2025 NCAA Division II Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2025 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championship

• March 11-15, 2025
• IU Natatorium — Indianapolis, IN 
• SCY (25 Yards) 
• Defending Champions: 
  • Women: Nova Southeastern (2x)
  • Men: University of Tampa (1x)
• Women’s Psych Sheets
• Men’s Psych Sheets
• Live Results 
• Live Stream
• Recaps:
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3

It’s time for the third night of finals at the 2025 NCAA Division II Championships. Tonight, we’ve got finals of the 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 400 medley relay, and men’s 3-meter diving on the schedule.

We’ll be on NCAA DII record watch from the first event, as Lynn’s Luna Mertins took down the meet record and rattled her division record in the women’s 100 butterfly this morning. She clocked a 52.00, nearing the 51.85 she swam at her conference meet last month.

We’ve also seen at least one Division II relay record go down on each night of competition so far. The Drury men set a Division II record in the 400 medley relay at midseason and get to take a run at lowering that mark in the session’s last event. That event will have significant implications in the team race. Drury is ahead of Tampa, the defending champions, by an eight point margin heading into finals, but based on the ups/downs projections, the Spartans will outscore Drury in today’s individual swimming finals. The ups/downs projections don’t factor in the relay, and a win there could help Drury maintain its lead heading into the back half of the meet.

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – Final

• NCAA DII Record: 51.85 – Luna Mertins, Lynn (2025)
• Meet Record: 52.00 – Luna Mertins, Lynn (2025)

Final: 

1. Luna Mertins (Lynn), 51.78 DII Record
2. Mellie Wijk (Drury), 53.49
3. Tehani Kong (CSEB), 53.58
4. Emily Mears-Bentley (Findlay), 53.59
5. Justice Glasgow (SCSU), 54.11
6. Andrea Paaske (Indy), 54.51
7. Eniko Onofer (Catawba), 54.86
8. Mikayla Kloth (Delta State), 55.36

Luna Mertins broke her NCAA Division II record to win her second career NCAA Division II title in the women’s 100 butterfly. Mertins is the only woman in Division II history to break 52 seconds in this event, which she first did at her conference championships. She put the field on notice after a 52.00 this morning, setting a championship record.

Mertins turned in 23.84 at the halfway point, quickly establishing a lead on the rest of the championship final. She grew her lead on the back half of the race, splitting 27.94. She stopped the clock at 51.78, taking seven-hundredths off her record.

Last night’s 200 IM champion, Mellie Wijk, claimed the second step of the podium with a 53.49. The time nears the lifetime best 53.35 she swam at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships last month. She finished fifth in this event a year ago. CSU East Bay’s Tehani Kong added .18 seconds from her prelims time but was able to get her hands on the wall a hundredth ahead of Findlay’s Emily Mears-Bentley for third place.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – Final

• NCAA DII Record: 44.32 – Marius Kusch, Queens (NC) (2019)
• Meet Record: 44.32 – Marius Kusch, Queens (NC) (2019)

Final: 

1. Jackson Lusting (McKendree), 45.85
2. Parker Knollman (Tampa), 45.98
3. Alejandro Villarejo (Drury), 46.18
4. Oskar Sawicki (Indy), 46.38
5. Nino Viallon (FSC), 46.72
6. Antoine Pieterse (Roberts-Wesleyan), 46.74
7. Lance Godard (St. Cloud), 46.85
8. Aleksei Kolesnikov (UM), 46.93

Indy junior Oskar Sawicki was out like a shot in the championship final of the men’s 100 butterfly. He turned at the 50-yard mark in 20.98. Aleksei Kolesnikov turned second in 21.35, followed by Jackson Lustig, the 200 butterfly two-time defending champion, in 21.49.

Lustig made his move on the back half of the race as he, Parker Knollman, and Alejandro Villarejo began to close the gap on Sawicki. Tampa’s Knollman had the fastest closing 50 (24.35), a hundredth faster than Lustig’s split. But,  the McKendree senior had gone out fast enough that as they came under the flags together, he was able to stop the clock first with a 45.85 to Knollman’s 45.98.

The swim is a lifetime best for Lustig and marks his first time breaking 46 seconds in this event. He finished fifth in this event last year.

Knollman’s swim is a lifetime best as well and his second of the day. He came into the meet with a best of 46.88 from the Gamecock Invitational in November.

Drury’s Alejandro Villarejo rounded out the podium with a 46.18, moving up one spot from his finish last year. After his opening speed, Sawicki took fourth in 46.38.

WOMEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Final

• NCAA DII Record: 4:08.56 – Patricia Castro Ortega, Queens (NC) (2016)
• Meet Record: 4:08.56 – Patricia Castro Ortega, Queens (NC) (2016)

Final: 

1. Andrea Gomez Espinosa (Indy), 4:11.72
2. May Lowy (Nova Southeastern), 4:15.04
3. Katie O’Connell (Grand Valley), 4:16.36
4. Claire Conover (Drury), 4:16.54
5. Burlingtyn Bokos (Tampa), 4:16.65
6. Sophia Bains (Colorado Mesa), 4:18.68
7. Isabell Schiller (Emmanuel), 4:21.57
8. Gwen Bergum (Drury), 4:25.45

Andrea Gomez Espinosa, last year’s 400 IM runner-up, jumped on this race from the start. She opened her race with a 56.71 butterfly split, turning to the backstroke first. She led the rest of the race, pulling away from the field to win gold in 4:11.72, hacking 1.59-seconds from the lifetime best she swam earlier this season.

Gomez Espinosa split 1:03.74/1:13.70/57.57 on the way to the title. She had over a second lead on top qualifier May Lowy heading into the freestyle section of the race, which she extended as Lowy split 59.07 on the freestyle. Lowy, a former champion in this event herself, took silver in 4:15.04, 3.32 seconds behind Gomez Espinosa.

Grand Valley’s Katie O’Connell pulled out a 58.01 freestyle leg which powered her to a third-place finish. She was 12th in this event a year ago. Drury’s Claire Conover moved up from fifth a year ago into fourth.

Last year’s fourth place finisher, Maria Fe Munoz, won the ‘B’ final for Drury. The Panthers have won both women’s ‘B’ finals to start the meet and went 1-3 in the 400 IM ‘B’ final with Fe Munoz and Jonette Lagreid and through two events, have overtaken Nova Southeastern for first place in the women’s team standings. Nova Southeastern’s best event today is the 200 freestyle.

MEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Final

• NCAA DII Record: 3:40.22 – Ben Sampson, Colorado Mesa (2024)
• Meet Record: 3:40.22 – Ben Sampson, Colorado Mesa (2024)

Final: 

1. Jeremias Pock (Indy), 3:44.03
2. Connor Bichsel (Missouri S&T), 3:48.60
3. Marcus Mak (Simon Fraser), 3:49.53
4. Tom Thalau (Lewis), 3:49.63
5. Joao Nogueira (Drury), 3:51.03
6. Wyatt Walsh (Quincy), 3:51.48
7. Evan McInerny (Rollins), 3:52.33
8. Zsombor Bujdoso (Ouachita), 3:57.69

Drury controlled the women’s and men’s 200 IM yesterday, but it was Indy’s turn to shine in the 400 IM. Even without Cedric Buessing in the men’s final, the Greyhounds still swept the women’s and men’s 400 IM, as freshman Jeremias Pock swam away from the field in the men’s race.

The German freshman dropped 3.16-seconds from his lifetime best, turning in a 3:44.03 to win by over 4.5 seconds. Like Gomez Espinosa, he had the lead by the end of the butterfly leg and didn’t look back, splitting 51.20/58.08/1:01.58/53.17 on the way to his first NCAA title.

Junior Connor Bichsel was the top qualifier out of prelims and though he couldn’t maintain contact with Pock, he finished comfortably in second place, moving up from his fifth-place finish last season. Bichsel swam 3:48.60, improving from his prelims swim by 1.63 seconds. His lifetime best is a 3:47.42 from a month ago. He finished over a second ahead of Simon Fraser’s Marcus Mak, who beat Tom Thalau by a tenth for bronze, 3:49.53 to 3:49.63.

Indy also won the ‘B’ final with sophomore Silas Buessing posting a 3:50.44, which would’ve finished fifth in the championship final. The top four swimmers in the ‘A’ final were under 3:50, with Drury’s Joao Nogueira taking fifth in 3:51.05.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – Final

• NCAA DII Record: 1:44.44 – Patricia Castro Ortega, Queens (NC) (2016)
• Meet Record: 1:45.27 – Patricia Castro Ortega, Queens (NC) (2015)

Final: 

1. Kristina Orban (Nova Southeastern), 1:45.92
2. Montana White (Azusa Pacific), 1:46.06
3. Tori Meklensek (Simon Fraser), 1:46.60
4. Lucy Hedley (Grand Valley), 1:47.12
5. Tammy Greenwood (Oklahoma Christi), 1:47.52
6. Emilia Ronningdal (Nova Southeastern), 1:47.59
7. Emily Traube (Truman St.), 1:49.80
8. Ellie Walker (Drury), 1:49.87

Make that two NCAA titles in two events for freshmen. Nova Southeastern’s Kristina Orban played a critical role in the team’s 800 freestyle relay win on night one of the championships, and it was her closing split that made the difference for her in the individual championship final.

Last year’s bronze medalist Montana White held the lead at the 150-yard mark, turning in 1:18.72 to Orban’s 1:19.13. Orban split a field-best 26.79 on the final 50 yards, closing the gap to White and getting her hand on the wall first by .14 seconds. Orban swam 1:45.92, breaking 1:46 for the first time in her career to win gold.

White held on for silver in a lifetime best of her own, posting a 1:46.06. After finishing second in last year’s race, senior Tori Meklensek joined White in returning to the podium, clocking a 1:46.60.

Lucy Hedley moved up from seventh last year, while Emilia Ronningdal held strong at sixth. This was a strong event for Nova Southeastern. Drury still leads, but only by four points.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – Final

• NCAA DII Record: 1:32.46 – Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC) (2016)
• Meet Record: 1:32.46 – Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC) (2016)

Final: 

1. Jacob Hamlin (Tampa), 1:33.38
2. Volodymyr Gavrysh (McKendree), 1:33.63
3. Matthew Bosch (Grand Valley), 1:33.71
4. Maksymilian Minichowski (Catawba), 1:34.59
5. Matteo Vissotto (Drury), 1:35.26
6. Rafael Ponce de Leon (Tampa), 1:35.40
7. Daniel Meszaros (Ouachita), 1:36.07
8. Caleb Brandon (Tampa), 1:38.73

The men’s 200 freestyle came down to the touch. Tampa’s Jacob Hamlin, whose been on fire this season and already has one individual NCAA title to his name this week, held the lead at the 150-mark, flipping about four-tenths ahead of Maksymmilian Minichowski and Matthew Bosch, with Volodymyr Gavrysh slightly behind them. Gavrysh, a freshman from McKendree, put in a huge dig on the final 50 yards, splitting a field best 23.26.

Hamlin, Bosch, and Gavrysh were even coming down the final stretch. Gavrysh’s closing speed was enough to get over the top of Bosch and Minichowski, but he ran out of room to chase down Hamlin. The Tampa sophomore won his second individual title of the week in a lifetime best 1:33.38, which is a two second drop over the course of the day.

Gavrysh took second in 1:33.63, beating last year’s runner up, Bosch, by eight-hundredths. Bosch swam 1:33.71, less than a tenth from the lifetime best 1:33.64 he posted at his conference championships last month.

The Spartans were projected take over the lead from Drury by the end of the individual events. That is what’s happened, though the three point lead, 211 to 208, is less than the projected five-point lead. Three-meter diving and the 400 medley relay are still to come, which weren’t factored into the projections.

Men’s 3-Meter Diving – Final

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

Final: 

1. Israel Zavaleta (Drury), 596.55
2. Julio Osuna Kelly (Wayne St.), 571.30
3. Zakary Kennedy (Clarion), 506.65
4. Max Wasiniak (Wayne St.), 506.15
5. Michael Flamm (Clarion), 505.25
6. Ethan Coronado (Clarion), 499.50
7. Matthew Gauck (DAVE), 478.85
8. Corwin Lindeman (Clarion), 470.25

Drury’s Israel Zavaleta ran away with the men’s 3-meter diving title, putting the Panthers back in front of the Spartans with one event remaining in tonight’s session. Zavaleta transferred to Drury this year, and he scored 596.55 points to win, out-scoring runner-up Julio Osuna Kelly by 25.25 points.

This was a huge event for Clarion, as Zakary Kennedy, Michael Flamm, Ethan Coronado, and Corwin Lindeman finished 3rd-5th-6th-8th.

Women’s 400 Medley Relay – Timed Final

• NCAA DII Record: 3:35.70 — Queens (NC) (Lapshina, Prayson, DaCruz, Dobson) (2019)
• Meet Record: 3:35.70 — Queens (NC) (Lapshina, Prayson, DaCruz, Dobson) (2019)

Final: 

1. Colorado Mesa (Naskret, Leese, Borchardt, Qunell), 3:37.54
2. Drury (Lee, Laegreid, Wijk, Morales), 3:37.97
3. Findlay (Melnyk, Susi, Mears-Bentley, Jones), 3:38.64
4. Nova Southeastern, 3:39.54
5. Wingate, 3:39.80
6. Catawba, 3:41.61
7. Tampa, 3:41.89
8. Indy, 3:42.43

Agata Naskret set the Mavericks up for success from the first leg of the 400 medley relay. Leading off for Colorado Mesa in heat three, Naskret broke her Division II record in the 100 backstroke, swimming 51.53 to take over three-tenths off the mark she set at her midseason invite.

Colorado Mesa did not trail again, as Antonia Leese (1:01.62), Kiara Borchardt (54.88), and Ada Qunell (49.51) followed Naskret’s antics, defending their title from last season with a 3:37.54.

They held off the Drury’s strong back-half of Wijk and Maria Morales for the win. Wijk pulled the Panthers close to the Mavericks with a 53.26 butterfly split, though Morales (49.60) wasn’t able to out-split Qunell and completely erase the gap. The Panthers finished second in 3:37.97, about four-tenths behind Colorado Mesa.

Findlay’s team of Oleksandra Melnyk (53.61), Katie Susi (1:01.03), Emily Mears-Bentley (53.25), and Sydney Jones (50.75) swam 3:38.64 to win heat two. That time held up through the final heat and a lengthy review process to finish third overall.

After the review, Augustana was disqualified for an early take off.

Men’s 400 Medley Relay – Timed Final

• NCAA DII Record: 3:06.83 — Drury (Adamchuk, Mourao, Villarejo, Mineur) (2024)
• Meet Record: 3:07.11 — McKendree (Rozenek, Pinheiro, Lustig, Upton (2024)

Final: 

1. Drury (Adamchuk, Mourao, Villarejo, Minuer), 3:06.75 DII Record
2. McKendree (Rozenek, Bertullis, Lustig, Upton), 3:07.01
3. Grand Valley (Dies, Goh, Nunez Del Prado, Bosch), 3:08.52
4. Florida Southern, 3:08.54
5. Tampa, 3:08.76
6. Lynn, 3:09.43
7. Lewis, 3:10.49
8. Wingate, 3:10.90

It was a battle between Great Lakes Valley Conference rivals Drury and McKendree for the NCAA title in the men’s 400 medley relay. The Panthers held the lead at the final exchange, as Ivan Adamchuk (46.20), Davi Mourao (51.89), and  Alejandro Villarejo (45.73) held down the first 300 yards.

Lucas Minuer dove in for the freestyle leg with the lead and split 42.93, outlasting a strong close from McKendree’s Tyson Upton (42.48). McKendree won this title last season, swimming 3:07.11, and McKendree beat Drury, the NCAA Division II record holders, in this event at their conference championships.

Minuer stopped the clock for Drury at 3:06.75 and the Panthers broke the DII record they swam at midseason by eight-hundredths to win the 400 medley relay national title. McKendree’s squad of Patryk Rozenek (46.57), Nojus Bertulis (52.64), Lustig (45.32), and Upton (42.48) were under the meet record with a 3:07.01, as three of the four legs from last season returned.

Grand Valley grabbed third in 3:08.52 as Bosch split a blistering 41.72 as the team’s anchor leg. Aaron Dies (47.93), Andrew Goh (52.75), and Esteban Nunez Del Prado (46.12) swam the front three quarters of the relay.

Indy was disqualified for an early take off, which is a tough blow to their aspirations in the team standings. Their time would’ve placed 9th overall.

Team Standings Through Day 3

Women:

1. Drury, 262
2. Nova Southeastern, 254
3. Colorado Mesa, 174
4. Indy, 169
5. Grand Valley, 119
6. Lynn, 115
7. Tampa, 101
8. Simon Fraser, 87
9. Findlay, 81
10. West Florida, 80
11. Wingate, 74
12. Clarion, 73
13. Augustana, 57
14. Azusa Pacific, 53
15. Catawba, 43
16. Oklahoma Christi/CSU East Bay, 35 (TIE)
17. —
18. Wayne State, 29
19. Delta State, 28
20. NMU, 21
21. MSU Mankato, 20
22. McKendree, 19
23. Henderson St/UMSL, 15
24. —
25. Truman St, 14/SCSU, 14
26. —
27. Emmanuel, 12
28. West Chester/Florida Southern, 6
29. —
30. Davenport, 2
31. Concordia/Carson-Newman, 1

Men

1. Drury, 268
2. Tampa, 239
3. Indy, 170
4. McKendree, 169
5. Grand Valley, 144
6. Florida Southern, 94
7. Lewis, 87
8. Lynn, 86
9. Colorado Mesa/Wayne State, 75
10. —
11. Wingate, 69
12. St Cloud State, 58/Clarion, 58
13. —
14. NMU, 43
15. Catawba, 42
16. Missouri S&T, 40
17. Rollins/Ouachita, 37
18. —
19. Nova Southeastern, 26
20. Simon Fraser, 25
21. Carson-Newman, 24
22. West Chester, 22
23. Delta State, 15
24. Quincy/Montevallo, 14
25. 00
26. Roberts Wesleyan, 13
27. Davenport/Mines/Barry, 12
28. —
29. —
30. Biola/College of Staten Island, 7
31. —
32. Henderson St, 5
33. Saginaw Valley/Findlay, 4