SCAD Freshman Joel Thatcher Sets NAIA Record in 500 Free

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)
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• Live Results: Available here
• Live Video: Available here
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Tonight, SCAD freshman out of Ohio Joel Thatcher set a new NAIA meet record in the 500 free with 4:20.35. That time would have been fast enough to win him an NCAA DIII championship last season or to take third at the 2016 NCAA DII Championships. Prior to a particularly quick 2016, Thatcher’s swim would have been fast enough to win a DII championship title in any previous season.

Thatcher’s swim tonight took down the previous record of 4:21.49 set by his senior teammate Joel Ax in 2016. Ax has dominated this event in NAIA national competition since his freshman year, winning event titles in 2014, 2015, and 2016. However, the team opted not to swim him in the event tonight.

This time was a personal best for Thatcher by over six seconds. His previous best was a 4:26.62 from last year’s Junior Nationals.

You can see Thatcher’s splits from tonight below:

• 23.66/25.70 (49.36)
• 26.08/26.50 (52.58)
• 26.35/26.53 (52.88)
• 26.21/26.75 (52.96)
• 26.54/26.03 (52.57) = 4:20.35

It’s worth noting that the NAIA tracks meet records, but not national records, so tonight’s NAIA record is actually a “meet record.” However, as far as we could find, it is the fastest time in history by an NAIA swimmer during college competition.

“The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics.

In 2000, the NAIA reaffirmed its purpose to enhance the character building aspects of sport. Through Champions of Character, the NAIA seeks to create an environment in which every student-athlete, coach, official and spectator is committed to the true spirit of competition through five core values.”