The NCAA released the 2016 Division III Swimming and Diving Qualifying Standards Thursday, and once again saw a huge change in the overall times needed to reach the championship meet.
A grand total of 47 changes were made to the time standards, with the biggest ones coming in the stroke 200s.
Biggest individual changes on the men’s side
- 500 Free B CUT
- 200 Back A/B CUT
- 100 Breast A CUT
- 200 Breast A/B Cut
- 200 IM A CUT
The men’s 200 backstroke was arguably one of the most aggressive time drops made for the 2016 NCAA DIII Championships. Going from a 1:45.38 ‘A’ cut to a 1:44.47 ‘A’ cut is a very decent time drop. At last year’s NCAA DIII Championships, no swimmer would have even made the new ‘A’ cut time in the prelims of the 200 backstroke. In the final, only two swimmers would have been under that mark.
The 100 breast cut looks big too. It cut exactly a full second off the ‘A’ cut going from a 54.46 to a 53.46. Only one swimmer would have made the ‘A’ cut at last year’s DIII Championship meet, and that was Andrew Wilson who broke the DIII record in that event.
In the 200 breaststroke, the time dropped significantly as well from a 1:58.55 to a 1:56.59. With a two-second drop like that, the amount of swimmers who will meet the ‘A’ cut should significantly decline this season. Again, the only swimmer at last year’s championships who would have made this year’s ‘A’ cut is Andrew Wilson.
Biggest individual changes on the women’s side
- 500 Free B CUT
- 1650 Free A CUT
- 200 Breast B CUT
- 200 Fly B CUT
- 200 IM B Cut
On the women’s side the freestyle changes aren’t huge, but nonetheless should have a steady impact on the amount of swimmers able to make the cuts. Usually, the DIII Championships don’t invite every swimmer with a ‘B’ cut, and likely that won’t change in any of the freestyle events. The 500 is a one-second drop, which should tighten up the pack but not alter anything by any large proportion. The same goes for the 1650.
The 200 breast ‘B’ cut is a second and a half faster, although the ‘A’ cut stayed pretty much the same. Since all swimmers who gain an NCAA Invite are usually faster than the ‘B’ time by at least a little bit, this shouldn’t really effect the outcome at the championship meet. Same goes for the 200 fly ‘B’ cut where more than a second was cut off the standard.
Overall, the women’s ‘A’ cuts stayed very similar, but the biggest changes came to the ‘B’ cut standards as a whole. On the men’s side there was a much larger change in the ‘A’ cuts than ‘B’ cuts.
Both the 2015 and 2016 standards can be found below:
2015 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Qualifying Standards
| Men | Women | |||
| A CUT | B CUT | EVENT | A CUT | B CUT |
| 19.80 | 20.84 | 50 Free | 22.89 | 23.89 |
| 43.66 | 45.70 | 100 Free | 49.86 | 52.14 |
| 1:37.23 | 1:41.04 | 200 Free | 1:47.86 | 1:53.25 |
| 4:23.23 | 4:36.96 | 500 Free | 4:45.33 | 5:02.50 |
| 15:06.98 | 16:16.65 | 1650 Free | 16:34.40 | 17:33.72 |
| 48.00 | 51.34 | 100 Back | 54.36 | 57.59 |
| 1:45.38 | 1:53.27 | 200 Back | 1:58.18 | 2:05.47 |
| 54.46 | 57.81 | 100 Breast | 1:01.80 | 1:05.49 |
| 1:58.55 | 2:06.63 | 200 Breast | 2:14.88 | 2:24.39 |
| 47.75 | 49.98 | 100 Fly | 52.92 | 57.31 |
| 1:45.81 | 1:53.87 | 200 Fly | 1:56.90 | 2:08.59 |
| 1:47.41 | 1:53.24 | 200 IM | 2:00.51 | 2:07.80 |
| 3:50.57 | 4:07.40 | 400 IM | 4:13.77 | 4:36.69 |
| 1:23.30 | 200 F.R. | 1:36.10 | ||
| 3:04.98 | 400 F.R. | 3:31.35 | ||
| 6:50.23 | 800 F.R. | 7:41.88 | ||
| 1:32.91 | 200 M.R. | 1:46.60 | ||
| 3:24.29 | 400 M.R. | 3:52.65 |
2016 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Qualifying Standards
*red color indicates a change
| Men | Women | |||
| A CUT | B CUT | EVENT | A CUT | B CUT |
| :19.80 | :20.77 | 50 Free | :22.84 | :23.88 |
| :43.66 | :45.62 | 100 Free | :49.65 | :52.14 |
| 1:37.18 | 1:40.68 | 200 Free | 1:47.64 | 1:52.99 |
| 4:22.97 | 4:35.44 | 500 Free | 4:45.33 | 5:01.13 |
| 15:05.49 | 16:16.65 | 1650 Free | 16:28.07 | 17:33.72 |
| :48.00 | :50.88 | 100 Back | :54.12 | :57.44 |
| 1:44.47 | 1:51.73 | 200 Back | 1:57.64 | 2:04.63 |
| :53.46 | :57.54 | 100 Breast | 1:01.79 | 1:05.49 |
| 1:56.59 | 2:05.58 | 200 Breast | 2:14.58 | 2:23.03 |
| :47.43 | :49.70 | 100 Fly | :52.92 | :57.07 |
| 1:45.64 | 1:53.87 | 200 Fly | 1:56.90 | 2:07.58 |
| 1:46.96 | 1:52.53 | 200 IM | 2:00.51 | 2:07.39 |
| 3:48.81 | 4:07.40 | 400 IM | 4:13.77 | 4:36.69 |
| 1:23.16 | 200 F.R. | 1:35.85 | ||
| 3:04.39 | 400 F.R. | 3:30.72 | ||
| 6:48.52 | 800 F.R. | 7:40.56 | ||
| 1:32.29 | 200 M.R. | 1:45.96 | ||
| 3:23.13 | 400 M.R. | 3:51.95 |
Amount changed in seconds per individual event
| Men | Women | |||
| A CUT | B CUT | Event | A CUT | B CUT |
| x | -0.07 | 50 Free | -0.05 | -0.01 |
| x | -0.08 | 100 Free | -0.21 | x |
| -0.05 | -0.36 | 200 Free | -0.22 | -0.26 |
| -0.26 | -1.52 | 500 Free | x | -1.37 |
| -1.49 | x | 1650 Free | -6.37 | x |
| x | -0.46 | 100 Back | -0.24 | -0.15 |
| -0.91 | -1.54 | 200 Back | -0.54 | -0.84 |
| -1 | -0.27 | 100 Breast | -0.01 | x |
| -1.96 | -1.05 | 200 Breast | -0.3 | -1.36 |
| -0.32 | -0.28 | 100 Fly | x | -0.24 |
| -0.17 | x | 200 Fly | x | -1.01 |
| -0.45 | -0.71 | 200 IM | x | -0.41 |
| -1.76 | x | 400 IM | x | x |
I’m not the surprised by changes like the men’s 100 Breast. The cuts were (at least as of last year) the average of the past 3 years’ winning times. So when the winner goes dramatically faster, down go the A cuts. Realistically, the B cut doesn’t get anybody much more than some academic all american honorable mention or an individual swim if they’re at the meet on a relay. These cuts shouldn’t change much–it’s still about competing among other swimmers’ times for an invite.