2020 NCAA Division II Men’s Championships – Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2020 NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Wednesday, March 11 – Saturday, March 14, 2020
• SPIRE Institute Aquatics Center – Geneva, OH
• Prelims 10 AM / Finals 6 PM (U.S. Eastern Time)
• Defending Champions: Queens (5x) (results)
• Digital Program
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central

Day Two

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay – Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 1:17.27  3/10/2016   Tampa (Hammer, Augier, Borgen, Parker)
• Meet Record: 1:17.27  3/10/2016   Tampa (Hammer, Augier, Borgen, Parker)
• Pool Record: 1:18.48  2/20/2014   Bonaventure University (M Pilyugin, V Shchukin, D Paccapaniccia, J Martin)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. McKendree 1:18.32P
2. Queens 1:19.12
3. Wayne State 1:19.45
4. UCSD 1:19.80
5. Emmanuel 1:19.87
6. Carson-Newman 1:19.94
7. Drury 1:20.09
8. Indy 1:20.32
9. Fresno Pacific 1:20.33
10. Nova S’eastern 1:20.45
11. Wingate 1:20.46
12. Delta State 1:20.50
13. Missouri S&T 1:20.85
14. UMSL 1:21.11
15. Bloomsburg 1:21.42
16. NMU 1:21.44

UC San Diego won heat 1 of the men’s 200 free relay in 1:19.80 with splits from Tyler James (20.17), Mitchell Stoddard (20.34), Justin Morsch (20.04) and Spencer Daily (19.25). Carson-Newman (1:19.94) touched out Drury (1:20.09) for second.

Emmanuel’s Thiago Rosa (20.33), Joao Santos (20.12), Igor Bretas Dantas (20.03), and Alex Sobers (19.39) took the next heat in 1:19.87 over Indy (1:20.32) and Fresno Pacific (1:20.33). That .01 was the difference between the A final and the B final.

McKendree clocked a 1:18.32 to break the pool record in the final heat. Matija Pucarevic (20.13), Gregg Lichinsky (19.47), Caleb Law (19.27), and Alexander Skinner (19.45) were the contributors to the record-breaking swim. Queens touched second in 1:19.12, just ahead of Wayne State (1:19.45).

Men’s 400 Yard Individual Medley – Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 3:43.84  3/12/2015   Nick Arakelian, Queens (NC)
• Meet Record: 3:43.84  3/12/2015   Nick Arakelian, Queens (NC)
• Pool Record: 3:46.00  3/6/2015    Uvis Kalnins, Missouri State

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Joao Ribeiro, Wayne State 3:49.62
2. Collyn Gagne, Simon Fraser 3:50.34
3. Keegan Hawkins, Grand Valley 3:50.41
4. Samuel Brettmann, Nova S’eastern 3:50.55
5. Fabio Dalu, McKendree 3:50.66
6. Jan Delkeskamp, Queens 3:51.36
7. Brett Saunders, Tampa 3:51.47
8. Thomas Huffman, Missouri S&T 3:52.19
9. Jan Hanzal, Lindenwood 3:52.50
10. Micah McRea, Lenoir-Rhyne 3:53.00
11. (tie) Mohamed Hegazy, Queens (NC) 3:53.40 / Spencer Hohm, Nova S’eastern 3:53.40
12. –
13. Alessandro Xella, Nova S’eastern 3:54.25
14. Matias Lopez, Florida Southern 3:54.40
15. Zack Reuter, UCSD 3:54.50
16. Matey Rezashki, Delta State 3:55.24

Luke Erwee of Queens won heat 1 in 3:55.44, dropping 1.8 seconds from his entry time. Heat 2 went to Wayne State senior Joao Ribeiro in 3:49.62. Behind him were Fabio Dalu of McKendree (3:50.66) and Jan Hanzal of Lindenwood (3:52.50).

Collyn Gagne of Simon Fraser (3:50.54) clipped Jan Delkeskamp of Queens (3:51.36) and Missouri S&T’s Thomas Huffman (3:52.19) to win the first circle-seeded heat.

Keegan Hawkins of Grand Valley dropped 1.3 seconds to win the final heat in 3:50.41. Samuel Brettmann of Nova S’eastern touched second in 3:50.55, with Tampa’s Brett Saunders rounding out the top three with 3:51.47.

Men’s 100 Yard Butterfly – Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 44.32  3/14/2019   Marius Kusch, Queens (NC)
• Meet Record: 44.32  3/14/2019   Marius Kusch, Queens (NC)
• Pool Record: 45.45  3/13/2014   Matthew Josa, Queens (NC)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Pavel Semochkin, Drury 46.37
2. Giulio Brugnoni, Delta State 46.87
3. Spencer Daily, UCSD 46.93
4. Matija Pucarevic, McKendree 47.08
5. Gregg Lichinsky, McKendree 47.12
6. Aleksei Averchenko, Nova S’eastern 47.26
7. Timothy Stollings, Findlay 47.37
8. (tie) Iran Almeida, Wingate 47.43 / Magnus Poulsen, Nova S’eastern 47.43
9. –
10. Brent Benedict, Gannon 47.47
11. Kael Yorke, Indy 47.62
12. Nathan Bighetti, Drury 47.63
13. Oleksii Khnykin, Drury 47.84
14. Matteo Masiero, Nova S’eastern 47.86
15. Pedro Terres Illescas, Colorado Mesa 47.89
16. Leo Laporte, Southern Conn 48.08

Dominik Karacic of Drury started things off with a narrow victory in 48.42 over Florida Southern’s Brandon Dyck (48.47) and Barton’s Bartlomiej Swiderski (49.11) in heat 1. Karacic dropped .12 from his seed time while Dyck improved by .52.

Spencer Daily of UC San Diego, who won the 50 free on Wednesday night, won heat 2 in 46.93. Behind him were Magnus Poulsen of Nova S’eastern Iran Almeida of Wingate, both of whom stopped the clock at 47.43. Interestingly, Poulsen and Almeida both swam for Olivet Nazarene in the NAIA before transferring to their current Division II programs.

Drury senior Pavel Semochkin, last year’s runner-up, improved his entry time by .17 to win heat 3 with 46.37. Coming to the wall behind him were McKendree’s Matija Pucarevic (47.08, -.35) and Gannon’s Brent Benedict (47.47).

Delta State’s Giulio Brugnoni took the final heat win, going 46.87 to lower his seed time by .47. Teammate Gregg Lichinsky (47.12) and Nova S’eastern’s Aleksei Averchenko (47.25, -.04) touched second and third.

Swim-off for 8th Place

Poulsen of Nova S’eastern edged Almeida from Wingate to win the right to swim in tonight’s A final. Out in 21.90 with a .07 edge of Almeida, Poulson nailed the second 50, coming home in 25.21 to Almeida’s 25.52. Poulson went 47.11, .32 faster than in the morning, while Almeida was just off his earlier time with 47.49.

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle – Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 1:32.46  3/10/2016   Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC)
• Meet Record: 1:32.46  3/10/2016   Dion Dreesens, Queens (NC)
• Pool Record: 1:34.21  3/13/2014   Matthew Josa, Queens (NC)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Alexander Kunert, Queens 1:34.86
2. Alex Sobers, Emmanuel 1:35.88
3. Ruben Van Leeuwen, Lewis 1:36.84
4. Alexander Skinner, McKendree 1:36.91
5. Ivan Kurakin, UCSD 1:36.92
6. Luca Simonetti, McKendree 1:37.01
7. Czarek Butkiewicz, Queens 1:37.05
8. Ahmed Ahmed, Wayne State 1:37.48
9. Skyler Cook-Weeks, Queens 1:37.50
10. Bennett Maczka, Queens 1:37.58
11. Matthew George, Carson-Newman 1:37.76
12. Marcel Snitko, Wingate 1:37.80
13. Ean Vandergraaf, Drury 1:37.83
14. Vincent Lijoi, Nova S’eastern 1:38.12
15. Hayden Johnson, UCSD 1:38.39
16. Vincent Jaworski, Lindenwood 1:38.44

UC San Diego’s Jack Spitser, still dripping wet from his 400 IM, won heat 1 of the men’s 200 free with a drop of 1.08 seconds to go 1:38.79. McKendree’s Throstur Bjarnason (1:38.88, -.71) came to the wall .09 behind Spitser. Indy’s Sebastian Wenk was third (1:39.59).

Hayden Johnson from UC San Diego took .90 off his seed time to win heat 2 with 1:38.39 in front of Tampa’s Yannick Smith (1:38.46, -.41) and Lindenwood’s Melker Olsson (1:38.97, -.41).

Heat 3 was a nailbiter with a photo finish as Alexander Skinner of McKendree edged teammate Luca Simonetti, 1:36.91 to 1:37.01, for the win. Wayne State’s Ahmed Ahmed went 1:37.48 for third place, improving his entry time by .13.

Alexander Kunert of Queens earned the W in the fourth heat going 1:34.86 and shaving .06 off his entry time. Czarek Butkiewicz (1:37.05, -1.25) and Bennett Maczka (1:37.58, -59) made it a 1-2-3 finish for the Royals.

Top-seeded Alex Sobers of Emmanuel won the final heat in 1:35.88, about .9 off his seed time. Lewis’s Ruben Van Leeuwen edged UCSD’s Ivan Kurakin for second, 1:36.84 (-1.42) to 1:36.92 (-.34).

Men’s 400 Yard Medley Relay – Prelims

• NCAA DII Record: 3:07.38  3/9/2017    Queens (NC) (Pijulet, Fedyna, Kusch, Dreesens)
• Meet Record: 3:07.38  3/9/2017    Queens (NC) (Pijulet, Fedyna, Kusch, Dreesens)
• Pool Record: 3:10.56  3/6/2015    Missouri State (P Le, I Springer, V Baryshok, U Kalnins)

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Drury 3:10.55P
2. Emmanuel 3:11.81
3. McKendree 3:12.07
4. Carson-Newman 3:12.50
5. Nova S’eastern 3:13.36
6. UCSD 3:13.63
7. Queens 3:13.69
8. Indy 3:14.18
9. Colorado Mesa 3:14.29
10. Missouri S&T 3:14.44
11. Delta State 3:14.51
12. Lindenwood 3:14.87
13. NMU 3:15.34
14. Wayne State 3:16.45
15. Tampa 3:16.58
16. Florida Southern 3:17.27

Drury opened the 400 medley relay heats with a pool record. Nathan Bighetti (47.22), Pavel Semochkin (52.72), Oleksii Khnykin (46.45), and Aidan Glynn (44.16) combined for 3:10.55, an improvement of 1.82 seconds from their entry time.

Emmanuel’s Thiago Rosa (48.31), Joao Santos (52.21), Igor Bretas Dantas (48.20), and Alex Sobers (43.09) won the next heat with 3:11.81 (-1.08).

McKendree’s DaVante Carey (49.02), John Heaphy (53.43), Matija Pucarevic (47.17), and Gregg Lichinsky (42.45) earned the final heat win with 3:12.07.

Men’s 1 Meter Diving – Prelims

• NCAA DII Record:  618.70  3/10/1994   Dario DiFazio, Oakland Univ
• Meet Record:  618.70  3/10/1994   Dario DiFazio, Oakland Univ
• Pool Record:  384.10  3/5/2015    Alexander Chan, Eastern Michigan

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Ammar Hassan, Colorado Mesa 528.30
2. Cade Hammond, UIndy 465.15
3. Payton Staman, UIndy 440.40
4. Noah Macomber, Colorado Mesa 432.85
5. Joshua Zylstra, UIndy 425.95
6. Jawone Blankenship, Delta State 398.35
7. Jason Lenzo, UIndy 397.00
8. Christopher Kelly, Grand Valley State 396.95
9. Kyle Weesner, Delta State 396.80
10. Andrew Buehler, Southern Connecticut State 389.25
11. Kyland Parenti, UC San Diego 387.50
12. Chandler Livingston, Colorado Mesa 383.60
13. Wrigley Fields, Grand Valley State 379.20
14. Noah Luna, Colorado Mesa 368.00
15. Charles Earl, Drury 361.50
16. Micah Currie, Northern Michigan 354.40

Colorado Mesa junior Ammar Hassan, who was NCAA Division II Diver of the Year in each of his first two seasons, led the qualifiers in 1-meter diving with 528.30 points, obliterating the pool record. UIndy’s Cade Hammond and Payton Staman (runner-up last year) were second and third with 465.15 and 440.40 points, respectively.