2021 NCAA Division II Men’s Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2021 NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Wednesday, March 17 – Saturday, March 20, 2021
• Birmingham CrossPlex / Birmingham, AL (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending champion: Queens (5x) – 2019 results
• Streaming
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• 2021 NCAA Division II Men’s psych sheet

Day Four

The last finals session of the 2021 NCAA Division II Men’s Championships will feature NCAA Division II Record-holder Fabio Dalu of McKendree, who comes in with the top seed time in the 1650 free by 19 seconds. His 14:55 NCAA record is more than 5 seconds faster than the meet mark. Top seed in the 100 free is NCAA Division II Record-holder Karol Ostrowski of Drury. While he owns the overall record, he has yet to beat the meet record. He will be chased by teammate Alex Bowen and by Matej Dusa of Queens and Gregg Lichinsky of McKendree. 100 back champion Giulio Brugnoni of Delta State is the one to beat in the 200 back. He’ll face competition from UIndy teammates Landon Driggers and Andras Tiszai. 100 breast co-winner Gerald Brown of Lindenwood posted the top time in the 200 breast this morning. McKendree’s Filipe Pinheiro, NMU’s Roberto Camera, and Emmanuel’s Joao Santos, who share the 100 breast title with Brown, are all contenders. In 1-meter diving, Colorado Mesa senior Ammar Hassan is looking for his sixth NCAA diving title; so far, he is unbeaten on the boards in the Division II Championships, having won the 3-meter crowns in 2018, 2019, and 2021 and the 1-meter titles in 2018 and 2019.

Men’s 1650 Freestyle – Fastest Heat

• NCAA DII Record: 14:55.42 – Fabio Dalu, McKendree (2021)
• Meet Record: 15:00.51 – Mitch Snyder, Drury (2009)

Top 8:

1. Fabio Dalu, McKendree – 14.55.12
2. Ondrej Zach, Northern Michigan – 15:10.35
3. Eric Hieber, Grand Valley – 15:15.41
4. Jonas Soerensen, Wingate – 15:27.37
5. Enzo Kihara, Emmanuel – 15:27.84
6. Sebastian Wenk, UIndy – 15:28.45
7. Matthew Daniel, St. Leo – 15:29.97
8. Jesse Goodyear, Grand Valley – 15:31.51

Top-seeded Fabio Dalu of McKendree lowered his own NCAA Division II Record and broke the Meet Record to open the final session of the 2021 NCAA Division II Championships in Birmingham. Dalu looked relaxed over the first 400 yards, swimming just ahead of Northern Michigan’s Ondrej Zach and Grand Valley’s Eric Hieber. At that point he began to move into another gear and moved to about a body-and-a-half lead by the 500. Over the next 100 yards he increased his lead by another body length and by the 700 he was 15 meters ahead of the next-closest competitor.

Dalu split his 500s 4:30.6-4:31.5-4:33.3 and then came home in 27.1-27.2-26.7 to make it under his own NCAA record by .30.

NMU’s Zach and Hieber remained in second and third place throughout, finishing with 15:10.35 and 15:15.41, respectively.

The top three finishers from the slower heats in the afternoon made the top-8: Enzo Kihara of Emmanuel (15:27.84), UIndy’s Sebastian Wenk (15:28.45), and St. Leo’s Matthew Daniel (15:29.97).

Men – Top 10 Teams – Through Event 33

1. Queens (NC) 467
2. Drury 400
3. McKendree 260
4. Indy 251
5. Lindenwood 239.5
6. Delta State 220
7. Wingate 189
8. Grand Valley 174
9. Wayne State 119
10. Florida Southern 117

Men’s 100 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA DII: 41.50 – Karol Ostrowski, Drury (2020)
• Meet: 41.73 – Marius Kusch, Queens (NC) (2019)

Top 8:

1. Karol Ostrowski, Drury – 41.25
2. Matej Dusa, Queens (NC) – 42.87
3. Gregg Lichinsky, McKendree – 42.97
4. Raphael De Paiva, Carson-Newman – 43.27
5. Alex Bowen, Drury – 43.42
6. Viacheslav Ohnov, Wingate – 43.47
7. Patryk Winiatowski, Lindenwood – 43.48
8. Luka Cvetko, Wayne State – 43.88

Drury’s Karol Ostrowski broke the NCAA Division II Meet Record and lowered his own NCAA Division II Record in one fell swoop in the final of the men’s 100 free. He had first broken the NCAA Record in November at the 2020 SMU Invitational when he won the 100 free in 41.50. That took down the 41.73 mark set by Marius Kusch of Queens in 2019 at the NCAA Division II Championships.

Ostrowski earned the matching set tonight with 41.25 to erase both his NCAA Record and Kusch’s meet mark. Out in 19.83, Ostrowski came home in 21.42, winning by nearly a body and a half.

Swimming in lane 5, Queens freshman Matej Dusa touched second in 42.87, improving .3 from his prelims time, that was already .13 faster than his entry time. McKendree junior Gregg Lichinski also broke 53 seconds, touching third with 43.28.

Men – Top 10 Teams – Through Event 35

1. Queens (NC) 491
2. Drury 434
3. McKendree 281
4. Indy 264
5. Lindenwood 260.5
6. Delta State 223
7. Wingate 202
8. Grand Valley 174
9. Wayne State 130
10. Florida Southern 117

Men’s 200 Yard Backstroke – Finals

• NCAA DII Record: 1:40.74 – Matthew Josa, Queens (NC) (2014)
• Meet Record: 1:40.74 – Matthew Josa, Queens (NC) (2014)

Top 8:

1. Nathan Bighetti, Drury – 1:43.51
2. Emanuel Fava, Delta State – 1:43.80
3. Giulio Brugnoni, Delta State – 1:44.15
4. Landon Driggers, Indy – 1:45.38
5. Andrew Rodriguez, Drury – 1:45.59
6. Andras Tiszai, Indy – 1:45.80
7. Raf Hendriks, St. Cloud – 1:45.99
8. Matias Lopez, Florida Southern – 1:46.95

Drury junior Nathan Bighetti, swimming in lane 1 after having qualified seventh for the final, pulled off an upset to win the 200 back in 1:43.51. As a freshman, Bighetti was runner-up at the 2019 NCAA DII Championships. Emanuel Fava of Delta State, who had placed tenth that year, was runner-up in 1:43.80. Delta State senior Guilio Brugnoni came in third with 1:44.15. He, too, was a finalist in 2019, coming in fifth.

Indy freshman Landon Driggers touched fourth, just ahead of Drury junior Andrew Rodriguez. Driggers’ teammate, sophomore Andras Tiszai, touched out St. Cloud freshman Raf Hendriks for sixth.

Men – Top 10 Teams – Through Event 37

1. Queens 500
2. Drury 475
3. Indy 292
4. McKendree 281
5. Lindenwood 266.5
6. Delta State 256
7. Wingate 202
8. Grand Valley 174
9. Wayne State 130
10. Florida Southern 129

Men’s 200 Yard Breaststroke – Finals

• NCAA DII Record: 1:51.71 – Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern (2015)
• Meet Record: 1:51.71 – Anton Lobanov, Nova S’eastern (2015)

Top 8:

1. Filipe Pinheiro, McKendree – 1:55.80
2. Roberto Camera, NMU – 1:56.52
3. Andy Huffman, Missouri S&T – 1:57.30
4. Jan Delkeskamp, Queens (NC) – 1:57.81
5. Gerald Brown, Lindenwood – 1:58.10
6. Joao Santos, Emmanuel – 1:58.27
7. Balazs Berecz, Queens (NC) – 1:58.65
8. Jan Zuchowicz, Indy – 1:58.90

Emmanuel senior Joao Santos went out early and set the pace for the field, turning first at the 50 and 100 walls. By the 150, McKendree freshman Filipe Pinheiro had taken over the lead and Queens junior Jan Delkeskamp had pulled even with Santos. Over the next 50 yards, everything was shaken up, with the exception of Pinheiro who kept his lead to the end.

Pinheiro won with 1:55.80. Northern Michigan sophomore Roberto Camera and Missouri S&T junior Andy Huffman both passed Delkeskamp and finished with 1:56.52 and 1:57.30, each beating their morning time by at least a second. Delkeskamp came in fourth, just ahead of Lindenwood senior Gerald Brown and Santos, who had shared the podium in the 100 breast on Friday.

Men – Top 10 Teams – Through Event 39

1. Queens 527
2. Drury 475
3. McKendree 308
4. Indy 307
5. Lindenwood 280.5
6. Delta State 265
7. Wingate 202
8. Grand Valley 179
9. Wayne State / Florida Southern 130
10. –

Men’s 1-Meter Diving

• NCAA DII Record: 618.70 – Dario DiFazio, Oakland (1994)
• Meet Record: 618.70 – Dario DiFazio, Oakland (1994)

Top 8:

1. Ammar Hassan, Colorado Mesa – 568.50
2. Cade Hammond, Indy – 545.95
3. Cole Earl, Drury – 502.80
4. Jason Lenzo, Indy – 500.00
5. Tanner Belliston, Colorado Mesa – 465.05
6. Garrett Martin, Texas-Permian Basin – 461.60
7. Justin Ott, Saginaw Valley – 455.45
8. Christopher Kelly – Grand Valley – 454.75

Colorado Mesa senior Ammar Hassan made history with his win in the 1-meter diving tonight: he became Division II’s only six-time national diving champion. With his latest victory, Hassan remains undefeated at the NCAA National Championships during his collegiate career. He now owns three NCAA DII titles in 1-meter diving (2018, 2019, and 2021) and three in 3-meter diving (2018, 2019, and 2021). It is very likely he would have won both events in 2020. He was leading the 1-meter after prelims on Day 2 but the meet was canceled due to COVID between prelims and finals that day.

With his 568.5 points, Hassan became the first man in NCAA Division II history to win three consecutive national championships on the 1-meter board. Thursday afternoon, he became the third man to win three national title on the 3-meter.

Men – Top 10 Teams – Through Event 40

1. Queens 527
2. Drury 491
3. Indy 343
4. McKendree 313
5. Lindenwood 282.5
6. Delta State 269
7. Wingate 202
8. Grand Valley 196
9. Colorado Mesa 136
10. Wayne State / Florida Southern 130

Men’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• NCAA DII Record: 2:49.98 – M Kusch, A Kunert, A Mosic, B Heck, Queens (NC) (2019)
• Meet Record: 2:49.98 – M Kusch, A Kunert, A Mosic, B Heck, Queens (NC) (2019)

Top 8:

1. Drury – 2:50.98
2. Queens (NC) – 2:52.28
3. Lindenwood – 2:54.50
4. Delta State – 2:55.24
5. Wayne State – 2:55.46
6. Indy – 2:55.57
7. McKendree – 2:55.78
8. Wingate – 2:57.00

Drury came from behind to beat Queens in the final heat of 400 free relays. Juniors Alex Bowen (43.36) and Kham Glass (42.92), senior Ahmed Wahby (43.60), and freshman Karol Ostrowski (41.10) combined for 2:50.98, only 1 second away from the Division II record.

Queens had led off with Alex Kunert (43.05) and Matej Dusa (41.97) and had a full body length lead over Drury at the halfway point. Skyler Cook-Weeks went 43.58, matching Wahby’s 43.6, and handed it off to Luke Erwee with the body-length lead intact.

Erwee was no match for the new NCAA Record-holder in the 100 free, though. Ostrowski caught him on the first 50 and proceeded to put a body-and-a-half between them as he outplit the Queens junior by 2.68 seconds. Indy was third in the heat.

Lindenwood won heat 3 handily over Wingate and Nova S’eastern, touching in 2:54.50. Delta State won heat 2, while Florida Southern was victorious in heat 1.

Men – Top 10 Teams – Through Event 42

1. Queens 561
2. Drury 531
3. Indy 369
4. McKendree 337
5. Lindenwood 314.5
6. Delta State 299
7. Wingate 224
8. Grand Valley 210
9. Wayne State 158
10. Florida Southern 148