2024 NAIA National Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2024 NAIA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championships

• Dates: March 6-9, 2024
• Times: Prelims 9AM Eastern, Finals 5PM Eastern
• Location: Columbus Aquatics Center in Columbus, Georgia
• Defending Champions:
  • Keiser women (2x)
  • Keiser men (5x)
• Psych Sheets:
  • Men’s Psych Sheet
  • Women’s Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Video

Day 2

Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Meet Record: 4:52.24 – Alex Peters, Concordia Irvine (2011)

Podium:

1. Rachel Bradley, Keiser – 4:56.86
2. Riley Renaud, Milligan – 5:01.55
3. Haley Vanbuskirk, SCAD – 5:03.20
4. Sky Marjamaa, SCAD – 5:04.80
5. Rylee Woelk, St Thomas – 5:05.68
6. Kylee Sears, Master’s – 5:07.84
7. Sophie Urias, St Thomas – 5:11.66
8. Bea Moron Alonso, St Thomas – 5:19.44

For the second year in a row, Rachel Bradley of Keiser stood atop the podium in the women’s 500 free. In 2023, as a freshman, she won by 1.3 seconds with 4:58.51. This time, she was 1.7 seconds faster (4:56.86) and dominated the final, with Milligan’s Riley Renaud finishing 5.7 seconds behind. Renaud’s 5:01.55 was 2 full seconds faster than her 5th-place finish a year ago.

SCAD took 3rd and 4th with Haley Vanbuskirk (5:03.20) and Sky Marjamaa (5:04.80). Vanbuskirk placed 3rd in this event last year, while Marjamaa was a B finalist.

Rounding out the A final were three teammates from St Thomas (Rylee Woelk, Sophie Urias, and Bea Moron Alonso) and Kylee Sears from Master’s.

Michelle Weiss of Cumberlands moved from 14th place in prelims to win the B final with 5:08.80, dropping 4.4 seconds from her morning swim.

Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Meet Record: 4:20.35 – Joel Thatcher, SCAD (2017)

Podium:

1. Daniel Laureyssens, St Thomas – 4:25.32
2. Fabio Martin Rojo, Lindsey Wilson – 4:25.80
3. Carlos Trinidad Sancho, Keiser – 4:32.46
4. Mate Dort, Life – 4:32.54
5. Zoltan Tompos, SCAD – 4:32.59
6. Jonas Friess, St Ambrose – 4:34.98
7. Wyatt Smith, SCAD – 4:35.50
8. Matt Mizell, St Thomas – 4:43.60

Daniel Laureyssens from St Thomas eked out a tight win over Lindsey Wilson’s Fabio Martin Rojo, 4:25.32 to 4:25.80. The two were much faster than a year ago when they finished 4th and 5th, respectively.

Laureyssens was out quickly. He split 49.0 on the first 100 and 53.5 on the second 100. At the halfway mark, he was up more than a body length over Martin Rojo, 2:09.3 to 2:10.9. Martin Rojo split 26.7s on the next 2 50s, outpacing Laureyssens by just over 2 seconds. Martin Rojo took over the lead with 150 to go. He fell off pace over the next 2 50s, while Laureyssens found another gear. He got the better of Martin Rojo over the last 100 yards and came away with the victory by half a second.

Another battle was being waged for third place, with Carlos Trinidad Sancho of Keiser, Mate Dort from Life, and SCAD’s Zoltan Tompos all came to the wall together, clocking in at 4:32.46, 4:32.54, and 4:32.59, respectively. Trinidad Sancho had led the trio throughout the 20 laps, while Dort and Tompos were just a bit behind. Dort pulled away from Tompos after the halfway mark, but Tompos put his legs into it on the last 150 yards, coming home in 27.1-27.2-25.9 to come within .13 of catching the leader, Trinidad Sancho.

Jonas Friess of St Ambrose, SCAD’s Wyatt Smith, and Matt Mizell from St Thomas placed 6th through 8th.

Nestor Montero of St Thomas, also in 14th place this morning, finished in 9th after winning the B final with 4:34.64, 6.3 seconds faster than he’d been in prelims.

Women’s 200 Yard Individual Medley – Finals

• Meet Record: 2:02.70 – Camryn Hudson, Keiser (2023)

Podium:

1. Halle Briner, ONU – 2:05.08
2. Nikoline Biltoft-Jensen, Keiser – 2:05.90
3. Romy Itzkovich, Cumberlands – 2:06.55
4. Stella Warborn, St Thomas – 2:06.74
5. Emma Phillips, Union – 2:07.39
6. Valentina Zapata, Cumberlands – 2:07.51
7. Leyre Antonanzas Fernandez, St Ambrose – 2:09.08
8. Mary Grace Bitting, Milligan – 2:09.09

Valentina Zapata from Cumberlands was out first with a strong butterfly leg, but Halle Briner of Olivet Nazarene, last year’s 6th-place finisher, took over the lead on the breaststroke. Nikoline Biltoft-Jensen of Keiser had the fastest 3rd 50 in the final, and she also moved past Zapata. Biltoft-Jensen was closing in on Briner, as well, but the latter came home .7 faster, in 29.8, to secure the win. Briner’s splits were 26.68-32.59-35.93-29.88 for a final time of 2:05.08. That’s a 1.4-second improvement from her entry time and 2.7 seconds faster than what she went in finals last year, when she came in 6th.

Biltoft-Jensen was also faster than she’d been in last year’s A final; she improved by 1.3 seconds to finish with 2:05.90.

Romy Itzkovich of Cumberlands touched out St Thomas’s Stella Warborn, the top seed coming into the meet, 2:06.55 to 2:06.74, for 3rd place.

Finishing 5th through 8th were Emma Phillips from Union, Zapata, Leyre Antonanzas Fernandez of St Ambrose, and Milligan’s Mary Grace Bitting.

Keiser’s Lorie Seranski won the B final by .08 over SCAD sophomore Leah Givens, 2:07.80 to 2:07.88.

Men’s 200 Yard Individual Medley – Finals

• Meet Record: 1:47.55 – David Hibberd, Simon Fraser (2011)

Podium:

1. Alex Kusik, Keiser – 1:46.76 *NAIA MEET RECORD*
2. Fynn Kunze, Keiser – 1:47.61
3. Jokubas Jankauskas, Cumberlands – 1:48.92
4. Stephen Gilbert, Milligan – 1:49.30
5. Adam Conrad, St Thomas – 1:49.89
6. Mikhi Hassim, St Ambrose – 1:51.39
7. Freddie Cole, Master’s – 1:52.59
8. Jack Fries, ONU – 1:53.12

Keiser teammates Alex Kusik and Fynn Kunze swept the top 2 spots but in the reverse order from a year ago. This time it was Kusik on the top step of the podium. He not only beat his teammate, but he broke the meet record with 1:46.76. The men’s 200 IM mark had stood since 2011, when Simon Fraser was in the NAIA and Havid Hibberd went 1:47.55.

Kusik was in 6th place after the butterfly leg, but he pulled into 3rd place on the backstroke. Kunze was ahead by 1.1 seconds at the 150 wall. Kusik came home 2 full seconds faster to secure the win. His splits were:

• Fly – 24.10
• Back – 27.31
• Breast – 30.58
• Free – 24.77

Kunze placed 2nd with 1:47.61, a tick faster than his winning time from 2023.

Jokubas Jankauskas, 5th in 2023, moved up to 3rd this year with 1:48.92. Milligan’s Stephen Gilbert got past St Thomas’s Adam Conrad on the last 50 yards to finish 4th with 1:49.30. Gilbert won the B final a year ago.

Mikhi Hassim from St Ambrose, Freddie Cole of Master’s, and Jack Fries from Olivet Nazarene rounded out the A final.

Emil Schildhauer from Thomas edged SCAD’s Finlay Saunders, 1:51.72 to 1:51.92, to win the B final.

Women’s 50 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Meet Record: 22.29 – Cheyenne Coffman, Fresno Pacific (2012)

Podium:

1. Maaike Broersma, Lindsey Wilson – 23.25
2. Ines Laurent, Keiser – 23.45
3. Natalia Gorska, Lindsey Wilson – 23.49
4. Julie Vega, ONU – 23.53
5. Hanne te Velthuis, Milligan – 23.54
6. Regan Garcia, St Thomas – 23.72
7. Danai Sofoulis, Keiser – 24.06
8. Aubrey Bach, Keiser – 24.12

Lindsey Wilson went 1-3 in a very tight 50 free final. Maaike Broersma got her hand to the wall first, stopping the clock at 23.25. Keiser’s Ines Laurent touched out Broersma’s teammate Natalia Gorska by .04 with 23.45.

Olivet Nazarene’s Julie Vega went one better, snatching 4th place from Hanne te Velthuis of Milligan by .01 with 23.53.

St Thomas’s Regan Garcia led the next wave of finishers with 23.72. Keiser placed 7th and 8th with Danai Sofoulis and Aubrey Bach.

Ana Sales of St Thomas won the B final with 23.81.

Men’s 50 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Meet Record: 19.71 – Logan H Lassley, Oklahoma Baptist (2014) and Marcel Nagy, Keiser (2020)

Podium:

1. Noel de Geus, Keiser – 19.57 *NAIA MEET RECORD*
2. Hanno Boeckmann, Keiser – 19.98
3. Samuel Page, SCAD – 20.08
4. Alex Marrero, St Thomas – 20.14
5. William Birkett, St Thomas – 20.15
6. Steven Aimable, St Thomas – 20.22
7. Robbie Garden, St Thomas – 20.41
8. Paxton Smith, Milligan – 20.46

Keiser’s Noel de Geus successfully defended his 2023 title, but this time he took down the meet record with his win. De Geus notched a PB of 19.57 to break the meet mark of 19.71 that was jointly held by Logan Lassey of Oklahoma Baptist and Keiser’s Marcel Nagy.

Teammate Hanno Boeckmann slipped by last year’s runner-up, Samuel Page of SCAD, out-touching him 19.98 to 20.08.

St Thomas scored tons of points with Alex Marrero (20.14), William Birkett (20.15), Steven Aimable (20.22), and Robbie Garden (20.41), who placed 5th through 7th. Paxton Smith of Milligan was 8th.

SCAD’s Jan Gastal won the B final with 20.21, taking .11 off his entry time.

Women’s 3-Meter Diving – Finals

• Meet Record: 444.81 – Cynthia Miller (1987)

Podium:

1. Macy Schmidtgall, IWU – 193.10
2. Megan Carroll, IWU – 176.30

Indiana Wesleyan’s Macy Schmidtgall scored 193.10 points to beat teammate Megan Carroll in 3-meter diving. The pair elevated IWU into 7th place in the standings with their 37 team points.

Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• Meet Record: 1:32.15 – Oklahoma Baptist (2014)

Podium:

1. St Thomas – 1:33.91
2. Keiser – 1:34.09
3. Lindsey Wilson – 1:36.41
4. Milligan – 1:36.46
5. Cumberlands – 1:36.53
6. Master’s – 1:36.82
7. Olivet Nazarene – 1:37.09
8. Indiana Wesleyan – 1:37.41

St Thomas pulled off a mild upset of top-seeded Keiser, winning the 200 free relay with 1:33.91. Ana Sales (23.72), Ellasen Peot (23.50), and Martine Abrahamsen (23.40) gave Regan Garcia (23.29) just enough of a lead to successfully hold off Keiser’s anchor Danai Sofoulis, who split 22.99 on the end of their relay.

Lindsey Wilson eked out third place (1:36.41), with Milligan (1:36.46), Cumberlands (1:36.53), Master’s (1:36.82), and Olivet (1:37.09) right on their heels.

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay – Timed Finals

• Meet Record: 1:18.43 – Oklahoma Baptist (2014)

Podium:

1. St Thomas – 1:18.76
2. Keiser – 1:18.79
3. Milligan – 1:21.02
4. SCAD – 1:21.65
5. Cumberlands – 1:22.06
6. Thomas – 1:23.12
7. Loyola New Orleans – 1:23.77
8. St Ambrose – 1:23.78

The night ended with a thrilling finish in the men’s 200 free relay. St Thomas got the better of Keiser, but it was a photo finish and only .03 separated the two teams at the end. Keiser led by .03 after the first leg, by .62 after the second led, and by .15 after the third leg. Daniel Laureyssens came home .31 faster than Angel Margaritov and St Thomas was able to snatch the win and successfully defend their 2023 title.

The splits were:

Top 10 Women’s Teams After Day 2

1. Keiser – 213.5
2. St Thomas – 181
3. Milligan – 141
4. Olivet Nazarene – 126
5. Lindsey Wilson – 124
6. Cumberlands – 118
7. Indiana Wesleyan – 102
8. SCAD – 100
9. Master’s – 87
10. Bethel (IN) – 66

Top 10 Men’s Teams After Day 2

1. Keiser – 224
2. St Thomas – 222
3. SCAD – 143
4. Milligan – 140
5. Cumberlands – 124
6. St Ambrose – 119
7. Thomas – 83
8. Master’s – 79
9. Olivet Nazarene – 68
10. (tie) Loyola New Orleans / Bethel (IN) – 59