2017 NAIA National Championships – Men’s Meet
- Dates: Wednesday, March 2 – Saturday, March 5, 2017; prelims 9 am, finals 5 pm
- Location: Columbus Aquatic Center, Columbus, Georgia (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champions: Olivet Nazarene (results)
- Psych Sheet
- Men’s Fan Guide
- Live Results: Available here
- Live Video: Available here
- Championship Central
200 Medley Relay – Finals
- Meet Record: * 1:26.83 3/6/2014 Oklahoma Baptist University (D Ramirez, G Penny, G Sullivan, L Lassley)
- SCAD: 1:29.51 (Brogan Bunner, Anton Arvidsson, Ryan Sweat, Joel Ax)
- Keiser: 1:30.19 (Nick Oh, Lukas Macek, Danny Hartley, Andrei Stukov)
- Olivet Nazarene: 1:30.28 (Magnus Poulsen, Guilherme Magnoler, Magnus Andersen, Vladislav Khoroletc)
Boosted by quick breast and free legs from Anton Arvidsson (24.54) and Joel Ax (19.34), the SCAD men took a .6-second win over Keiser with 1:29.51 in the 200 medley relay. Also competing for the Bees were Brogan Brunner (back: 23.12) and Ryan Sweat (fly: 22.51).
The Keiser men put up a strong performance for second, with Nick Oh (23.87), Lukas Macek (24.74), Danny Hartley (21.70), and Andrei Stukov (19.88) combining for 1:30.19.
Defending champions Olivet Nazarene fell to third, as Magnus Poulsen (22.92), Guilherme Magnoler (25.14), Magnus Andersen (21.93), and Vladislav Khoroletc (20.29) missed Keiser by .09 with 1:30.28. Poulsen was the only backstroker under 23 in the field.
The other big split of the race came from fourth-palce Wayland Baptist’s Josiah Morales, who went 21.60 in his flying-start 50 fly.
400 Individual Medley – Finals
- Meet Record: * 3:53.86 2010 Kevin Sellars, Cal Baptist
- Daniil Kuzmin, Olivet Nazarene: 3:55.88
- Nico Tscherner, Lindenwood-Belleville: 3:58.04
- Keith Jessee, Asbury: 4:02.52
ONU sophomore Daniil Kuzmin defended his title in the 400 IM with over two seconds on the field, taking the win in 3:55.88.
Second place went to LIndenwood-Belleville freshman Nico Tscherner in 3:58.04, followed by Asbury sophomore Keith Jesse in 4:02.52. Jesse improved his time from this morning by only a hundredth, but he improved his finish from last year by one place.
Fourth was Olivet Nazarene junior Charles Bennett in 4:03.76, followed by Union’s Ivar de Jong in 4:03.86. Both were ‘A’ finalists in 2016.
100 Butterfly – Finals
- Meet Record: * 46.12 3/6/2015 Daniel Ramirez, OBU
- Magnus Poulsen, Olivet Nazarene: 47.63
- Josiah Morales, Wayland Baptist: 48.72
- Danny Hartley, Keiser: 48.99
Olivet Nazarene freshman Magnus Poulsen led the way from the very beginning in the 100 fly, coming away with a national championship title by nearly a second. He split 22.01/25.62 for a 47.63 victory.
Wayland Baptist senior Josiah Morales was over a second back in second place with 48.72 (22.76/25.96), and Keiser junior Danny Hartley was third in 48.99.
Olivet Nazarene was able to make some big points on this event, as its other freshman Magnus, Magnus Andersen, finished fourth in 49.26. Fifth went to St. Andrews senior Georgi Krastev in 49.75.
200 Freestyle – Finals
- Meet Record: * 1:34.90 3/4/2016 Joel Ax, SCAD
- Joel Ax, SCAD: 1:34.89
- Joel Thatcher, SCAD: 1:36.12
- Joshua Bouma, Olivet Nazarene: 1:39.74
In one of the most anticipated races of the night, the 200 free was a clash of the two SCAD Joels. Leading up to the race, last night, freshman Joel Thatcher took down senior Joel Ax‘s 500 freestyle NAIA record to win his first individual NAIA national title.
Tonight, the veteran Ax led the way from the beginning, with freshman and top qualifier Thatcher tight on his heels to the last 50. In the end, Ax split 22.46/24.60/24.34/23.49 to total 1:34.89 to take down his own national record set last year by a hundredth with 1:34.06. Thatcher came up with second-place points for the Bees with 1:36.12.
Third went to Olivet Nazarene junior Joshua Bouma in 1:39.74, followed by Keiser junior Wyatt Engler in 1:39.96.
100 Breaststroke – Finals
- Meet Record: * 53.06 2009 Bryan Haile, Cal Baptist
- Lukas Macek, Keiser: 54.66
- Anton Arvidsson, SCAD: 55.01
- Jacob Smith, Cumberlands: 55.52
One of the themes of this meet, especially on the men’s side, is shaping up to be top-flight performances from freshman. The 100 breast was no exception as Keiser freshman Lukas Macek took the title by a third of a second. He split 25.74/28.92 to win the event in 54.66.
SCAD’s Anton Arvidsson made a jump from last year’s fourth place performance, finishing second with 55.01. Third was Jacob Smith of the Cumberlands with 55.52.
Each finalist in this event was from a different team, with Mitch Graham of Thomas (55.65), Bjoern Globke of Wayland Baptist (55.84), Maxime Eekhof of Lindenwood-Belleville (55.91), Jonas Mueller of Lindsey Wilson (55.94), and Paulo Ignacio Jr. of WVU Tech (56.37) rounding out the field.
100 Backstroke – Finals
- Meet Record: * 46.28 3/7/2014 Daniel Z Ramirez, Oklahoma Baptist
- Magnus Poulsen, Olivet Nazarene: 49.22
- Danny Hartley, Keiser: 49.42
- Georgi Krastev, St. Andrews: 49.50
Olivet Nazarene freshman Magnus Poulsen nabbed his second national championship title of the night in the 100 back, fighting off a crowded field with 23.44. Poulsen led from the beginning, hitting the halfway point in 23.44, and then had came back just fast enough to outdo Keiser junior Danny Hartley, who finished second in 49.42.
Third went to St. Andrews senior Georgi Krastev in 49.50, followed closely by SCAD’s Brogan Bunner in 49.66.
Team Scores through Night 3:
- Olivet Nazarene University 396.5
- SCAD 303.5
- Keiser University 275
- Lindenwood U- Belleville 210
- University of the Cumberlands 187
- Wayland Baptist University 182
- Thomas University 180
- Lindsey Wilson College 154
- St Andrews University 129
- Asbury University 114
- West Virginia University-Tech 108
- College of Idaho 67
- Biola University 44
- Loyola New Orleans 38 / Union College 38
- Milligan College 17
- St Gregorys University 14
- Soka University 14
- Morningside College 7
- Tabor College Bluejays 2
