2016 NAIA National Championship Fan Guide: Men’s Meet

 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 Men’s Swimming and Diving National Championship kicks off on Wednesday, March 2 at the Columbus Aquatic Center, in Columbus, Georgia. The NAIA, which governs the athletic programs of smaller colleges and universities, will bring together over 200 athletes from 29 schools to compete in this national championship meet.

As in the women’s meet, the NAIA men’s national title is up for grabs. Oklahoma Baptist, which won four consecutive championships, has transitioned into Division II of the NCAA. Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) was runner-up to OBU in each of the last two outings and is poised to take over as champions this year. However, the Tigers will have their work cut out for them. For only the second time, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD Savannah) has qualified a full 18-man roster and may finally have the depth to challenge ONU. Lindenwood University – Belleville brings a strong continent to the championship this year, too and will make it an exciting three-way battle for the title.

Scoring out the NAIA psych sheet is often a difficult exercise because many of the top athletes haven’t yet had a taper meet and are capable of big drops in prelims. Nevertheless, given the seedings, here is where the top 15 teams fall:

Stars

Diving

Just a handful of teams have divers; Asbury, Biola, ONU, Cumberlands, and Union will have a leg up on the competition at the conclusion of diving.

Freestyle

Josiah Morales of Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is the only returning 50 free A finalist from last year, and he comes in with the leading time of 20.90. Kohen Kerr of West Virginia Tech, Jacob Anderson of ONU, Thomas University’s Riley Crandall and Igor Dos Santos, Andrew Gurley of St. Andrews, and SCAD Savannah’s Anton Arvidsson and Mark Shvartsman make up the rest of the top eight.

Lucas Dengler-Harles of Lindenwood-Belleville leads the field in the 100 free with 45.84. SCAD’s Arvidsson follows, then Kerr, Alexandre Quintao and Jesus Ballesteros Peral of West Virginia Tech, ONU’s Daniil Kuzmin, WV Tech’s Quentin Cooper, and Crandall of Thomas.

SCAD Savannah’s Joel Ax is the top seed in the 200 free (1:37.04), 500 free (4:26.81), and 1650 free (15:28.32). He currently holds the meet records in the 200 and 500 frees, and comes in with a seed time that is only 4.4 second off record pace in the 1650.

Seeded second in the 200 is Lucas Dengler-Harles of Lindenwood. Vlad Khoroletc of Cumberlands, Quintano and Cooper, SCAD Savannah’s Roger Kjos, Ballesteros Peral, and Joshua Bouma of ONU follow.

Bart Sommerling, a freshman from Lindenwood, is second seed in both the 500 and 1650. Bouma is number three in the 1650 and fifth in the 500. Khoroletc and Dengler-Harles are third and fourth in the 500. Sixth through eight in the 500 are Ryan Sweat of SCAD Savannah, Stefan Johnson of Cumberlands, and Manuel Griego of WBU. Griego is also fourth in the 1650. He is followed by Roger Kjos of SCAD, Keith Jessee of Asbury, and ONU’s Drew Logan and Sam Borgman.

Backstroke

With the departure of NAIA recordholder Daniel Ramirez of OBU, there are a number of potential successors to the 100 back title. Georgi Krastev of St. Andrews (49.99) comes in with the fastest seed time, but ONU’s Jacob Anderson is the highest-ranking finalist from 2015 in the field. Lindenwood’s Daniel Buijs is seeded second, just ahead of SCAD Savannah’s Karl Hegwein. Lindsey Wilson’s Clemens Patzold, Lindenwood’s David Rakic, Brogan Bunner of SCAD, and Bertrand of West Virginia Tech round out the top eight seeds.

In the 200, it’s defending champion Tyler Prescott of SCAD Savannah with the leading seed time of 1:48.15. Buijs, Bertrand, Krastev, Rakic, Patzold follow. Khoroletc of Cumberlands and Sebastian Bohm of Lindenwood are seventh and eighth.

Breaststroke

Wayland Baptist’s Bjoern Globke (56.01) brings the top time in the 100 breast this year after a sixth-place finish in 2015. ONU’s Calvin Price, who took the bronze last year, is seeded second ahead of SCAD’s Arvidsson, Grant Callahan of Milligan, Union’s Bailey Harris, Tim Jarnvik of SCAD, Lindsey Wilson’s Jonas Muller, and Elliot Boon of St. Andrews.

Connor Wilson of SCAD, who finished third in 2015, is the number one seed in the 200 breast with 2:03.63. Globke and Price are second and third. Cumberlands’ Jacob Smith, West Virginia Tech’s Manuel Serrano Laguna, Muller, Jessee, and Boon make up the rest of the top eight.

Butterfly

In the 100, SCAD senior Mark Shvartsman leads the way with a seed time of 49.55. Igor Dozortsev of Cumberlands is second. He is followed by Wegner of Lindenwood, Krastev, Morales, Rakic, Geoffrey Gauneau of West Virginia Tech, and Thomas’ Crandall.

2015 bronze medalist Dozortsev leads the field in the 200 with 1:51.10. SCAD’s Sweat is next, then Gauneau, Shvartsman, Wegner, Jake Klassen from the College of Idaho, ONU’s Andrew Fischer, and St. Andrews’ Gurley.

Individual Medley

ONU freshman Kuzmin is top seed in both the 200 IM (1:49.97) and 400 IM (3:59.43). In the shorter distance he is followed by Juijs, Hegwein, Patzold, Prescott, Jessee, Globke, and Tommy Otley of Asbury.

In the 400, defending champion Prescott of SCAD is second seed, just ahead of his teammate Wilson, who was runner-up in 2015. Fourth through eighth are Lindenwood’s Sommeling, Ivar de Jong of Union, Idaho’s Klassen, Smith of Cumberlands, and Charles Bennett of ONU.

4-Day Schedule

Wednesday:
1-Meter Diving (women)
3-Meter Diving (men)

Thursday:
200 Medley Relay
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
800 Freestyle Relay

Friday:
200 Freestyle Relay
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
3-Meter Diving
400 Medley Relay

Saturday:
1-Meter Diving
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
400 Freestyle Relay

“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.”