The NCAA released its time standards for the 2017 NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held March 15-18 at the CISD Natatorium in Shenandoah, TX. Like the Division II Championships, both the men’s and women’s NCAA Division III Champions will be crowned in this one meet.
Division III, perhaps more so than any other tier in college swimming, has seen a marked increase in depth of talent. Home to phenoms such as Andrew Wilson, who is the most famous though not the only DIII Olympic Trials contender, national records have fallen dramatically at the Division III level over the past several seasons. For example, the A-cut in the men’s 100 backstroke would have been a DIII national record by over half-a-second in 2010.
Though Kenyon College kept the men’s trophy for over thirty consecutive seasons, the last few years the Lords have found their rule in question. Last year, Denison won the men’s trophy and Emory the women’s. This year Emory’s men will challenge Kenyon and Denison for the title, though MIT, TCNJ, and Johns Hopkins will be there to keep things interesting. The Emory women, coming off their 7th-consecutive national title, will be the team to beat with a solid group of NCAA qualifiers returning. However, Denison, Kenyon, and NYU, among others, won’t step aside and let the reigning champs establish a dynasty without a fight.
Qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championships is similar to the the other divisions: A-cuts go automatically, and then the best B-cuts after that until the maximum number of athletes is reached and every event has the same number of swimmers racing. In Division III, 260 male and 267 female athletes may be eligible to compete at the national championships, though 48 spots (24 male and 24 female) are reserved for divers (in 2016). For relays, as their is no “A” standard, the 16 fastest teams will automatically be invited; thereafter, additional teams will be invited until 1. No more teams with the cut remain, or 2. the athlete limit for the meet has been reached.
Links to the men’s standards can be found here.
Links to the women’s standards can be found here.
2017 NCAA Division III Time Standards
| Men | Women | |||
| “A” Standard | “B” Standard | Events (Yards) | “A” Standard | “B” Standard |
| 19.8 | 20.7 | 50 Free | 22.81 | 23.85 |
| 43.66 | 45.53 | 100 Free | 49.54 | 52.08 |
| 1:37.13 | 1:40.45 | 200 Free | 1:47.64 | 1:52.86 |
| 4:22.25 | 4:34.41 | 500 Free | 4:45.33 | 5:00.79 |
| 15:04.60 | 16:16.65 | 1650 Free | 16:28.07 | 17:33.72 |
| 47.65 | 50.54 | 100 Back | 54.12 | 57.34 |
| 1:44.47 | 1:50.64 | 200 Back | 1:57.32 | 2:04.63 |
| 53.16 | 56.83 | 100 Breast | 1:01.79 | 1:05.29 |
| 1:56.32 | 2:04.80 | 200 Breast | 2:13.78 | 2:22.73 |
| 47.36 | 49.56 | 100 Fly | 52.92 | 56.95 |
| 1:45.64 | 1:52.89 | 200 Fly | 1:56.90 | 2:07.26 |
| 1:46.55 | 1:52.13 | 200 IM | 2:00.51 | 2:07.13 |
| 3:47.83 | 4:07.40 | 400 IM | 4:13.77 | 4:36.69 |
| Qualifying | Provisional | Relays | Qualifying | Provisional |
| 1:22.88 | 200 Free Relay | 1:35.70 | ||
| 3:04.10 | 400 Free Relay | 3:29.97 | ||
| 6:47.38 | 800 Free Relay | 7:39.30 | ||
| 1:31.79 | 200 Medley Relay | 1:45.75 | ||
| 3:22.27 | 400 Medley Relay | 3:51.41 | ||
Changes from 2016 to 2017
| Men | Women | |||
| “A” Standard | “B” Standard | Events (Yards) | “A” Standard | “B” Standard |
| 0 | -0.14 | 50 Free | -0.08 | -0.04 |
| 0 | -0.17 | 100 Free | -0.32 | -0.06 |
| -0.1 | -0.59 | 200 Free | 0 | -0.39 |
| -0.98 | -2.55 | 500 Free | 0 | -1.17 |
| -2.38 | 0 | 1650 Free | 0 | 0 |
| -0.35 | -0.8 | 100 Back | 0 | -0.51 |
| 0 | -2.63 | 200 Back | 0 | -0.86 |
| -1.3 | -0.98 | 100 Breast | 0 | -0.2 |
| -2.23 | -1.83 | 200 Breast | -1.1 | -1.66 |
| -0.39 | -0.42 | 100 Fly | 0 | -0.36 |
| 0 | -0.98 | 200 Fly | 0 | -1.33 |
| -0.86 | -1.11 | 200 IM | 0 | -0.67 |
| -2.74 | 0 | 400 IM | 0 | 0 |
| Qualifying | Provisional | Relays | Qualifying | Provisional |
| -0.42 | 200 Free Relay | -0.4 | ||
| -0.88 | 400 Free Relay | -1.38 | ||
| -2.85 | 800 Free Relay | -2.58 | ||
| -1.12 | 200 Medley Relay | -0.85 | ||
| -2.02 | 400 Medley Relay | -1.76 | ||
D2 tends to have faster winning times but less depth than D3.
And imported horses from overseas that typically swim a year or two at a time
The most difficult job in swimming is the meet announcer at D2 NCAAs. Those pronunciations are way above my skill level.
There also aren’t nearly as many D2 teams as there are D3 which explains some of the depth fall-off. That combined with the fact that D2 can give money and D3 can’t help explain why D2 has faster top times.