2024 NCAA Division II Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2024 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: March 12-16, 2024
• Times: Finals 10AM Eastern, Finals 5:30PM Eastern
• Location: SPIRE Institute Aquatics Center in Geneva, Ohio
• Defending Champions:
  • Nova S’eastern women (1x)
  • Indianapolis men (1x)
• Psych Sheets:
  • Women’s Psych Sheet
  • Men’s Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Video (NCAA.com)

Day 4

Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA DII: 4:39.28 – Patri Castro Ortega, Queens Charlotte (2016)
• Meet: 4:39.28 – Patri Castro Ortega, Queens Charlotte (2016)

Podium:

1. Emily Trieschmann, Nova S’eastern – 4:44.60
2. Tori Meklensek, Simon Fraser – 4:47.76
3. Hailey Williams, Nova S’eastern – 4:47.94
4. Jordan Fox, Wayne State – 4:51.17
5. Olivia Hansson, Colorado Mesa – 4:51.42
6. Montana White, Azusa Pacific – 4:51.47
7. Allison Vassilakos, Wayne State – 4:51.61
8. Ilaria Murzilli, Nova S’eastern – 4:56.17

Emily Trieschmann of Nova S’eastern won her third individual event of the weekend, going 4:44.60 to add a 500 free title to the 1000 free and 200 free titles she already had. It was a wire-to-wire victory; she was out front from the first 25 yards and kept increasing her lead over the field, eventually winning by over 2 body lengths.

Behind her, there was a good amount of jockeying for position. For the first 300 yards, Simon Fraser’s Tori Meklensek was ahead of the next wave. Nova S’eastern’s Hailey Williams and Wayne State’s Jordan Fox were next.

At the 400, Williams flipped ahead of Meklensek. Fox was third in that group, but Azusa Pacific’s Montana White and Colorado Mesa’s Olivia Hansson were closing.

Meklensek came home in 27.77 on the last 50 to get by Williams and take second with 4:47.76. Williams clocked in at 4:47.94. Fox held on for fourth (4:51.17), while Hansson touched out White, 4:51.42 to 4:51.47.

Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA DII: 4:17.09 – Dion Dreesens, Queens Charlotte (2016)
• Meet: 4:17.09 – Dion Dreesens, Queens Charlotte (2016)

Podium:

1. Santiago Corredor, Tampa – 4:17.98
2. Cedric Buessing, Indy – 4:18.27
3. Khalil Ben Ajmia, Wayne State – 4:18.75
4. Victor Rosado, Oklahoma Christi – 4:18.78
5. Luca Alessandrini, Nova S’eastern – 4:21.25
6. Joao Nogueira, Drury – 4:21.41
7. Barnabas Fluck, Tampa – 4:24.48
8. Jacob Hamlin, Tampa – 4:25.43

2023 runner-up Cedric Buessing of Indy, who won the 1000 free on Wednesday night, took it out first from lane 7, flipping first at the 50, 100, and 150 walls. He was just a tick ahead of Wayne State’s Khalil Ben Ajmia in lane 5 and top-seeded Santiago Corredor of Tampa in lane 5.

Corredor took the lead at the 200 and Ben Ajmia pulled even with Buessing, but then moved into second place at the halfway mark.

Corredor had a full body-length lead at the 400, followed by Ben Ajmia, Buessing, and Oklahoma Christian’s Victor Rosado, who had moved up to join the lead pack.

It was a frenzied finish. Corredor held on for the win with 4:17.98. Buessing closed in 26.0-24.7; he very nearly caught Corredor, but fell .29 short with 4:18.27 for second place. Rosado came home with 25.9-24.8 and, like Buessing, fell just short of his target. Ben Ajmia took third with 4:18.75, while Rosado was .03 behind.

Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Finals

• NCAA DII: 52.07 – Polina Lapshina, Queens Charlotte (2019)
• Meet: 52.07 – Polina Lapshina, Queens Charlotte (2019)

Podium:

1. Agata Naskret, Colorado Mesa – 52.52
2. Abby Gronholz, MSU Mankato – 53.66
3. Lauren White, Colorado Mesa – 53.72
4. Luna Mertins, Lynn – 53.95
5. Kiara Pozvai, Henderson St. – 54.18
6. Laura Dekoninck, Lynn – 54.74
7. Camilla Carbone, NMU – 55.03
8. Mollie Morfelt, Nova S’eastern – 55.48

Henderson State’s Kiara Pozvai was first to the 25 wall, flipping just ahead of Lynn’s Luna Mertins and Colorado Mesa’s Agata Naskret.

A strong underwater on that first wall put Naskret well in front headed into the 50 turn. She was 25.61 at the halfway mark, followed by Mertins and Pozvai.

Naskret finished a body length ahead of the field with 52.52.

Behind her, the second half was dominated by Abby Gronholz of MSU Mantako and Colorado Mesa’s Lauren White, whose respective second 50s of 27.3 and 27.5 propelled them past Mertins and Pozvai for third and fourth place.

Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Finals

• NCAA DII: 45.09 – Marius Kusch, Queens Charlotte (2019)
• Meet: 45.09 – Marius Kusch, Queens Charlotte (2019)

Podium:

1. Benjamin Sampson, Colorado Mesa – 46.02
2. Patryk Rozenek, McKendree – 46.13
3. Lamar Taylor, Henderson St. – 46.16
4. Tim Stollings, Findlay – 46.19
5. Ivan Adamchuk, Drury – 46.35
6. Parker Knollman, Tampa – 46.42
7. Viktor Khnykin, Drury – 47.11
8. Nico Jacinto, Lewis – 47.88

Henderson State’s Lamar Taylor was quick off the start; he led the field at the 25 from lane 6 and was still in front at the 50. He flipped in 22.03, with Colorado Mesa’s Benjamin Sampson (22.04) and Findlay’s Tim Stollings (22.06) just behind.

Sampson and Stollings got to the 75 wall first and headed for home, followed by Taylor.

Seemingly out of nowhere, McKendree’s Patryk Rozenek came barreling home with a 23.8 on the back half.

Sampson got the win with 46.02, but the rest of the quartet appeared to touch simultaneously. Yet it was Rozenek (46.13) who made it to the wall just ahead of Taylor (46.16) and Stollings (46.19) for second place.

Women’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Finals

• NCAA DII: 59.51 – Theresa Michalak, West Florida (2017)
• Meet: 59. 51 – Theresa Michalak, West Florida (2017)

Podium:

1. Celina Schmidt, Indy – 1:01.11
2. Malaika Schneider, Lynn – 1:01.74
3. Jordan Tierney, Mines – 1:01.95
4. Katie Susi, Findlay – 1:02.00
5. Maddi Moran, Colorado Mesa – 1:02.05
6. Claire Conover, Drury – 1:02.07
7. Natalia Dwojak, Wingate – 1:02.18
8. Mckenzie Hemingway, WCU – 1:02.23

Indy’s Celina Schmidt led at the 50 with 28.81, but Colorado Mesa’s Maddi Moran went with her, touching in 28.97 at the halfway point. Jordan Tierney of Colorado Mines (29.05), West Chester’s McKenzie Hemingway (29.14), Natalia Dwojak of Wingate (29.19), and Claire Conover from Drury (29.20) were still contenders at that point.

The second 50 proved decisive, though. Schmidt came home in 32.3 to with by half a body with 1:01.11. Lynn’s Malaika Schneider went 32.4 to move from 7th at the 50 to 2nd at the finish with 1:01.74. Tierney got third, but only just barely held off Findlay’s Katie Susi, whose 23.5 back half moved her from 8th to 4th (1:02.00).

Moran (1:02.05) was .02 ahead of Conover, while Dwojak passed Hemingway to finish 7th.

Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Finals

• NCAA DII: 51.63 – Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern (2015)
• Meet: 51.63 – Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern (2015)

Podium:

1. Davi Mourao, Drury – 51.88
2. Filipe Pinheiro, McKendree – 52.45
3. Brayden Cole, Indy – 52.58
4. Andres Martijena, Wingate – 52.81
5. (tie) Inigo Marina, Nova S’eastern / Noah Clancy, Missouri S&T – 52.95
6. –
7. Maksymil Minichowski, Catawba – 53.09
8. Luca Chiandussi, Findlay – 53.56

For the second year in a row, Drury’s Davi Mourao stood atop the podium in the men’s 100 breast. This time he was nearly eight-tenths faster and he came within .25 of the NCAA Division II national record.

Indy’s Brayden Cole went out first from lane 6, turning ahead of McKendree’s Filipe Pinheiro and Mourao at the 25. It was Cole (24.26), Pinheiro (24.36), and Wingate’s Andres Martijena (24.45) at the 50, followed by Mourao and the rest of the field.

Mourao was home in 27.19, the fastest second half in the field by .9; he flew past Cole, Pinheiro and Martijena to touch first with 51.88. Pinheiro clocked a 28.09 on the second 50 to claim the silver medal, while Cole and Martijena both split 28.3s and finished third and fourth, respectively.

In a rare move, both Nova S’eastern’s Inigo Marina and Missouri S&T’s Noah Clancy split 24.88-28.07 to finish tied for fifth place with 52.95.

Women’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Finals

• NCAA DII: 1:55.98 – Ann Carozza, West Chester (2022)
• Meet: 1:55.98 – Ann Carozza, West Chester (2022)

Podium:

1. Rafaela Raurich, Nova S’eastern – 1:56.17
2. Mellie Wijk, Drury – 1:57.35
3. Aurora Duncan, Drury – 1:58.10
4. Benedict Nagy, Colorado Mesa – 1:58.63
5. Maria Fe Munoz, Drury – 1:59.16
6. Emily Mears-Bentley, Findlay – 1:59.92
7. May Lowy, Nova S’eastern – 2:00.27
8. Susana Ungo, Emmanuel – 2:00.51

Nova S’eastern’s Rafaela Raurich led from start to finish, building her lead with each 50, to finish with 1:56.17. Raurich had the fastest front half (55.42) and back half (1:00.7) and, while she missed the NCAA Division II record by a mere .19, she won by over a body length.

Drury went 2-3 with Mellie Wijk (1:57.35) and Aurora Duncan (1:58.10). Wijk was in second place throughout the race, but Duncan moved past Colorado Mesa’s Benedict Nagy (1:58.63) on the last 50 to earn the bronze medal.

Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Finals

• NCAA DII: 1:40.75 – Jackson Lustig, McKendree (2023)
• Meet: 1:40.75 – Jackson Lustig, McKendree (2023)

Podium:

1. Jackson Lustig, McKendree – 1:42.15
2. Akos Hajagos, Florida Tech – 1:44.57
3. Alejandro Villarejo, Drury – 1:44.58
4. Luke Dinges, Rollins – 1:44.61
5. Elias Noe, Indy – 1:44.97
6. Archie Minto, McKendree – 1:45.63
7. Dejan Urbanek, Colorado Mesa – 1:46.65
8. Conley Savage, UMSL – 1:47.74

Defending champion Jackson Lustig from McKendree led from the start, with Florida Tech’s Akos Hajagos going with him. Lustig was 22.62 at the 50, while Hajagos turned in 22.76. Indy’s Elias Noe and Drury’s Allejandro Villarejo followed.

By the 100, Lustig had separated himself and was .7 ahead of Hajagos with 48.42. Villarejo was in third place, with Noe in 4th.

While Lustig continued to build his lead, Villarejo caught Hajagos on the third 50. Rollins’ Luke Dingas was moving up on the pack, challenging Noe for fourth place.

Lustig came home in 27.1 to clock a winning 1:42.15. Hajagos finished in 27.9 to Villarejo’s 27.8, but he got his hand to the wall first by .01.

Dinges went an incredible 26.6 on the end and fell just .03 short of Villarejo.

Noe took fifth with 1:44.97.

Men’s 3-Meter Diving – Finals

• NCAA DII: 624.80 – Ammar Hassan Colorado Mesa (2018)
• Meet: 624.80 – Ammar Hassan Colorado Mesa (2018)

Podium:

1. Julio Osuna Kelly, Indy – 645.15 *NCAA DIVISION II RECORD*
2. Cole Earl, Drury – 580.75
3. Santiago Santodomingo, Delta State – 565.70
4. Jason Lenzo, Indy – 560.30
5. Zachary Schering, Clarion – 542.95
6. Isaiah Cheeks, Colorado Mesa – 538.40
7. Max Wasiniak, Wayne State – 506.45
8. Matthew Blommel, Grand Valley – 498.50

Julio Osuna Kelly swept the boards again this year. For the second time in as many years, the Indy junior won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. He came into tonight’s final ranked second after the preliminary round, having scored 583.65 points to Cole Earl’s 584. Osuna Kelly began with a 3.3 difficulty reverse 2-1/2 somersault 1-1/2 twist pike for which he scored 74.25 points. From there, he earned 67.50, 83.30, 78.75, and 66.00 on his next four dives. Going into the final round, he led by almost 100 points with 590.05. That’s when he changed his final dive.

109C, he announced, to the delight of all the divers on deck. That’s a forward 4-1/2 somersault tuck with a 3.8 degree of difficulty. While he didn’t quite get all the way around at the finish, he nonetheless scored 55.10 points and cleared the NCAA Division II record by 20.35 points.

Drury’s Cole Earl had a monster final dive, scoring 81.60 points, to finish with 580.75 for second place.

Delta State’s Santiago Santodomingo topped Indy’s Jason Lenzo by 5.40 points for third.

Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA DII: 1:30.05 – Queens Charlotte, (L Marshall, K Dobson, W Dollmayer, M Prayson, 2018)
• Meet: 1:30.05 – Queens Charlotte, (L Marshall, K Dobson, W Dollmayer, M Prayson, 2018)

Podium:

1. Colorado Mesa – 1:31.26
2. Delta State – 1:31.38
3. Augustana – 1:31.97
4. Indy – 1:32.16
5. West Florida – 1:32.40
6. McKendree – 1:32.58
7. Simon Fraser – 1:33.07
8. Tampa – 1:33.23

Top-seeded Drury was disqualified for an early start but they had finished in fourth place of the last heat, which Colorado Mesa won in a nailbiter over Delta State with 1:31.26. Naskret started it off for Colorado Mesa with 22.81; Ada Qunell split 23.23, Ellie Williams went 22.68, and Lauren White came home with 22.54.

Delta State (1:31.38), only .12 behind, began with Daniella Solkow (22.84), who was followed by Mikayla Kloth (22.68), Jordon Kloth (23.20), and Kaley Davis (22.66).

Augustana (1:31.97) finished third with Bryn Greenwaldt (22.65), Angelina Chan (23.49), Makoa Montgomery (23.10), and Meesha Montgomery (22.73).

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA DII: 1:16.90 – Drury (K Ostrowski, K Glass, C Carlson, A Bowen, 2021)
• Meet: 1:16.90 – Drury (K Ostrowski, K Glass, C Carlson, A Bowen, 2021)

Podium:

1. Henderson State – 1:16.50
2. Tampa – 1:17.00
3. McKendree – 1:18.48
4. Florida Southern – 1:18.65
5. Grand Valley – 1:18.73
6. Drury – 1:18.78
7. Indy – 1:18.86
8. Lewis – 1:18.93

Lamar Taylor led off for Henderson State with 19.10, putting his team out front by half a body length already at the 50 over top-seeded Tampa in lane 4. Taylor handed off to Jack Armstrong, whose 18.56 increase that lead to a ful body length at the 100 (37.66). Jase Pinckney (19.17) and Patryke Dabrowski (19.67) assured the back half and the Reddies got the win with 1:16.50. They were 1.64 seconds faster than they’d been a year ago – with 3/4 of this quartet – and their time set a new NCAA Division II national record.

Tampa finished in second place with 1:17.00, more than a body length clear of third-place McKendree. Tampa’s relay consisted of Ian Cooper (19.54), Tibor Tistan (19.25), Caleb Brandon (19.13), and Blake Moran (19.08).

McKendree’s Mario Perez (19.90), Caleb Law (19.25), Davante Carey (19.50), and Tyson Upton (19.83) combined for 1:18.48.

Women’s Team Scores After Day 4

1. Nova S’Eastern – 381
2. Colorado Mesa – 332.5
3. Drury – 287.5
4. Indy – 260.5
5. Lynn – 152
6. Tampa – 132
7. Findlay – 125.5
8. West Florida – 125
9. Augustana – 118
10. Simon Fraser – 102.5
11. Wingate – 94
12. Wayne State – 86
13. Delta State – 77
14. WCU – 72
15. Clarion – 63
16. Nmu – 59
17. Grand Valley – 50
18. Henderson St. – 49
19. (tie) Carson-Newman / Msu Mankato – 47
20. –
21. McKendree – 46
22. Azusa Pacific – 41.5
23. Oklahoma Christian – 31
24. Mines – 29
25. Lewis – 25
26. CSU East Bay – 22
27. Florida Southern – 18.5
28. (tie) Emmanuel / Umsl – 15
29. –
30. Truman St. – 10
31. Southern Conn – 7
32. Northern State – 5
33. Hillsdale – 4
34. IUP – 3.5
35. UNC-Pembroke – 3
36. (tie) UMary / Davenport / Jewell – 2
37. –
38. –
39. Bentley – 1

Men’s Team Scores After Day 4

1. Tampa – 349
2. Drury – 336
3. Indy – 302
4. McKendree – 246
5. Colorado Mesa – 206
6. Grand Valley – 156
7. Henderson St. – 146
8. Findlay – 142
9. Nova S’Eastern – 141.5
10. Lewis – 121
11. Missouri S & T – 119.5
12. Florida Southern – 104
13. Oklahoma Christian – 91
14. Wayne State – 84
15. Clarion – 71
16. NMU – 65
17. Wingate – 56
18. WCU – 51
19. Delta State – 43
20. Cloud St. – 38
21. Carson-Newman – 36
22. Saginaw Valley – 30
23. Simon Fraser – 28
24. Florida Tech – 23
25. Rollins – 20
26. UT of the Permian Basin – 16
27. Catawba – 13
28. UMSL – 12
29. Ouachita – 9
30. IUP – 7
31. (tie) Mines / Montevallo / Davenport / Fresno Pacific – 6
32. –
33. –
34. –
35. Lynn – 3