2018 NAIA Men’s National Championships – Keiser Charges Ahead on Day 3

2018 NAIA National Championships – Men’s Meet

• Dates: Wednesday, February 28 – Saturday, March 3; prelims 9 am, finals 5 pm
• Location: Columbus Aquatic Center, Columbus, Georgia (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champions: Olivet Nazarene University (results)
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results: Available here
• Live Video: Available here
• Championship Central

Keiser continued to dominate on Day 3 of the 2018 NAIA Men’s National Championships, extending its lead over second-place Olivet Nazarene from 3.5 points to 99 points. SCAD trailed ONU by 35 points in third place. Cumberlands moved from 9th to 5th, even without the diving points they received tonight.

Men’s 200 Yard Medley Relay – Final

• Meet Record: 1:26.83, 2014, Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma Baptist (D Ramirez, G Penny, G Sullivan, L Lassley)

1. Keiser 1:27.65
2. SCAD 1:30.69
3. Olivet Nazarene 1:30.93

Keiser won its third consecutive relay title of the meet, opening Friday night’s finals session with a 1:27.65 victory in the medley relay. Sophomores Marcel Nagy (22.31) and Lukas Macek (24.70) put the Seahawks 1.2 seconds ahead of second-place SCAD at the halfway mark. Freshman N’Nhyn Fernander (21.30) and junior Andrei Stukov (19.34) brought them home for a 3-second margin over SCAD (1:30.69) who maintained their second-place spot, from way out in lane 7 throughout the race. Junior Brogan Bunner (23.32) and senior Anton Arvidsson (24.90) put the Bees up by a full second over ONU at the 100, which was enough to hold off the Tigers over the second half of the race. SCAD freshmen Gergo Zachar (21.94 fly) and Zoltan Monori (20.53 free) did their part to keep the Bees in second. ONU’s Daniil Kuzmin (24.26), Guilherme Magnoler (24.99), Iran Cavalcante-Almeida (21.40), and Charles Bennett (20.28) charged but couldn’t catch SCAD and had to settle for third with 1:30.93.

Thomas (1:32.94), Cumberlands (1:32.96), Lindenwood-Belleville (1:33.30), WVU-Tech (1:33.32), and Union College (1:33.50) came to the wall in near synchronicity to claim 4th through 8th.

Men’s 400 Yard Individual Medley – Final

• Meet Record: 3:53.86, 2010, Kevin Sellars, Cal Baptist

1. Daniil Kuzmin, Olivet Nazarene 3:56.52
2. Gergely Harsanyi, SCAD 3:57.21
3. Zoltan Monori, SCAD 3:58.61

The Dynamic Duo of SCAD freshmen Monori and Gergely Harsanyi challenged double-defending champion Kuzmin of ONU over the first half of the 400 IM, but experience won out in the end and Kuzmin won his third consecutive national title with 3:56.52. Monori got out to a quick start with a 52.77 fly, but Kuzmin took over on back and led by .8 seconds at the back-to breast turn. It was his middle 100 that won it for him, as Kuzmin extended his lead to 1.4 at the 300 wall. While both Harsanyi and Monori outsplit him coming home, Kuzmin held on for the win, touching 7/10 ahead of second-place Harsanyi (3:37.21) and 2.1 seconds in front of Monori (3:58.61).

ONU senior Charles Bennett dropped another 3.8 seconds from his prelims swim to place fourth with 4:00.81. Lindenwood sophomore Niels Engeln came in fifth (4:03.05); he was followed by Keiser freshman Csaba Vekony (4:05.49), Cumberlands sophomore Joel Westerlind (4:07.55), and College of Idaho’s Thomas Sheridan (4:08.28).

Men’s 100 Yard Butterfly – Final

• Meet Record: 46.12, 2015, Daniel Ramirez, OBU

1. Iran Cavalcante-Almeida, Olivet Nazarene 48.02
2. Marcel Nagy, Keiser 48.30
3. Viktor Lyson, Cumberlands 48.32

The 100 fly was one of those races where everyone seems to come to the wall at the same time and everyone looks at the board to figure out what just happened. In this case, what happened was that ONU freshman Cavalcante-Almeida (48.02) got his hands on the wall just ahead of top-seeded Nagy of Keiser (48.30), freshman Viktor Lyson of Cumberlands (48.32), and freshman Fernander of Keiser (48.35).

SCAD junior Bunner led the next wave of finishers with 49.13. Sixth was Martin du Teilleul of Lindenwood (49.92), followed by Union freshman Wiktor Perkowski (50.16) and SCAD junior Ryan Sweat (50.87).

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle – Final

• Meet Record: 1:34.89, 2017, Joel Ax, SCAD

1. Wyatt Engler, Keiser 1:39.83
2. Joshua Bouma, Olivet Nazarene 1:40.00
3. Alex Haymond, Thomas 1:40.36

Keiser senior Wyatt Engler came from behind to snatch victory from ONU senior Joshua Bouma (1:40.00) and Alex Haymond of Thomas (1:40.36). Engler led at the 50 and the 100 walls, but had faded to third at the 150. The Keiser senior cranked it up a notch, though, to come home in 25.3, the fastest fourth 50 in the field. He stopped the clock at 1:39.83 to earn the gold medal. Bouma and Haymond followed.

College of Idaho’s Andrew Clifford led the next wave of finishers with 1:41.46. ONU’s Seth Cripe (1:41.65), Lindenwood-Belleville senior Tim Schmalzreich (1:42.03), Keiser freshman Noah Oh (1:42.07), and his teammate, sophomore Justin Lewis (1:43.35) made up the rest of the final.

Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Final

• Meet Record: 53.06, 2009, Bryan Haile, Cal Baptist

1. Lukas Macek, Keiser 53.98
2. Mitch Graham, Thomas 54.87
3. Guilherme Magnoler, Olivet Nazarene 55.05

The men’s 100 breast final featured excellent racing from the entire field, with everyone improving their morning time in the evening session. The field was close enough that it could easily have gone in any direction, but at the end it was Keiser sophomore Macek who pulled ahead and stopped the clock at 53.98. Thomas’s Mitch Graham, who came into the meet with a seed time of 57.75, notched a 54.87 in finals to finish second ahead of ONU’s Magnoler (55.05).

The next five finishers were only separated by 7/10: Joel Hansson of Keiser (55.68), WVU-Tech’s Paulo Dias Ignacio (55.74), SCAD senior Arvidsson (55.76), Keiser freshman Deion Alfajora (55.98), and Union freshman Henrique Saraceni (56.39).

Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Final

• Meet Record: 46.28, 2014, Daniel Z Ramirez, Oklahoma Baptist

1. Marcel Nagy, SO Keiser 48.47 / Gergo Zachar, FR SCAD 48.47
2. —
3. Brogan Bunner, JR SCAD 49.85

The last swimming event of the night was full of excitement. Top-seeded Nagy of Keiser and SCAD freshman Zachar traded leads throughout the race and came to the wall at exactly the same time, 48.47, tying for first place. SCAD junior Bunner put together a stunning race out in lane 1, where he touched third in 49.85, nearly a full second ahead of fourth-place Trey James of Loyola (40.82) and Clay Bisher of Asbury (50.83).

Keiser’s Nick Oh (51.30), Cumberlands freshman Daric Sundeen (51.34), and Lindenwood-Belleville freshman Carolus Josefina (51.59) rounded out the A final.

Men’s 3 Meter Diving – Final

• Meet Record: 553.85, 2004, Grant Brehaut, Simon Fraser

1. David Groh, Cumberlands 195.50

David Groh of Cumberlands, the only diver in the men’s meet, added an instant 20 points to the Patriots’ team total, finishing first on the men’s 3-meter board with 195.50 points.

Men’s Scores After Day Three

1. Keiser University 447.5
2. Olivet Nazarene University 348.5
3. SCAD Savannah 313.5
4. Lindenwood Belleville 220
5. Thomas University 209.5
6. University of the Cumberlands 179
7. WVU-Tech 152.5
8. College of Idaho 137.5
9. Loyola New Orleans 127
10. Union College 102
11. Lindsey Wilson College 91
12. Asbury University 51
13. St Ambrose 50
14. Morningside College Swimming 36
15. Campbellsville University 10
16. Milligan College 8 / 16. Midland University 8
17. —
18. Life University 5
19. Bethel University 4

“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.”