2025 NCAA Division II Championships: Day 4 Prelims 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 | Day 3
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3

Good morning all, and happy Friday! It’s the start of the fourth day of the 2025 NCAA Division II Championships and we’ve got close team battles in both the women’s and men’s standings. Let’s take a look at the top five teams after last night’s races.

Team Standings Through Day 3 — Top Five:

Women:

1. Drury, 262
2. Nova Southeastern, 254
3. Colorado Mesa, 174
4. Indy, 169
5. Grand Valley, 119

Men:

1. Drury, 268
2. Tampa, 239
3. Indy, 170
4. McKendree, 169
5. Grand Valley, 144

So, this morning’s prelims session will be crucial for teams aiming to win the meet or just remain in the top five. There are heats of the 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and 200 butterfly on tap this session and these teams will be focused on earning as many second swims as possible.

Women’s 500 Freestyle — Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 4:39.28 — Patri Castro Ortega, Queens (NC) (2016)
• Meet Record: 4:39.28 — Patri Castro Ortega, Queens (NC) (2016)

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Tori Meklensek (Simon Fraser), 4:49.28
2. Justice Beard (UMSL), 4:50.01
3. Lucy Hedley (Grand Valley), 4:50.09
4. Olivia Hansson (Colorado Mesa), 4:50.26
5. Montana White (Azusa Pacific), 4:50.56
6. Hailey Williams (Nova Southeastern), 4:51.37
7. Ilaria Murzilli (Nova Southeastern), 4:51.78
8. Laura Hodgson (Tampa), 4:52.73

Tori Meklensek, last year’s runner up, grabbed lane four for tonight’s championship final. She already finished second in the 1000 freestyle earlier in these championships, and won the final heat with a strong 4:49.28, touching about two seconds off her seed time.

Meklensek was the top seed coming into the meet and further cemented herself as the swimmer to beat by being the only woman to break 4:50 this morning. UMSL sophomore Justice Beard swam a lifetime best to win heat four, the first circle-seeded heat. She shaved .41 seconds off her best with a 4:50.01, nearing the 4:50 barrier herself. One heat later, Lucy Hedley earned the win in 4:50.09, just eight-hundredths off Beard’s time.

It will be interesting to see if Beard can match–or improve–her time against a fully loaded final. Last year’s winner Emily Trieschmann has graduated and won’t defend her title, but this ‘A’ final looks similar to 2024. In addition to Meklensek, Olivia Hansson (4:50.26), Montana White (4:50.56), Hailey Williams (4:51.37), and Ilaria Murzilli (4:51.78) all return to the championship final.

This was an important event for the team title race between Drury and Nova Southeastern. The defending champions put two swimmers into the ‘A’ final, while the Panthers do not have a finalist.

Men’s 500 Freestyle — Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 4:15.16 — Cedric Buessing, Indy (2025)
• Meet Record:4:17.09 — Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC) (2016)

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Jacob Hamlin (Tampa), 4:20.34
2. Nazar Herashchenko (Catawba), 4:21.34
3. Rafael Ponce de Leon (Tampa), 4:21.48
4. Fernando Dehaudt (Wingate), 4:21.62
5. Barnabas Fluck (Tampa), 4:21.67
6. Luca Alessandrini (Nova Southeastern), 4:21.99
7. Vladislav Kazakin (Mines), 4:22.34
8. Matteo Vissotto (Drury), 4:22.55

Cedric Buessing, the NCAA Division II record holder, was a no show in the final heat of the men’s 500 freestyle. Buessing reportedly got sick yesterday morning; he swam the 400 IM prelims anyway and missed making finals.

This means Buessing won’t be in the final. Without him, Tampa’s Jacob Hamlin is the strong favorite heading into tonight. He held the Division II record—set at midseason—until Buessing broke it at conferences. Hamlin has been on fire this week; he’s already won individual NCAA titles in the 200 and 1000 freestyle, setting a Division II record in the latter. He sailed through to the final, clocking 4:20.34 to win heat five this morning and post the fastest qualifying time.

Hamlin led a strong outing for the Spartans. The team put three men into the championship final with Rafael Ponce de Leon (4:21.48) and Barnabas Fluck (4:21.67) qualifying third and fifth. Fluck’s swim was a lifetime best, dropping .44 seconds from the 4:22.11 he swam at the Gamecock Invitational. This matches the three ‘A’ final qualifiers they had in this event last season.

Three freshmen, Catawba’s Nazar Herashchenko, Wingate’s Fernando Dehaudt, and Colorado School of the Mines’ Vladislav Kazakin all made the championship final.

Luca Alessandrini returns to the ‘A’ final, and 2024 ‘B’ final winner Matteo Vissotto qualified as well.

Women’s 100 Backstroke — Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 51.53 — Agata Naskret, Colorado Mesa (2025)
• Meet Record: 51.53 — Agata Naskret, Colorado Mesa (2025)

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Agata Naskret (Colorado Mesa), 52.97
2. Bryn Greenwaldt (Augustana), 53.05
3. Luna Mertins (Lynn), 53.06
4. Oleksandra Melnyk (Findlay), 53.73
5. Isabella Revstedt (Indy), 54.29
6. Camilla Carbone (NMU), 54.38
7. Taylar Hooton (Colorado Mesa), 54.53
8. Abby Gronholz (MSU Mankato), 54.61

Unsurprisingly, Agata Naskret is the top qualifier heading into the ‘A’ final of the women’s 100 backstroke. The Colorado Mesa junior is not only the defending champion in the event, she broke the NCAA Division II record she set at midseason last night, swimming 51.53 leading off the Mavericks’ 400 medley relay.

The top three qualifiers have all swum NCAA Division II records this weekend. Earlier, Bryn Greenwaldt, who is pulling double duty at swimming and track & field NCAA Championships this weekend, became the first DII woman to break 22 seconds in the 50 freestyle (21.92). Lynn’s Luna Mertins opened night three with a division record in the 100 butterfly, swimming 51.78 and undercutting her record from conference championships.

Just a hundredth separates Greenwaldt and Mertins after prelims.

Last year’s runner-up Abby Gonholz made it back to the ‘A’ final by five-hundredths, swimming 54.61 to edge out Tampa’s Sidni Meister for lane eight.

Neither Nova Southeastern nor Drury put a swimmer into the ‘A’ final, though Maria Goncalves did made the ‘B’ final for NSU.

Men’s 100 Backstroke — Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 45.09 — Marius Kusch, Queens (NC) (2019)
• Meet Record: 45.09 — Marius Kusch, Queens (NC) (2019)

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Ivan Adamchuk (Drury), 45.93
2. Alvaro Zornoza Quiros (Drury), 46.10
3. Parker Knollman (Tampa), 46.65
4. Andrew Scoggin (Colorado Mesa), 46.68
5. Raf Hendriks (St Cloud), 46.88
6. Patryk Rozenek (McKendree), 46.93
7. Brandon Wilson (Florida Southern), 47.04
8. William Beckstead-Holman (Tampa), 47.20

Drury made a statement in the men’s 100 backstroke by posting the two fastest times of the morning with sophomores Ivan Adamchuk and Alvaro Zornoza Quiros. Both swam lifetime bests to qualify for the championship final. Adamchuk, who swam on Drury’s NCAA Division II record-setting 400 medley relay last night, became the seventh DII swimmer to break 46 seconds in the 100 backstroke. He swam 45.93, bettering the 46.19 he swam at the SMU Invitational.  Zornoza Quiros clocked 46.10, dropping .33 seconds from the lifetime best he swam at the GLVC Championships last month.

Tampa put two swimmers into the championship final as well, with Parker Knollman qualifying third and William Beckstead-Holman placing eighth. Knollman swam a season-best 46.65, which is about two-tenths off the lifetime best he swam to finish sixth last year.

Last year’s runner-up Patryk Rozenek is back to challenge for the title this year, swimming 46.93 and moving through to the final as the sixth-fastest seed.

Brandon Wilson, Andrew Scoggin, and Raf Hendricks were the top three finishers in last year’s ‘B’ final and have moved up to the ‘A’ final this season.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke — Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 59.51 — Theresa Michalak, West Florida (2017)
• Meet Record: 59.51 — Theresa Michalak, West Florida (2017)

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Jonette Laegried (Drury), 59.97
2. Claire Gass (Nova Southeastern), 1:01.02
3. Natalia Dwojak (Wingate), 1:01.11
4. Claire Conover (Drury), 1:01.16
5. Nesrine Jelliti (AU)/Katie Susi (Findlay), 1:01.61
6. —
7. Celina Schmidt (Indy), 1:01.67
8. Sydney McKenzie (Catawba), 1:02.04

Drury freshman Jonette Laegried, the 200 breaststroke Division II record holder, headlines the women’s 100 breaststroke final tonight. She swam 59.97 and was the only swimmer to break a minute in prelims. Last year, it took a 1:01.11 to win, which was swum by Indy’s Celina Schmidt, who qualified for the final with a 1:01.67.

Earlier this season, Laegreid rattled the Division II record in the 100 breaststroke, clocking 59.69 last month at her conference championships. That time put her .18 seconds off the record, which has stood since 2017. She’ll get another shot at the record tonight.

Claire Gass and Natalia Dwojak also swam at or under last year’s winning time. Gass swam 1:01.02 to qualify second for tonight’s final, 1.05 seconds behind Laegreid. Dwojak made the ‘A’ final last year, as did Claire Conover and Katie Susi.

Less than a second separates the second through eighth place qualifiers, with Sydney McKenzie taking eighth in 1:02.04.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke — Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 51.63 — Anton Lobanov, Nova Southeastern (2015)
• Meet Record: 51.63 — Anton Lobanov, Nova Southeastern (2015)

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Jeremias Pock (Indy)/Brayden Cole (Indy), 52.58
2. —
3. Davi Mourao (Drury), 52.72
4. Maxim Tsyfarov (Lynn), 52.79
5. Janek Barczyk (Florida Southern), 53.16
6. Maksymilian Minichowski (Catawba), 53.22
7. Inigo Marina (Nova Southeastern)/Miles Schulze (Ouachita), 53.29
8. —

It was a morning of ties in the 100 breaststroke. After there was a tie for fifth in the women’s 100 breaststroke ‘A’ final, then two ties in the men’s 100 breaststroke prelims. That includes a tie for first between teammates Jeremias Pock and Brayden Cole.

The Greyhounds—a freshman and a fifth-year—swam 52.58 to pace prelims. Both have been faster, with Cole swimming 51.97 and Pock swimming 52.08 at their conference championships. Yesterday, Pock won his first Division II title, winning the 400 IM.

Davi Mourao is less than two-tenths behind the Indy swimmers. Another part of Drury’s record-setting 400 medley relay, Mourao swam 52.72 to qualify for the final in third. He’s the defending champion in the event; last year, he won with a 51.88, which is the second-fastest time in Division II history.

Lynn sophomore Maxim Tsyfarov rounded out the qualifiers who broke 53 seconds this morning. He dropped .68 seconds off his lifetime best with the swim.

Inigo Marina and Miles Schulze tied for seventh with a 53.29.

Women’s 200 Butterfly — Prelims

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

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Aurora Duncan (Drury), 1:58.57
2. Mellie Wijk (Drury), 1:58.83
3. Andrea Gomez Espinosa (Indy), 1:59.12
4. May Lowy (Nova Southeastern), 1:59.31
5. Maria Fe Munoz (Drury), 1:59.69
6. Megan Corcoran (Carson-Newman), 1:59.91
7. Emily Mears-Bentley (Findlay), 2:00.10
8. Burlingtyn Bokos (Tampa), 2:00.23

It was the Drury women’s turn to impress after the Panther men dominated the men’s 100 backstroke. Last year’s silver medalist Mellie Wijk and bronze medalist Aurora Duncan claimed the top two spots for tonight’s final, where the Panthers will have three swimmers in the ‘A’ final.

The two battled it out in the final heat, with Duncan splitting 31.10 on the final 50 yards and getting her hands on the wall in 1:58.57. She touched less than three-tenths ahead of Wijk (1:58.83), this year’s 200 IM champion, who seemed to shut it down on the final 50 with a 32.33 closing split.

Maria Fe Munoz qualified fifth for the final as Drury’s third ‘A’ finalist. She finished fifth in the event last year and swam a season-best 1:59.69 to book another ‘A’ final appearance.

Andrea Gomez Espinosa is a two-time individual champion already at this meet. She won the 1000 freestyle and 400 IM during the first half of the meet and will look to add a third gold to her haul tonight. The Indy senior swam 1:59.12, adding 1.51 seconds from her seed and qualifying third.

All of the ‘A’ finalists have appeared in at least one ‘A’ final already at these championships except Carson-Newman freshman Megan Corcoran. She swam in the ‘B’ final of the 400 IM yesterday, but this will be the first championship final of collegiate career. She scratched the 100 backstroke to concentrate on this event and swam 1:59.91 to move through in sixth.

Men’s 200 Butterfly

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

‘A’ Final Qualifiers:

1. Jackson Lustig (McKendree), 1:42.80
2. Luke Dinges (Rollins), 1:44.60
3. Alejandro Villarejo (Drury), 1:44.96
4. Alexander Smyre (Wingate), 1:45.05
5. Evan McInerny (Rollins), 1:45.23
6. Vitaly Kostin (Lynn), 1:45.32
7. Volodymyr Gavrysh (McKendree), 1:45.40
8. Archie Minto (McKendree), 1:45.93

Two-time defending 200 butterfly champion Jackson Lustig has positioned himself well to claim his third-straight title in the event. Lustig won the 100 butterfly national title for the first time in his career last night. This morning, he began another 200 fly title defense by winning the final heat in 1:42.80.

It was a strong swim for him but didn’t reveal too much about what he has in store for tonight as the swim is 1.26 seconds off his seed time (1:41.54). Lustig holds a 1.80-second lead on the field as he led an excellent turnout for McKendree in the event. Three McKendree swimmers qualified for the final, with freshman Volodymr Gavrysh and senior Archie Minto claiming the outside lanes. This is Minto’s first final of the championships, while Gavrysh finished fourth in the 200 IM and second in the 200 freestyle.

Rollins junior Luke Dinges is the second-fastest qualifier, taking second to Lustig in heat three with a 1:44.60. The swim cuts a hundredth from his lifetime best as he and former Auburn swimmer and DI 200 fly finalist Evan McInerny made it two Rollins swimmers in the championship final.

Alejandro Villarejo, Drury’s butterflyer on last night’s winning relay, qualified third for the final, posting a 1:44.96. He finished third last year, while Dinges took fourth.