Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships
- March 8-11, 2017
- Birmingham CrossPlex, Birmingham, Alabama
- Prelims 10:30 AM, Finals 6 PM – U.S. Central Time Zone (GMT -6 currently)
- Event schedule
- Real-time results – diving
- Real-time results – swimming
- Video link (expected to be available when meet starts)
- Championship Central
Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle
- Division II: 4:17.09 3/11/2016 Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC)
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Joan Casanovas, Drury 4:21.80
- Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC) 4:22.25
- Victor Polyakov, West Chester 4:23.82
- Nicholas Arakelian, Queens (NC) 4:23.98
- Franco Lupoli, Nova S’eastern 4:24.09
- Adrian VanderHelm, Simon Fraser 4:24.35
- Erik Hren Bridgeport, 4:24.43
- Mackenzie Hamill, Simon Fraser 4:25.11
In the heat that preceded the circle seeds, West Chester senior Victor Polyakov buried the field with a 4:23.82, taking 6.6 seconds off his seed time. Polyakov was runner-up in this event last year. The following heat was bunched tightly through the 300, with the middle four lanes matching stroke for stroke. Over the final 150 they began to separate, and at the sprint down the stretch it was Queens junior Nick Arakelian (4:23.98), Nova S’eastern junior Franco Lupoli (4:24.09), and Adrian VanderHelm of Simon Fraser (4:24.35).
Drury freshman Joan Casanovas, who has already scored twice as runner-up in the 1000 free on Wednesday and in the 200 free on Thursday, pulled free of the crowd and finished with a 4:21.80 to take over the lead. Bridgeport freshman Erik Hren followed in 4:24.43. Guilherme Zavaneli, a sophomore at Indianapolis, went 4:28.56 for third in the heat.
Defending champion and NCAA record-holder Dion Dreesens of Queens cruised to a win in the final heat, posting a 4:22.25 over Drury freshman Konrad Stepien (4:25.88) and Indy sophomore Vitor Botana (4:28.62).
Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke
- Division II: 27 3/10/2016 Marco Palacios, Florida Southern
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Paul Pijulet, Queens (NC) 46.98
- Serghei Golban, Lindenwood 47.41
- Zach Bunner, Queens (NC) 47.50
- Lajos Budai, NMU 47.65
- Rodrigo Codo Berti, Indy 47.81
- Marco Palacios, Florida Southern 47.91
- Dmytro Drobnych, Wayne State 47.94
- TIE Jake Minasi, Limestone 48.23 / Diego Gimenez, Florida Southern 48.23
After winning the 100 fly and placing third in the 50 free, Queens junior Paul Pijulet continued to impress with a field-leading 46.98 in prelims, winning the first circle-seeded heat by a body length over Wayne State sophomore Dmytro Drobnych (47.94) and Saint Leo junior Milosz Mikicin (48.27).
Defending champion, Lindeonwood junior Serghei Golban, won the next heat in 47.41, which Northern Michigan freshman Lajos Budai (47.56) and Indy sophomore Rodrigo Codo Berti (47.81) just behind.
Queens junior Zach Bunner claimed the final heat with 47.50; 2016 runner-up Marco Palacios of Florida Southern was next in 47.91.
Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke
- NCAA DII: 51.63 3/13/2015 Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Rostyslav Fedyna, Queens (NC) 53.19
- Maksim Shcherbakov, Fresno Pacific 53.21
- Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern 53.47
- Matteo Fraschi, Delta State 53.54
- Tobias Feigl, Limestone 53.56
- Andrea Bazzoli, Drury 53.58
- Sasha Palazzo, Wayne State 53.72
- Alexander Peach, Delta State 53.89
Delta State senior Matteo Fraschi kicked off the circle-seeded heats with a 53.54 win to set the bar for making the championship final. Wayne State freshman Sasha Palazzo, who dropped 4/10 in his swim, finished second in the heat with 53.72.
Queens senior Rostyslav Fedyna, who placed fifth in this event last year, took the next heat in 53.19, moving to the top of the leaderboard. Drury sophomore Andrea Bazzoli improved his seed time by .24 and finished second with 53.58.
Fresno Pacific junior Maksim Shcherbakov had a big swim out of lane 2 to win the final heat, dropping 9/10 and stopping the clock at 53.21. He was followed by double defending champion and NCAA record-holder, Nova S’eastern junior Anton Lobanov (53.47) and Limestone senior Tobias Feigl (53.56).
Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly
- NCAA DII: 1:42.96 3/13/2015 Matthew Josa, Queens (NC)
Top 8 qualifiers:
- Marius Kusch, Queens (NC) 1:44.28
- Gabriel Hernandez, UCSD 1:46.13
- Aleksei Averchenko, Fresno Pacific 1:46.24
- Zach Bunner, Queens (NC) 1:46.41
- Thiago Sickert, Nova S’eastern 1:46.57
- Kevin Wylder, UCSD 1:46.71
- Antonio Nunez-Alvarez, Florida Southern 1:47.12
- Cristian Vasquez, Lindenwood 1:47.17
UC San Diego senior Gabriel Hernandez eked out a win in the first circle-seeded heat of men’s 200 fly, going 1:46.13 to Fresno Pacific freshman Aleksei Averchenko’s 1:46.24. West Chester senior Eric Long was third in 1:48.41.
Queens sophomore Marius Kusch dropped 7/10 to take the next heat and move up to the top qualifying position with 1:44.28. Coming to the wall together were Nova S’eastern senior Thiago Sickert (1:46.57) and UC San Diego junior Kevin Wylder (1:46.71). Both Sickert and Wylder dropped about 8/10 and made it into the championship final.
Queens junior Zach Bunner won the last heat in 1:46.41, making his second A final of the day. Drury senior Jun Han Kim touched second in the heat with 1:47.23, just ahead of Simon Fraser junior Gabriel Lee (1:47.39).
Men’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay
- Division II: 6:23.62 3/11/2016 Queens (NC)
All but the fastest heat of men’s 800 free relays were swum in prelims, with the three fastest times going to Simon Fraser (6:30.81), Indianapolis (6:33.85), and Bridgeport (6:36.52).
Men’s 1-meter Diving
- Division II: 70 3/10/1994 Dario DiFazio, Oakland Univ