#2 McKendree Men Upset #1 UIndy In Division II Thriller

McKendree vs. UIndy

  • November 4, 2022
  • McKendree Metro Rec Plex Pool
  • SCY (25 Yards)
  • Full Results

Final Scores

  • Men: McKendree – 151 v. UIndy – 145
  • Women: UIndy – 194 v. McKendree – 104

Men’s Recap

It came down to the 400 freestyle relay–the final event of the meet–but the #2 ranked McKendree men were able to pull off the upset against #1 UIndy in their dual meet on November 4th. Their ‘A’ relay of Alireza Yavari, Caleb Law, Arthur Souza, and Gregg Lichinsky out-touched UIndy’s ‘A’ relay by .35 seconds to secure the win and improve the Bearcats to 5-0 on the season.

McKendree and UIndy each won eight of the 16 events on offer, so it was McKendree’s depth that earned them the win. They never allowed Undy to go 1-2 in a pool event, while they were able to sweep 1-3 in the 200 freestyle. Two great examples of their deth came in the 100 free and 200 back. They didn’t win either event, but took second through fourth. That meant that they were earning 9 points and matching the 9 that come from finishing first.

Highlighting their individual wins though, was Jackson Lustig. The McKendree sophomore won three individual events: the 100 fly, 200 fly, and 200 IM.

It was his 200 fly win that was most impressive, as he bettered the early season 1:45.35 he swam last month. Against McKendree, Lustig ripped a 1:44.77 to win. That time also puts him just 1.11 seconds away from his personal best of 1:43.66 which he swam to place second at Division II NCAAs.

As the reigning champion Alex Kunert swims at Queens, which is in the midst of reclassifying as Division I, Lustig is cementing himself as the favorite to claim the national title in March.

Lustig – 2022 NCAAs Lustig – 2022 v. UIndy Lustig – 2022 v. Southern Illinois
50 23.23 23.17 23.27
100 49.34 (26.11) 49.60 (26.43) 50.21 (26.94)
150 1:16.04 (26.70) 1:16.98 (27.38) 1:17.52 (27.31)
200 1:43.66 (27.62) 1:44.77 (27.79) 1:45.35 (27.83)

As you can see, where Lustig really needs to focus in order to get back towards his lifetime best is the third 50. However, given that we’re still in the first semester, these two early season times bode well for him. He also posted a season best to win the 100 fly, 47.82. His lifetime best there is a 47.65 from the 2021 Purdue Invitational.

UIndy was missing their best breaststroker in Liki Prema. The fifth-year did not participate in the meet because he was instead competing at the Indianapolis stop of the FINA World Cup, along with several other Greyhounds.

Though it was a tough loss, there were still things to celebrate for UIndy. Chief among them was All-American Julio Osuna setting a new school record on the 3-meter board. He scored 407.33 points, setting a new Greyhound record for six dives. UIndy took first and second on both boards–Osuna won both the 1-meter and 3-meter, with teammate Jason Lenzo taking second.

Women’s Recap

It was UIndy who came out on top in the women’s meet. Last year, they finished second at Division II NCAAs, well ahead of third place Nova Southeastern. They’re ranked #4 to start the season, but are sure to have their eyes on a national team title in March. The women’s meet wasn’t as close, with the Greyhounds taking the win by 90 points.

Three women won two individual events each for UIndy, including freshman Hanna Burke, who won the 100 fly and 200 IM. Also winning two events for the Greyhounds were Johanna Buys (50 free, 100 free) and Kaitlyn McCoy (200 free, 500 free).

Two weeks ago, Buys hit 22.78 in the 50 free, only .03 seconds off what she went to place third at 2022 NCAAs. She was slower today, winning in 24.16. She was two-tenths ahead of teammate Leticia Vaselli.

It was McKendree’s Cica Carvalho who won the 1000 free, but UIndy won every other freestyle event, including the 400 free relay. Fifth-year McCoy posted a season best in the 200 free, clocking 1:52.97 to get even further under the NCAA ‘B’ cut.

Carvalho, a freshman from Brazil, also won the 200 fly for McKendree. She posted 2:08.57, out-touching UIndy’s Maggie Johnson by .09 seconds. This is Carvalho’s first season in yards, and she swam 2:06.68 last month against Southern Illinois, which stands as her lifetime best.

Her fellow freshman teammate Rylee Sitton also recorded an individual win. Sitton clocked 2:24.06, a new lifetime best. She’s been dropping time rapidly in this event since she arrived at McKendree. She arrived on campus with a lifetime best of 2:31.61, and has already dropped 7.55 seconds.

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The worm
1 year ago

Looked like an insane dual. Would love to see the race video from the mens 400 free relay!

Swimswim
1 year ago

GLVC is straight heat

Indy Pack
1 year ago

Indy Pack

D2
1 year ago

I saw all the mckendree swimmers comment on the d3 post. Just embarrassing for them. This is my first time hearing of these schools and it’s definitely like that for other people.

D2 súper fan
1 year ago

As a D2 swimming super fan, I enjoy reading about division 2 swimming.

Ice Golem
1 year ago

I’d never heard of either of these schools before

Crash
Reply to  Ice Golem
1 year ago

Then it’s a good thing swimswam is posting about them now. You’ve been missing out. Did you look at the results? There’s some good swimming going on at both of those schools.

Based Checker
Reply to  Ice Golem
1 year ago

Can’t tell

Clark Clarkston
Reply to  Ice Golem
1 year ago

Ok bot.

D1 or bust
Reply to  Ice Golem
1 year ago

and no one will remember your name

Crash
Reply to  Ice Golem
1 year ago

Then you’re missing out. Did you look at the results? There’s some fast swimming going on at both of these schools.

Ice Golem
Reply to  Crash
1 year ago

I did. Some quite impressive 1st place times. And commonly a large drop to the 2nd place finisher

oxyswim
Reply to  Ice Golem
1 year ago

There’s only 8.1 scholarships for D2 men’s swimming and most of the schools don’t have a lot of academic money to help fill out rosters. Combine that with how small D2 nationals are and you’re never going to have as much depth, but that shouldn’t take away from what these swimmers and coaches are doing.

YungSwammer
1 year ago

I love seeing these smaller school rivalry meets. It seems like indy and mckendree always push each other to swim fast times

SCCOACH
1 year ago

I’m just posting because Braden always says nobody reads the D2 or D3 articles. I read the article!

Thirteenthwind
Reply to  SCCOACH
1 year ago

Ditto!

About Sophie Kaufman

Sophie Kaufman

Sophie grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, which means yes, she does root for the Bruins, but try not to hold that against her. At 9, she joined her local club team because her best friend convinced her it would be fun. Shoulder surgery ended her competitive swimming days long ago, …

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