Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships
- March 8-11, 2017
- Birmingham CrossPlex, Birmingham, Alabama
- Prelims 10:30 AM, Finals 6 PM – U.S. Central Time Zone (GMT -6 currently)
- Event schedule
- Real-time results – diving
- Real-time results – swimming
- Video link (expected to be available when meet starts)
- Championship Central
Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Final
- Division II: 4:17.09 3/11/2016 Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC)
- Joan Casanovas, Drury 4:18.64
- Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC) 4:19.45
- Adrian VanderHelm, Simon Fraser 4:21.66
- Erik Hren, Bridgeport 4:23.20
- Victor Polyakov, West Chester 4:23.56
- Nicholas Arakelian, Queens (NC) 4:26.61
- Mackenzie Hamill, Simon Fraser 4:27.18
- Franco Lupoli, Nova S’eastern 4:29.69
Drury freshman Joan Casanovas, who was runner-up in the 1000 free on Wednesday and again in the 200 free on Thursday, exacted his revenge with an upset over defending champion and NCAA Division II record-holder Dion Dreesens of Queens. Dreesens was out first at the 100 and looked like he might get out ahead of the field early, but Casanovas went with him, and by the 200 had taken over the lead. Casanovas outsplit Dreesens ever so slightly over the next 300 yards, so that by the 400 he was up by 1.4 seconds. Dreesens tried to recover, and really put his legs into it over the final 50, but Casanovas was too far ahead. The freshman upset the defending champion, winning 4:18.64 to 4:19.45.
Adrian VanderHelm of Simon Fraser earned the bronze medal with 4:21.66.
Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Final
- Division II: 46.27 3/10/2016 Marco Palacios, Florida Southern
- Paul Pijulet, Queens (NC) 46.58
- Serghei Golban, Lindenwood 46.89
- Marco Palacios, Florida Southern 47.03
- Lajos Budai, NMU 47.14
- Zach Bunner, Queens (NC) 47.23
- Dmytro Drobnych, Wayne State 47.64
- Rodrigo Codo Berti, Indy 48.01
- Jake Minasi, Limestone 48.75
Just like the women’s 100 back it could have been any one of the top four or so to grab the national title in the 100 back. In fact, the middle five lanes turned in unison at the 50 wall. But Queens junior Paul Pijulet had a monster third wall, which gave him the edge as he got his hand to the wall at 46.58. Defending champion, Lindenwood junior Serghei Golban was just behind with 46.89, while NCAA record-holder and 2016 runner-up Marco Palacios of Florida Southern finished third with 47.03.
Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Final
- NCAA DII: 51.63 3/13/2015 Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern
- Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern 51.76
- Maksim Shcherbakov, Fresno Pacific 52.74
- Rostyslav Fedyna, Queens (NC) 53.30
- Alexander Peach, Delta State 53.59
- Sasha Palazzo, Wayne State 53.73
- Matteo Fraschi, Delta State 53.82
- Andrea Bazzoli, Drury 53.99
- Tobias Feigl, Limestone 54.10
Nova S’eastern junior Anton Lobanov picked up his third consecutive win in the 100 breast, touching just off his own meet record time with 51.76. Queens senior Rostyslav Fedyna, fifth last year, was out first, turning just ahead of Lobanov at the 50 wall. The defending champion came home 1.6 seconds faster, though. Fresno Pacific junior Maksim Shcherbakov had a strong second half as well. He was able to get his hands to the wall just ahead of Fedyna, earning the silver medal with 52.74.
Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Final
- NCAA DII: 1:42.96 3/13/2015 Matthew Josa, Queens (NC)
- Marius Kusch, Queens (NC) 1:42.04R
- Gabriel Hernandez, UCSD 1:44.80
- Aleksei Averchenko, Fresno Pacific 1:44.86
- Cristian Vasquez, Lindenwood 1:46.57
- Thiago Sickert, Nova S’eastern 1:46.86
- Antonio Nunez-Alvarez, Florida Southern 1:47.12
- Zach Bunner, Queens (NC) 1:47.74
- Kevin Wylder, UCSD 1:48.00
Queens sophomore Marius Kusch blasted off and put a half-body length between him and the rest of the field by the 50. He increased his lead to a full body length by the 100, and continued to build his momentum over the next four laps. As the crowd got behind him, Kusch brought it home and broke Matthew Josa’s Division II record, winning with 1:42.04.
Finishing together, two body lengths ahead of the rest of the field, were UC San Diego senior Gabriel Hernandez and Fresno Pacific freshman Aleksei Averchenko. They placed second and third with their respective 1:44.80 and 1:44.86.
Men’s 1-meter Diving – Final
- Division II: 618.70 3/10/1994 Dario DiFazio, Oakland Univ
- Collin Vest, Clarion 534.55
- Brad Dalrymple, Grand Valley 513.15
- Jared Gregory, Grand Valley 501.10
- Zachary Parry, Cal Baptist 484.25
- Payton Staman, Indy 472.00
- Sage D’Ambrosia, Colorado Mesa 466.45
- Duston Gragg, Fresno Pacific 446.85
- Joshua Zylstra, Indy 435.60
Clarion senior Collin Vest, who finished fourth on the 3-meter board on Wednesday, ended his collegiate career on a high, winning 1-meter diving two days later. Vest reclaimed the NCAA title he had won in 2015, but lost to runner-up Brad Dalrymple of Grand Valley last year. In his last outing as a Golden Eagle, Vest nailed his dives, scoring 534.55 points to win by over 20 points. Dalrymple finished second with 513.15, while teammate Jared Gregory scored 501.10.
Men’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay – Fastest Heat
- Division II: 6:23.62 3/11/2016 Queens (NC)
- Queens (NC) 6:18.46R
- Drury 6:29.81
- Nova S’eastern 6:30.30
- Wingate 6:30.45 30
- TIE5 Missouri S & T 6:30.81
- TIE5 Simon Fraser 6:30.81
- TIE7 Florida Southern 6:33.85
- TIE7 Indy 6:33.85
Queens destroyed the NCAA Division II meet record they had set last year, taking it down by 4.16 seconds to 6:18.46 with swims from Dreesens (1:33.62), Pijulet (1:35.36), Kusch (1:34.15), and Arakelian (1:35.33). In an exciting race for the runner-up position, Drury snuck by Nova S’eastern over the last few yards, going 6:29.81 to 6:30.30.
In a rather unusual coincidence, the top two relays out of the morning heats, Simon Fraser (6:30.81), Indianapolis (6:33.85), posted the same exact times as two of the relays in the heat that ran with finals, so Missouri S&T and Simon Fraser finished 5th, and Florida Southern and Indy were both 7th.
Team Standings Day Three
1. Queens (Nc) 450.5
2. Drury 276
3. Nova S’Eastern 214
4. Grand Valley 207
5. Florida Southern 197
6. Lindenwood 158
7. Wingate 139
8. Fresno Pacific 133
9. Simon Fraser 118
10. Delta State 114
11. Indy 109
12. Wayne State 100
13. Cal Baptist 95.5
14. Bloomsburg 94
15. Colorado Mesa 89
16. West Chester 88.5
17. Florida Tech 88
18. Ucsd 74.5
19. Missouri S & T 66
20. Bridgeport 65
21. Limestone 52
22. Nmu 45
23. Clarion 35
24. Tampa 29
25. Carson-Newman 24
26. McKendree 13
27. Truman St. 11
28. Lewis 7
29. Southern Connecticut State 4
30. Queens (Ny) 2
31. Saint Leo 1
31. Catawba 1
