from 34th seed to B finalist. West Chester’s Mikayla Niness improved her entry time by .75 and won heat 3 in 1:50.20, just touching out teammate Keeley Durkin (1:50.26).

Rafaela Raurich of Nova S’eastern won the first circle-seeded heat, coming from behind to beat Lynn’s Laura Dekoninck with 1:49.21. Dekoninck, swimming in lane 8, had led the entire race but ran out of steam on the last 50. She nonetheless improved her time by .7 and moved from 24th seed to 12th qualifier with 1:49.74. Also getting past Dekoninck on the last 50 was Wayne State’s Jordan Fox (1:49.36).

It was an exciting race among the three middle lanes in heat 5, with Nova S’eastern’s Emilia Ronningdal (1:48.41) getting the touch ahead of Grand Valley’s Lucy Hedley (1:49.11) and Colorado Mesa’s Lauren White (1:49.80).

Top-seeded Emily Trieschmann of Nova S’eastern prevailed in the final heat, improving her seed time by .2 to win with 1:46.88. Simon Fraser’s Tori Meklensek dropped .8 to come in second with 1:47.70. Drury’s Josephine Bushell improved her time by .7 and was third with 1:48.38, just ahead of Wingate’s Nina Azirovic (1:58.92, -.8).

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle – Prelims

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

Top 16 Qualifiers:

1. Victor Rosado, Oklahoma Christian – 1:34.85
2. Thomas Flower, Nova S’eastern – 1:35.18
3. Caleb Brandon, Tampa – 1:35.28
4. Marcel Snitko, Nova S’eastern – 1:35.30
5. Matthew Bosch, Grand Valley – 1:35.53
6. Barnabas Fluck, Tampa – 1:35.61
7. Aziz Ghaffari, Colorado Mesa – 1:35.63
8. Parker Knollman, Tampa – 1:35.86
9. Maksymil Minichowski, Catawba – 1:36.09
10. Yuri Cabral, Drury – 1:36.28
11. Adam Wiedemeier, Missouri S&T – 1:36.51
12. Jacob Hamlin, Tampa – 1:36.66
13. Matteo Vissotto, Drury – 1:36.74
14. Alireza Yavari, McKendree – 1:36.76
15. Eric Hieber, Grand Valley – 1:36.89
16. (tie) Jameson McEnaney, Colorado Mesa / Mario Perez, McKendree – 1:36.90

Catawba’s Maksymilian Minichowski kicked us off with a huge 1:36.09, improving his seed time by over 3 seconds to just miss qualifying for the A final out of heat 1.

Tampa’s Barnabus Fluck dropped 2.6 seconds in the next heat to clock a winning 1:35.61. Drury’s Lucas Minuer was second out of lne 1 with 1:37.59, improving his entry time by over 1 second. Carson-Newman’s de Oliveira, who had just swum the 100 fly, placed third in 1:38.72.

Oklahoma Christian’s Victor Rosado won the first circle-seeded heat in 1:34.85. Nova S’eastern’s Thomas Flower went half a second better than his entry time to touch second (1:35.18) ahead of Tampa’s Jacob Hamlin (1:36.66).

Caleb Brandon from Tampa won heat 4 out of lane 5, edging Nova S’eastern’s Marcel Snitko by .02, 1:35.28 to 1:35.30. Yuri Cabral from Drury was third (1:36.28).

The last heat went to Grand Valley’s Matthew Bosch in 1:35.53. Colorado Mesa’s Aziz Ghaffari touched out Tampa’s Parker Knollman, 1:35.63 to 1:35.86.

Women’s 3-Meter Diving – Prelims

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

Top 16 Qualifiers:

1. Alexa Gonczi, Clarion – 482.45
2. Mikaela Senkus, Wayne State – 480.95
3. Luna Vejarano, Clarion – 479.35
4. Colleen Hudson, Clarion – 449.75
5. Avery Lommel, Augustana – 439.25
6. Kaitlyn Madigan, Clarion – 423.95
7. Olivia Nelson, West Florida – 423.55
8. Alexis Lumaj, Indy – 419.65
9. Madison Kooistra, GVSU – 419.25
10. Tayler Graham, West Florida – 416.30
11. Jade Fontenelle, West Florida – 412.00
12. Andrea Menard Cordoba, McKendree – 400.50
13. Aspen Warnygora, MSU Mankato – 397.70
14. Hilla Almog, Bentley – 390.20
15. Adriana Mieses Sanchez, West Florida – 45
16. Sydney Hanson, MSU Mankato – 80