2019 NCAA Division II Men’s Championships – Day 3 Prelims Recap

2019 NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, March 13 – Saturday, March 16, 2019
• Swimming: prelims 10am, finals 6pm; Diving: 2pm
• Location: IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, Indiana (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champions: Queens (4x); (results)
• Digital Program
• Official Psych Sheet
• Event Schedule
• Live Video
• Live Results │ Diving Results
• Championship Central

Day Three

Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 4:17.09 3/11/2016 Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC)
• Meet: 4:17.09 3/11/2016 Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Adrian VanderHelm, Simon Fraser – 4:24.51
2. Luke Erwee, Queens (NC) – 4:24.65
3. Ivan Kurakin, UCSD – 4:25.16
4. Adam Rosipal, Indy – 4:25.26
5. Alex Sobers, Emmanuel – 4:25.37
6. Mackenzie Hamill, Simon Fraser – 4:25.42
7. Mohamed Hegazy, Queens (NC) – 4:25.85
8. Nathan Sawicki, Delta State – 4:26.20
9. Throstur Bjarnason, McKendree – 4:26.26
10. Matthew George, Carson-Newman – 4:26.26
11. Vinny Lijoi, Nova S’eastern – 4:26.68
12. Tim Samuelsen, Missouri S&T – 4:26.80
13. Erik Hren, Bridgeport – 4:27.67
14. Andrew Woinoski, Simon Fraser – 4:27.95
15. Skyler Cook-Weeks, Queens (NC) – 4:28.02
16. Cody Liske, Indy – 4:28.12

Wayne State junior Leonardo de Oliveira put up a 4:29.49 to win the first heat, improving his seed time by 2.79 seconds. Queens freshman Skyler Cook-Weeks took the next heat out quickly and led for the first 250 yards. That’s when Missouri S&T junior Tim Samuelsen took over. For the next 250 yards, Samuelsen (who was 7th last year) continued to put distance behind himself, until he touched at 4:26.80 for a 3.63-second drop from his entry time. Cook-Weeks finished with 4:28.02 (-1.47). Indy sophomore Cody Liske (4:28.12, -1.26) was third.

UCSD freshman Ivan Kurakin jumped out to the early lead in heat 3. Swimming in lane 6, he had about a body length advantage over the field at the 250. Simon Fraser senior Adrian VanderHelm and Queens freshman Luke Erwee, meanwhile, traded stroke for stroke for the first 100 yards. Erwee moved ahead and was in 2nd at the halfway point, followed by Andrew Woinoski of Simon Fraser, out in lane 8. At the 350 wall, VanderHelm had moved to third and began to catch Erwee. At the 400, both Erwee and VanderHelm had narrowed the gap with Kurakin. At the bell, VanderHelm picked up the pace and came home first, stopping the clock at 4:24.51. Erwee was second with 4:24.65 (-.84). Kurakin, third (4:25.16, -1.95). Queens freshman Mohamed Hegazy took 1.48 off his seed time to finish 4th in the heat with 4:25.85.

In heat 4, Indy sophomore Adam Rosipal, Simon Fraser senior Mackenzie Hamill, and Delta State senior Nathan Sawicki were virtually together the entire race. Although the lead changed a few times, they finished in that order with 4:25.26, 4:25.42, and 4:26.20. Sawicki improved his entry time by 1.11 seconds.

Emmanuel junior Alex Sobers dominated the final heat and wound up winning in 4:25.37. Nova Southeastern junior Vinny Lijoi made an effort to catch him at the end but was just out-touched by Throstur Bjarnason of McKendree for second place, 4:26.26 to 4:26.68.

Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 45.88 3/16/2018 Paul Pijulet, Queens (NC)
• Meet: 45.88 3/16/2018 Paul Pijulet, Queens (NC)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Marius Kusch, Queens (NC) – 46.70
2. Iskender Baslakov, Fresno Pacific – 47.02
3. Renars Bundzis, NMU – 47.15
4. Dima Drobnych, Wayne State – 47.25
5. Rodrigo Codo Berti, Indy – 47.29
6. Harry Shalamon, Grand Valley – 47.36
7. Robinson Molina, Oklahoma Baptist – 47.45
8. Seth Hughes, Carson-Newman – 47.47
9. Giulio Brugnoni, Delta State – 47.48
10. Lajos Budai, NMU 47.83 –
11. Nathan Bighetti, Henderson St. – 47.57
12. Brandon Dyck, Florida Southern – 47.88
13. Emanuel Fava, Delta State – 48.03
14. Franz Mueller, Wayne State – 48.05
15. Alen Mosic, Queens (NC) – 48.06
16. Thiago Rosa, Emmanuel – 48.25

Simon Fraser sophomore Jayden Cole opened the 100 backs with a heat 1 win in 48.94; he improved his seed time by .29. Queens senior Marius Kusch swam a 46.70 to win the following heat with the top time of the morning. Second in the heat was Northern Michigan senior Renars Bundzis whose 47.15 was a .21 improvement from his entry time.

Wayne State senior Dima Drobnych went 47.25 to win a very close heat 3. He was followed by Grand Valley junior Harry Shalamon (47.36), Oklahoma Baptist sophomore Robinson Molina (47.45, -.21), and Carson Newman Seth Hughes (47.47, -.53). All four made the championship final. Shalamon was 3rd last year, while Drobnych placed 4th.

Fresno Pacific sophomore Iskender Baslakov (6th in 2018) won the final heat in 47.02, taking .13 off his seed time. Delta State sophomore Giulio Brugnoni (runner-up a year ago) took second with 47.48. Florida Southern sophomore Brandon Dyck (8th last year) went 47.88 to just out-touch Delta State freshman Emanuel Fava (48.03) for 3rd in the heat.

Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 51.63 3/13/2015 Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern
• Meet: 51.63 3/13/2015 Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Joao Santos, Emmanuel – 52.93
2. Sasha Palazzo, Wayne State – 53.17
3. Justin Winnett, Lindenwood – 53.45
4. Jan Zuchowicz, Indy – 53.73
5. Pasha Semochkin, Drury – 53.81
6. Edgar Chin, UCSD – 53.94
7. Giacomo Viazzo, Wingate – 54.07
8. Marco Flores, Missouri S&T – 54.31
9. Jan Delkeskamp, Queens (NC) – 54.44
10. Mahmoud Elgayar, Colorado Mesa – 54.57
11. Joshua Umrysh, Missouri S&T – 54.69
12. Maxime Eekhof, Lindenwood – 54.72
13. Cory Klemm, Nova S’eastern – 54.79
14. Marius Mikalauskas, Grand Valley – 54.82
15. Dain Rust, Florida Tech – 54.82
16. William Wihanto, UCSD – 54.84

Lindenwood junior Isaak Webb kicked off the breaststroke heats with a 55.27 win that improved his seed time by .28. Drury junior Pasha Semochkin followed with 53.81 to win heat 2 with a .45-second improvement from his entry time. Semochkin was locked in a stroke-for-stroke contest with UCSD junior Edgar Chin. The pair turned together at the 50 wall but Semochkin’s second half was 1/10 faster. Chin was second with 53.94, an improvement of .48. next to the wall was Wingate junior Giacomo Viazzo (54.07) and Lindenwood junior Maxime Eekhof (54.72).

Lindenwood senior Justin Winnett (3rd in 2018) took the next heat in 53.45, holding off Indy sophomore Jan Zuchowicz (53.73) and Queens freshman Jan Delkeskamp (54.44).

Emmanuel sophomore Joao Santos dropped 1.25 seconds from his entry time to win the final heat with the fastest time of the session, 52.93. Wayne State junior Sasha Palazzo was just a tick behind with 53.17, and although he came home with the faster back half, he couldn’t make up for the 6/10 lead Santos had built at the 50. Palazzo was 5th in this event last year. Missouri S&T freshman Marco Flores had the third time of the heat, 54.31, after St. Leo junior Henrik Dahrendorff was DQd.

Men’s 200 Yard Butterfly – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 1:42.04 3/10/2017 Marius Kusch, Queens (NC)
• Meet: 1:42.04 3/10/2017 Marius Kusch, Queens (NC)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Alex Kunert, Queens (NC) – 1:42.47
2. Pedro Terres Illescas, Colorado Mesa – 1:45.42
3. Matthew Sims, Bellarmine – 1:46.03
4. Federico Bracco, Delta State – 1:46.07
5. Leo Laporte, Southern Conn – 1:46.24
6. Magnus Poulsen, Nova S’eastern – 1:46.78
7. Aaron Taske, Missouri S&T – 1:46.80
8. Brian Valedon, TAMPA – 1:46.86
9. Cristian Vasquez, Lindenwood – 1:47.02
10. Gabriel Lee, Simon Fraser – 1:47.67
11. Kian Quigley, Lindenwood – 1:47.73
12. Nazarii Kosylo, Wingate – 1:47.94
13. Jan Hanzal, Lindenwood – 1:48.04
14. Matteo Masiero, Nova S’eastern – 1:48.32
15. Will Knox, UCSD – 1:48.51
16. Miguel Bernotti, Florida Southern – 1:48.59

UCSD senior Will Knox improved his seed time by 1.09 to win heat 1 in 1:48.51 and earn a berth in the B final. Heat 2, the first of the circle seeds, featured a tight battle between Colorado Mesa junior Pedro Terres Illescas and Bellarmine freshman Matthew Sims. They turned together at the 50, Sims pulled ahead at the 100, held his lead at the 150, but Terres came home 1.26 seconds faster and grabbed the heat win, 1:45.42 to 1:56.03. Simon Fraser senior Gabriel Lee took third with 1:47.67.

The next heat was even closer. Southern Connecticut junior Leo Laporte dropped 1.32 seconds to move to the head of the pack, winning in 1:46.24. Behind him were Nova Southeastern junior Magnus Poulsen (1:46.78), Missouri S&T junior Aaron Taske (1:46.80, -.08), Tampa junior Brian Valedon (1:46.86), and Lindenwood senior Cristian Vasquez (1:47.02, -.76).

The final heat was devoid of intrigue. Queens freshman Alex Kunert led from start to finish and touched in 1:42.47. He took .15 off his seed time and moved closer to Kusch’s meet and Division II record of 1:42.04. Delta State freshman Federico Bracco (1:46.07) took second in the heat. Wingate junior Nazarii Kosylo edged Nova Southeastern sophomore Matteo Masiero, 1:47.94 to 1:48.32, for 3rd.

Men’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay – Slower Heats

• NCAA DII: N 6:18.46 3/10/2017 Queens (NC) (Dreesens, Pijulet, Kusch, Arakelian)
• Meet: M 6:18.46 3/10/2017 Queens (NC) (Dreesens, Pijulet, Kusch, Arakelian)

Top 8 From Morning Session:

1. TAMPA – 6:33.09
2. Delta State – 6:34.20
3. Indy – 6:34.39
4. Drury – 6:36.12
5. Nova S’eastern – 6:36.46
6. Colorado Mesa – 6:37.60
7. NMU – 6:37.68
8. Carson-Newman – 6:39.16

Drury won heat 1 in 6:33.09 (-1.28) with legs from freshman Jan Rasmussen (1:39.33), junior Aitor Martinez Rodrigitor (1:37.83), and freshmen Kham Glass (1:40.22) and Ean Vandergraaf (1:38.74).

Tampa won heat 2 in 6:33.09 (-1.16) using seniors Forrest Lundy (1:39.00) and Cameron Newton (1:36.55), sophomore Yannick Smith (1:39.04), and junior Brett Saunders (1:38.50).

Men’s 1 Meter Diving – Prelims

• NCAA DII: 618.70 3/10/1994 Dario DiFazio, Oakland Univ
• Meet: 618.70 3/10/1994 Dario DiFazio, Oakland Univ

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Ammar Hassan, Colorado Mesa – 556.65
2. Payton Staman, Indy – 510.05
3. Joshua Zylstra, Indy – 508.80
4. Cary Johns, Clarion – 492.70
5. Otto Lehtonen, Oklahoma Baptist – 481.50
6. Noah Macomber, Colorado Mesa – 469.45
7. Chandler Livingston, Colorado Mesa – 459.85
8. Benjamin Rader, Indy – 455.65
9. Christopher Kelly, Grand Valley – 432.35
10. Dylan Callaghan, Lindenwood – 424.50
11. Ethan Larson, McKendree – 423.10
12. Scott Stellick, St. Cloud St. – 422.15
13. Kyle Weesner, Delta State – 412.90
14. Michael Allison, Clarion – 392.05
15. Hanos Mahari, St. Cloud St; – 387.60
16. Nicolas Martin, Delta State – 384.15

Colorado Mesa sophomore Ammar Hassan, the defending champion on the 1-meter board, led the qualifiers on Friday afternoon with 556.65 points. Indy junior Payton Staman, qualified second with 510.05, 7.4 points more than he scored in last year’s final when he placed 6th. His teammate, Joshua Zylstra, 2018 runner-up behind Hassan, was third in prelims with 508.80.

Cary Johns of Clarion and Otto Lehtonen from Oklahoma Baptist also dove in the championship final last year. A-final newcomers this year include Colorado Mesa teammates Noah Macomber (10th in 2018) and Chandler Livingston and Indy’s Benjamin Rader.