2018 NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships
- Dates: Wednesday, March 14 – Saturday, March 17
- Swimming: prelims 10am, finals 6pm; Diving: 2pm
- Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champions: Queens (results)
- Psych Sheet
- Video
- Live Results
- Championship Central
Day 4
Men’s 1650 Yard Freestyle – Fastest Heat
- NCAA DII: 15:00.51 3/14/2009 Mitch Snyder, Drury
- Meet: 15:00.51 3/14/2009 Mitch Snyder, Drury
- Tim Samuelsen, SO Missouri S & T 15:08.53
- Franco Lupoli, SR Nova S’eastern 15:16.18
- Adam Rosipal, FR Indy 15:16.20
After winning the 1000 free and placing 7th in the 500, Missouri S&T sophomore Tim Samuelsen was back on top again in the 1650. He set the pace, followed closely by Indy freshman Adam Rosipal and Nova S’eastern senior Franco Lupoli, the 2017 runner-up. By the 400, Samuelsen was close to a body length out front but Lupoli had drawn even with Rosipal. Lupoli turned his sights on Samuelsen and left Rosipal in his wake.
Drury senior Alexandre Reinbrecht, who had back-halved just about all his races throughout the weekend, moved up to swim with Rosipal and Simon Fraser junior Mackenzie Hamill. Reinbrecht made his move and began to challenge Lupoli. Rosipal and Hamill remained together through the 900. Rosipal began to separate himself and began to challenge Reinbrecht.
Delta State junior Nathan Sawicki then started moving up on Hamill. Rosipal, meanwhile, worked his way past Reinbrecht and went after Lupoli. As Samuelsen lapped lanes 1 and 8, Rosipal went after Lupoli. Samuelsen finished nearly a half pool length in front of the competition in 15:08.53, but the real excitement was taking place in the battle for second place. Rosipal and Lupoli sprinted to the finish and wound up separated by only 2/100, with Lupoli out-touching Rosipal, 15:16.18 to 15:16.20.
Reinbrecht was fourth in 15:19.82. Fifth and sixth went to Sawicki (15:22.91) and Hamill (15:27.02). The last two spots on the podium went to the two fastest swimmers from the morning: Oklahoma Baptist freshman Marti Penedes (15:28.22) and McKendree freshman Throstur Bjanason (15:29.89).
Men’s 100 Yard Freestyle – Finals
- NCAA DII: 42.61 3/17/2012 Andrey Seryy, Wayne State
- Meet: 42.61 3/17/2012 Andrey Seryy, Wayne State
- Marius Kusch JR Queens (NC) 42.42
- Victor Rocha Furtado JR Florida Tech 43.18
- Mattia Schirru JR Delta State 43.49
There was no question that Marius Kusch was gunning for the record. He crushed the first 50, flipping more than a half body length ahead of Mattia Schirru of Delta State and Victor Rocha Furtado of Florida Tech, in 20.27. Kusch came home in 22.15 for a time of 42.42, taking a slice out of the Division II and Championship Record of 42.61, set by Andrey Seryy of Wayne State at 2012 NCAA Division II Championships.
Rocha Furtado finished second with 43.18; Schirru was third in 43.49. Indy junior Guilherme Zavaneli (43.63) just touched out Cal Baptist junior Jerome Heidrich (43.67), Fresno Pacific sophomore Dmitry Belolipetskiy (43.71), Queens freshman Alen Mosic (43.96), and Saint Leo senior Hunter Bains (44.28).
Men’s 200 Yard Backstroke – Finals
- NCAA DII: 1:40.74 3/15/2014 Matthew Josa, Queens (NC)
- Meet: 1:40.74 3/15/2014 Matthew Josa, Queens (NC)
- Paul Pijulet, SR Queens (NC) 1:42.17
- Renars Bundzis, JR NMU 1:44.01
- Harry Shalamon, SO Grand Valley 1:44.73
Queens senior and defending champion Paul Pijulet was going for the record. He blasted off to a quick start and was up by half a body at the 50. While he continued to build his lead, swimming only against the clock, behind him was a wall of swimmers all bunch up, vying for second place. Pijulet ended up first in 1:42.17, 1.43 second off the record, but 1.9 second ahead of the next finisher.
Northern Michigan junior Renars Bundzis held the second position from wire to wire, just a touch ahead of the wave of swimmers vying for his spot. He finished in 1:44.01, half a body length ahead of the next three, who all hit the wall together: Grand Valley’s Harry Shalamon (1:44.73), Queens freshman Baptiste Leger (1:44.84), and Indy junior Rodrigo Codo Berti (1:44.85).
Aleksei Averchenko of Fresno Pacific (1:45.73), Matias Lopez of Florida Southern (1:45.92), and Dmytro Drobnych of Wayne State (1:46.95) rounded out the final.
Men’s 200 Yard Breaststroke – Finals
- NCAA DII: 1:51.71 3/14/2015 Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern
- Meet: 1:51.71 3/14/2015 Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern
- Eric Tolman, SO Cal Baptist 1:54.26
- Luis Jasso, SR Florida Southern 1:54.84
- Nicholas Arakelian, SR Queens (NC) 1:56.29
Eric Tolman of Cal Baptist, who placed 8th last year as a freshman, led the field by a half body at the 50, with Nick Arakelian of Queens giving chase of the second 50. Arakelian pulled nearly even with Tolman and held on the another 50. He ran out of gas, though, and Florida Southern senior Luis Jasso snuck past him on the way home. Tolman won the national title with 1:54.26. Jasso took second in 1:54.84. Arakelian held on at third (1:56.29), keeping a fast-charging Grand Valley junior Marius Mikalauskas (1:56.63) at bay.
Giacomo Viazzo of Wingate touched out Henrik Dahrendorff of Saint Leo, 1:57.35 to 1:57.40, for fourth. Queens senior Inigo Alarcia (1:58.59) placed seventh. Fernando Morillas of Oklahoma Baptist took eighth with 2:00.36.
Men’s 3 Meter Diving – Finals
- NCAA DII: 615.95 3/15/2014 Heath Calhoun, Clarion
- Meet: 615.95 3/15/2014 Heath Calhoun, Clarion
- Ammar Hassan, FR Colorado Mesa 624.80
- Noah Macomber, SO Colorado Mesa 586.00
- Zachary Parry, SR Cal Baptist 530.85
Men’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay – Finals
- NCAA DII: 2:53.00 3/11/2017 Queens (NC) (Kusch, Dreesens, Mayes, Arakelian)
- Meet: 2:53.00 3/11/2017 Queens (NC) (Kusch, Dreesens, Mayes, Arakelian)
- Queens (NC) 2:53.67
- Wingate 2:56.48
- Cal Baptist 2:56.61
Queens got out to a monster start thanks to Pijulet’s 42.94 leadoff. Mosic followed with 43.42, then handed off to Christopher Mayes (43.57) and Dmytro Sydorchenko (43.74). The Royals fell .67 short of the record but won handily in 2:53.67.
Wingate edged Cal Baptist for the silver medal, 2:56.48 to 2:56.61. Lukas Kraft (44.12), Sebastian Holmberg (43.86), Markus Furst (44.33), and Lennart Queiss (44.17) contributed to the Wingate victory. The Lancers’ relay featured Jerome Heidrich (43.87), Josh Walters (43.61), Bernardo Valentim (44.07), and Alexis Ohmar (45.06).
Florida Tech (2:56.72), Florida Southern (2:57.13), Saint Leo (2:57.66), Fresno Pacific (2:57.95), and Missouri S & T (2:58.47) completed the final.
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 42 1. Queens (Nc) 558 2. Cal Baptist 307 3. Indy 300 4. Florida Southern 279 5. Oklahoma Baptist 251 6. Drury 250 7. Wingate 204 8. Fresno Pacific 170 9. Delta State 154 10. Saint Leo 152 11. Grand Valley 136 12. Lindenwood 129 13. Missouri S & T 122 14. Wayne State 120 15. McKendree 116 16. Colorado Mesa 113 17. Florida Tech 111 18. Simon Fraser 100 18. Nmu 100 20. Nova S'Eastern 93 21. Ucsd 45 22. Truman St. 42 23. St. Cloud St.-W 36 24. Tampa 30 25. Findlay 23 26. Clarion 20 26. Southern Conn 20 28. Carson-Newman 16 29. Henderson St 8 30. Tiffin 5 30. Bridgeport 5 30. Jewell 5 33. Bloomsburg 2 34. Umsl 1 34. Catawba 1
