2016 NAIA National Championships – Men’s Meet
- Dates: Wednesday, March 2 – Saturday, March 5, 2016; prelims 9 am, finals 5 pm
- Location: Columbus Aquatic Center, Columbus, Georgia (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champions: Oklahoma Baptist University (results)
- Live Results: Available here
- Live Video: Available here
- Championship Central
Olivet Nazarene University won its first-ever NAIA national title on Saturday, with some dominant performances and, above all, depth and consistency.
1650 Freestyle – Fastest Heat
- Joel Ax, SCAD Savannah 15:19.50
- Bart Sommeling, Lindenwood-Belleville 15:32.11
- Joshua Bouma, Olivet Nazarene 16:11.06
SCAD junior Joel Ax broke the only NAIA national distance freestyle he didn’t already own with a 15:19.50 rout in the 1650 free to kick off the Saturday finals session. Lindenwood-Belleville freshman Bart Sommeling hung with Ax for the first 750; he ended up second in 15:32.11, beating his seed time by more than 18 seconds. Joshua Bouma of ONU dropped 10 and finished third in 16:11.06.
Sam Borgman of ONU (16:19.49), Jose Pardo de Lima of Lindsey Wilson (16:23.22), Manuel Griego of Wayland Baptist (16:35.36), Stefan Johnson of Cumberlands (16:38.65), and Roger Kjos of SCAD (16.39.12) rounded out the top eight.
200 Backstroke – Final
- Daniel Buijs, Lindenwood-Belleville 1:46.76
- Tyler Prescott, SCAD Savannah 1:48.04
- Jacob Anderson, ONU 1:49.59
Lindenwood-Belleville freshman Daniel Buijs won the men’s 200 back title with 1:46.76, coming in just ahead of SCAD sophomore Tyler Prescott, who surged over the last 100 yards and finished with 1:48.04. ONU senior Jacob Anderson took third in 1:49.59.
WVU Tech’s Arthur Bertrand edged Sebastian Bohm of Lindenwood for fourth, 1:51.82 to 1:51.85. Charles Bennett of ONU (1:52.24), Vlad Khoroletc of Cumberlands (1:52.49), and Georgi Krastev of St. Andrews (1:52.65) went 6-7-8.
100 Freestyle – Final
- Riley Crandall, Thomas, 45.15
- Daniil Kuzmin, ONU 45.36
- Kohen Kerr, WVU Tech 45.64
Thomas University’s Riley Crandall became the first Night Hawk in history to win a NAIA national title with his 45.15 victory in the 100 free. ONU freshman Daniil Kuzmin took second with 45.36, just ahead of Kohen Kerr, a freshman from WVU Tech, who placed third in 45.64.
Jacob Dengler Harles of Lindenwood-Belleville (45.76), ONU’s Guilherme Magnoler (46.02), Nick Souza of St. Andrews (46:19), Quentin Cooper from WVU Tech (46.27), and Anton Arvidsson of SCAD (46.56) rounded out the top eight.
200 Breaststroke – Final
- Connor Wilson, SCAD Savannah 2:00.95
- Calvin Price, Olivet Nazarene 2:01.32
- Bjoern Globke, Wayland Baptist 2:02.35
Connor Wilson of SCAD won the 200 breast with a strong back half, going 2:00.95. Calvin Price of ONU was out with Wilson, trading stroke for stroke over the first 100. Price took over the lead at the 150, but Wilson came back and outsplit Price by a second over the last 50. Wayland Baptist junior Bjoern Globke went 2:02.35 for third.
Cumberlands freshman Jacob Smith, who had already dropped 2.5 in prelims, took another 1.3 seconds off his time to finish fourth in 2:02.86. Manuel Serrano Laguna of WVU Tech (2:03.88), Jonas Muller of Lindsey Wilson (2:04.44), and ONU’s Christian Daniels (2:06.97) and Nate Peterson (2:07.49) made up the rest of the A final.
200 Butterfly – Final
- Frank Tapia, ONU 1:48.07
- Andrew Fischer, ONU, 1:49.78
- Ryan Sweat, SCAD Savannah 1:51.30
ONU went 1-2 in the final individual event with Frank Tapia (1:48.07) and Andrew Fischer (1:49.78). SCAD freshman Ryan Sweat went 1:51.30 for third, touching just ahead of Igor Dozortsev (1:51.52).
Sebastian Wegner of Lindenwood-Belleville (1:52.06), Geoffroy Gauneau of WVU Tech (1:52.98), Andrew Gurley of St. Andrews (1:53.33), and SCAD senior Mark Shvartsman (1:54.06) rounded out the podium.
400 Free Relay – Final
- SCAD Savannah 2:59.61
- Olivet Nazarene 3:00.94
- Lindenwood-Belleville 3:04.43
Nick Wargo (46.59), Connor Wilson (44.92), Anton Arvidsson (45.13), and Joel Ax (42.97) of SCAD Savannah threw down a combined 2:59.61 to win the 400 free over ONU. SCAD was just a tick behind ONU throughout most of the race, but Ax anchored with a 42.97 and left no doubt as to how the race would finish. ONU placed second with 3:00.94. Lindenwood took third in 3:04.43.
Final Team Scores
| Rank | Team | Points | Vs Prelims | Vs Psych |
| 1 | Olivet Nazarene University | 714.5 | 33 | 162 |
| 2 | SCAD Savannah | 600 | -1 | 25 |
| 3 | Lindenwood University – Belleville | 372 | 16.5 | -56 |
| 4 | West Virginia University Institute of Technology | 298.5 | -16 | -43 |
| 5 | University of the Cumberlands | 269 | -37 | -58 |
| 6 | Wayland Baptist University | 253 | 21 | 0 |
| 7 | St. Andrews University | 226 | -7 | -18 |
| 8 | Lindsey Wilson College | 195 | -12 | -22 |
| 9 | Asbury University | 181 | 4 | 14 |
| 10 | The College of Idaho | 129 | 10 | 16 |
| 11 | Thomas University | 126 | -2 | 7 |
| 12 | Biola University | 111 | -18 | -3 |
| 13 | Union College | 97 | -3 | -14 |
| 14 | Saint Gregory’s University | 38 | 8 | -4 |
| 15 | Morningside College | 32 | 0 | -12 |
| 16 | Soka University of America | 20 | -1 | 10 |
| 17 | Tabor College | 14 | 4 | 4 |
| 18 | Bethel University | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Milligan College | 4 | -3.5 | -12 |
| 20 | Point University | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Life University | 1 | 0 | 0 |
“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.”