Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) won the Mid-South Conference men’s swimming title for the second-straight season at the conclusion of the MSC Swimming Championships at the Kingsport Aquatics Center.
Matija Luka Rafaj swept the individual honors after earning the MSC Swimmer of the Year and MSC Freshman of the Year.
Lindenwood-Belleville edged out Cumberlands (Ky.) in the team standings grabbing 521 points, compared to 512 points from the Patriots. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) finished third overall with 340 points, followed Loyola (La.) with 258 points.
Campbellsville (Ky.) finished fifth overall with 146 points and Bethel (Tenn.) earned 117 total points.
Niels Engeln of Lindenwood-Belleville got the final session of the championships started with a victory in the 1,650-yard freestyle after he finished the race in 16:05.00.
Lindsey Wilson’s Clemens Paetzold swept the backstroke disciplines winning the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:52.10. He edged out second place Nico Tscherner of Lindenwood-Belleville by 0.24 seconds.
Cumberlands’ Alec Zolotukhin just missed setting a new championship record in in the 100-yard freestyle en route to the individual title. Zolotuckhin’s time of 46.78 was 0.44 of the championship time set last season.
Jacob Smith won the second-straight event for the Patriots winning the 200-yard breaststroke touching the wall in 2:05.31, setting a new championship record in the event.
Cumberlands won three-straight events after Igor Dozortsev’s win in the 200-yard butterfly. Dozortsev improved on his meet record from a year ago finishing the race in 1:51.68.
Lindsey Wilson rounded out the event setting a new championship record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:07.01.
Each team now sends its qualified swimmers to the NAIA National Championships in Columbus, Georgia from March 1-4.
MSC Men’s Swimming Championship Winners
| Event | Name | School | Time |
| 200-Yard Medley Relay | Clemens Paetzold
Jonas Mueller Jose Prado de Lima Iker Larzabal |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 1:34.86 * |
| 500-Yard Freestyle | Matija Luka Rafaj | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | 4:34.18 * |
| 200-Yard Individual Medley | Nico Tscherner | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | 1:53.01 * |
| 50-Yard Freestyle | Joey Sedacca | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 21.37 |
| 800-Yard Freestyle Relay | Niels Engeln
Tim Schmalzreich Nico Tscherner Matija Luka Rafaj |
Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | 6:53.05 |
| 200-Yard Freestyle Relay | Jose Prado de Lima
Clemens Paetzold Zac Patzer Iker Larzabal |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 1:25.84 |
| 400-Yard Individual Medley | Nico Tscherner | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | 4:01.28 * |
| 100-Yard Butterfly | Igor Dozortsev | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 50.75 |
| 200-Yard Freestyle | Matija Luka Rafaj | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | 1:44.05 |
| 100-Yard Breaststroke | Jacob Smith | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 56.63 * |
| 100-Yard Backstroke | Clemens Paetzold | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 51.15 |
| 400-Yard Medley Relay | Nico Tscherner
Maxime Eekhof Timo Billmann Tim Schmalzreich |
Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | 3:26.66 |
| 1,650-Yard Freestyle | Niels Engeln | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | 16:05.00 |
| 200-Yard Backstroke | Clemens Paetzold | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 1:52.10 |
| 100-Yard Freestyle | Alex Zolotukhin | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 46.78 |
| 200-Yard Breaststroke | Jacob Smith | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 2:05.31 * |
| 200-Yard Butterfly | Igor Dozortsev | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 1:51.68 * |
| 400-Yard Freestyle Relay | Jose Prado de Lima
Zac Patzer Clemens Paetzold Iker Larzabal |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 3:07.01 * |
News courtesy of MSC.