2017 NAIA National Championships: Men’s Day 4 Live Recap

2017 NAIA National Championships – Men’s Meet

• Dates: Wednesday, March 2 – Saturday, March 5, 2017; prelims 9 am, finals 5 pm
• Location: Columbus Aquatic Center, Columbus, Georgia (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champions: Olivet Nazarene (results)
• Psych Sheet
• Men’s Fan Guide
• Live Results: Available here
• Live Video: Available here
• Championship Central

Going into the final day of competition, defending champion Olivet Nazarene University has a solid hold on the team competition with 428.5 points. SCAD is second, and probably out of reach of the title, with 303.5. Keiser sits third currently with 275, but their performances this morning suggest that they could give SCAD a run for their money. The fight for fourth is up in the air, with Lindenwood-Belleville (210), the Cumberlands (203), Wayland Baptist (182), and Thomas (180) all within reach.

1650 Free – Finals

• Meet Record: 15:19.50 3/5/2016 Joel Ax

1. Joel Thatcher, SCAD: 15:18.39*
2. Xavier Bordes Adell, ONU: 15:45.05
3. Matija Luka Rafaj, Lindenwood-Belleville: 15:46.59

Freshman Joel Thatcher of SCAD broke his second individual NAIA record of the weekend tonight, again taking down a mark set by his senior teammate Joel Ax last year. Thatcher went 15:18.39 to outdo Ax’s 15:19.50 by 1.11 seconds. Thatcher’s win tonight came by 26.66 seconds.

Another freshman, Xavier Bordes Adell of Olivet Nazarene finished second with 15:45.05. Lindenwood-Belleville freshman duo Matija Luka Rafaj and Niels Engeln  grabbed third and fourth with 15:46.59 and 15:47.77, respectively. Fifth place went to West Virginia Tech freshman Manuel Laguna Gomez with 15:55.40.

For anyone keeping track at home, that is FIVE freshmen taking the top FIVE spots at the NAIA National Championship in the men’s mile, with the top finisher taking the national record.

200 Back – Finals

• Meet Record: 1:45.61 2012 Ryan Searles, SCAD

1. Magnus Andersen, ONU: 1:46.94
2. Danny Hartley, Keiser: 1:48.38
3. Georgi Krastev, St. Andrews: 1:50.02

To continue the freshmen domination, Magnus Andersen finished first in the 200 back with 1:46.94. He split 25.18/26.81/27.46/27.49. He was behind Keiser junior Danny Hartley up through the third leg, but Andersen’s back-half strategy prevailed.

Hartley split 23.94/26.35/28.26/29.83. In his final 50, he lost ground and fell to second with 1:48.38. Third went to senior Georgi Krastev of St. Andrews with 1:50.02.

The fight for fourth was tight, but Lindsey Wilson’s Clemens Paetzold came up ahead with 1:51.53, followed by ONU’s Charles Bennett with 1:51.63, Bennett’s teammates Vladislav Khoroletc (1:51.71) and Seth Cripe (1:51.97) came up next.

100 Free – Finals

• Meet Record: 42.53 3/8/2014 Daniel Z Ramirez, Oklahoma Baptist

1. Joel Ax, SCAD: 43.56
2. Perry Lindo, Thomas: 44.21
3. Alex Haymond, Thomas: 45.01

In a rematch between Perry Lindo and Joel Ax after Lindo upset Ax for the 50 free championship, Ax came out victorious. The SCAD senior won the event in 43.56 to Lindo’s 44.21. Ax split 21.01/22.55, and Lindo split 21.48/22.73.

Thomas’s Alex Haymond was third with 45.01, followed by 2016 runner-up Daniil Kuzmin of Olivet Nazarene in 45.42, followed by Keiser’s Andrei Stukov in 45.47.

200 Breaststroke – Finals

• Meet Record: 1:56.96 3/7/2015 Fernando Morillas, OBU

1. Lukas Macek, Keiser: 2:00.51
2. Jacob Smith, Cumberlands: 2:02.52
3. Jonas Mueller, Lindsey Wilson: 2:03.57

Keiser’s Lukas Macek became the next freshman to win a national title tonight. He won the 200 breaststroke in 2:00.51 to complete his 100-200 breaststroke duo. He come in two seconds ahead of the competition with splits of 27.24/29.99/31.15/31.13.

Second went to sophomore Jacob Smith of the Cumberlands, who improved his fourth-place placement from last year by swimming a 2:02.52. Lindsey Wilson junior Jonas Mueller also improved his placement, coming up from a sixth-place finish last year to third with 2:03.57. Mueller won a tight battle against Bjoern Globke of Wayland Baptist, who finished fourth in 2:03.62. Paulo Ignacio Jr. was fifth with 2:03.64, followed by Keith Jessee of Asbury with 2:03.88.

200 Fly – Finals

• Meet Record: 1:46.62 2011 Javier Hernandez, Lindenwood

1. Magnus Poulsen, Olivet Nazarene: 1:47.38
2. Igor Dozortsev, Cumberlands: 1:49.02
3. Ryan Sweat, SCAD: 1:51.34

In the fifth freshman victory of the night Olivet Nazarene’s Magnus Poulsen won the 200 fly in 1:47.38, splitting 23.28/26.97/28.02/29.11. His victory come by over a second and a half, coming in ahead of senior Igor Dozortsev with 1:49.02. Last year’s third-place finisher Ryan Sweat held his placement, finishing third with 1:51.30.

Wayland Baptist’s Josiah Morales finished fourth with 1:52.63, followed by Tim Schmalzreich of Lindenwood-Belleville with 1:53.09 and Mihovil Bakovic of Wayland Baptist with 1:53.23.

Going into the final two events, Olivet Nazarene has nearly a two-hundred point lead, and they will defend their national title.

Men’s 1-Meter – Finals

• Meet Record: 587.35 2004 Grant Brehaut

1. Shane Brinson, Biola: 259.60
2. David Groh, Cumberlands: 212.35
3. Tyler Timmer, Olivet Nazarene: 210.90

The men’s one-meter results may look a little familiar. The same three swimmers secured first, second, and third as last year, with Biola’s Shane Brinson taking first with 259.60, followed by David Groh of the Cumberlands in second with 212.35 and Olivet Nazarene’s Tyler Timmer in third with 210.90.

400 Free Relay – Finals

• Meet Record: 2:56.93 3/7/2015 Oklahoma Baptist University, OBU (J Goyetche, M Sambolin, J Sossa, D Ramirez)

1. SCAD: 2:59.10 (Nick Wargo, Anton Arvidsson, Joel Thatcher, Joel Ax)
2. Olivet Nazarene: 2:59.64 (Magnus Andersen, Guilherme Magnoler, Daniil Kuzmin, Magnus Poulsen)
3. Keiser: 3:02.67 (Lukas Macek, Wyatt Engler, Justin Lewis, Andrei Stukov)

SCAD took the national title in the 400 free relay, with Nick Wargo (46.50), Anton Arvidsson (45.55), Joel Thatcher (44.26), and Joel Ax (42.79). Like in the 800 free relay on Thursday, Olivet Nazarene led throughout, but then SCAD had a monster comeback to win the race.

Second went to Olivet Nazarene’s Magnus Andersen (45.34), Guilherme Magnoler (45.14), Daniil Kuzmin (44.76), and Magnus Poulsen (44.40). They finished half a second back in 2:59.64.

Keiser won a battle with St. Andrews for third, with Lukas Macek (46.30), Wyatt Engler (45.48), Justin Lewis (45.87), and Andrei Stukov (45.02) outswimming the fourth-place St. Andrews team by just a hundredeth. Keiser finished in 3:02.67 and St. Andrews was fourth in 3:02.68.

Final Scores

Olivet Nazarene defended their national title by a huge margin with 658.5. SCAD finished second with 443, followed by Keiser, the Cumberlands, and Lindenwood-Belleville.

1. Olivet Nazarene University 658.5
2. SCAD 443
3.  Keiser University 397
4. University of the Cumberlands 321.5
5. Lindenwood U- Belleville 298
6. Wayland Baptist University 265
7. Thomas University 258
8. Lindsey Wilson College 216
9. St Andrews University 180
10. West Virginia University-Tech 173
11. Asbury University 148
12. Biola University 108
13. Union College 80
14. College of Idaho 75
15. Loyola New Orleans 47
16. Milligan College 17
17. Soka University 16
18. St Gregorys University 14
19. Morningside College 12
20. Tabor College Bluejays 2