2022 NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships – Fan Guide

2022 NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Dates: Wednesday, March 9 – Saturday, March 12, 2022
• Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC (Eastern Time Zone)
• Times: Prelims 10:00 AM / Finals 6:00 PM
• Defending Champs: Queens women (6x) & Queens men (6x) – (Results)
• Live Stream
• Live Results
• Men’s Psych Sheet

The 2022 NCAA Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships will take place beginning Wednesday, March 9 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Queens University of Charlotte, who have won the last six consecutive championships, are well-placed to extend their streak to seven in a row (there was no national champion in 2020*). The Royals come into the meet heavily favored, with 12 swimmers who are expected to score in 32 events. Add to that the relays, where Queens is seeded first in three events, and the math starts to become difficult for other teams hoping to unseat the Royals.

(*The 2020 Division II national championship meet was stopped between prelims and finals on Day 2 amid growing concerns about the COVID pandemic. Divisions I and III, scheduled to begin a week later in mid-March 2020, were canceled altogether.)

Battling for second place, and trying to prevent Queens from the seven-peat, will be Drury and Indy. Drury University, runner-up at last year’s championship, has 16 swimmers and a well-placed diver. University of Indianapolis will be battling it out with Drury, fielding 16 swimmers and four scoring divers.

Stars

Diving

Most of last year’s scorers are back, with the notable exception of Ammar Hassan of Colorado Mesa, who swept the boards in 2018, 2019, and 2021. UIndy’s Julio Osuna is top seed in both 1-meter and 3-meter diving. Two of his teammates are also seeded to score in two events: Cade Hammond (2nd in 1-meter / 10th in 3-meter) and Jason Lenzo (14th / 6th); a third, Casey Crawford, ranks 15th on the 3-meter board. Hammond placed second in 1-meter last year, while Lenzo was fourth in 1-meter and sixth in 3-meter.

Colorado Mesa is expected to earn in the next-highest haul in diving points with Isaiah Cheeks (seeded 3rd in 1-meter and 4th in 3-meter); Tanner Belliston (6th / 7th); and Noah Luna (13th / 8th). Cheeks and Belliston were both All-Americans in 2021.

Drury’s is seeded second in the 3-meter event and seventh in 1-meter. He placed third on both boards last year. Another returning 2021 finalist is Jawone Blankenship of Delta State, seeded third in 3-meter and fourth in 1-meter. Clarion’s Zachary Schering comes in ranked fifth on both boards.

Freestyle

Matej Dusa of Queens, who placed third in this event last year, qualified with the fastest seed time in the 50 free (19.06) by over half a second. He also ranks second in the 100 free (42.69) behind defending champion, Karol Ostrowski of Drury (42.62), to whom he finished second in 2021. Ostrowski won the 50 free, 100 free, and 200 free, as well as the B final of the 100 back (with the fastest time of the meet) at the 2021 NCAA Championships, and he set the meet record in the 50 (18.92) and 100 (41.25). This year, he will come into the meet with the 19th-fastest time in the 50 free (19.90).

In the 50, returning All-Americans Alex Bowen of Drury (19.64) and Skyler Cook-Weeks from Queens (19.67), who placed second and fifth last year, are seeded fifth and eighth. Cook-Weeks is seeded seventh in the 100 free (43.24), as well. Lindenwood’s Elliott Irwin ranks second in the 50 free (19.57), while Henderson State’s Lamar Taylor is third in the 50 (19.58) and eighth in the 100 (43.47).

Kyle Micallef of Florida Southern (19.59), Victor Antonon of Indy (19.64), and Abraham Townley from St. Cloud State (19.66) are also seeded among the top-8 in the 50.

In the 100 free, 2021 bronze medalist, Gregg Lichinsky of McKendree, brings the third-fastest seed time (42.89). His teammate Xander Skinner (43.21) is ranked sixth. Skinner is entered with the fastest time in the 200 free (1:35.30), having placed sixth in this event a year ago. Alex Kunert of Queens, who tied Ostrowski for the NCAA title in 2021, ranks sixth in the 200 (1:36.39) and is seeded fourth in the 100 (42.97). Harold Lockhart of Rollins is second seed in both the 200 free (1:35.46) and 500 free (4:20.94) and eighth in the 1000 free (9:11.05).

Thomas Flower from Nova S’eastern holds the third time in the 200 free (1:35.62). His teammate Luca Alessandrini leads the qualifiers by 2.6 seconds in the 500 free (4:20.46) and by 1.7 seconds in the 1000 free (9:03.19). He also ranks second in the 1650 free (15:18.07). Luke Erwee from Queens is third in the 500 (4:23.08) and seventh in the 1650 (15:25.59). A year ago he was runner-up in the 500 and placed 9th in the 1000 and 11th in the mile.

Last year’s runner-up in the 1000/1650 freestyles, Ondrej Zach of Northern Michigan, comes in ranked fourth in the former (9:05.89) and first in the latter (15:12.42). Indy’s Cedric Buessing is seeded sixth in the 500 (4:23.96), seventh in the 1000 (9:09.62), and fourth in the 1650 (15:19.03). Oklahoma Christian’s Victor Rosado boasts the #2 time in the 1000 free (9:04.82) and is #6 in the mile (15:25.58). Eric Hieber of Grand Valley, who came in fifth in the 1000 free and third in the 1650 last year, ranks third (9:05.51) and eighth (15:26.31) in those same events. Wingate’s Miguel Marcos is fifth in both (9:08.41/15:21.52).

Backstroke

Benjamin Sampson of Colorado Mesa leads the backstroke qualifiers with the top times in the 100 (46.36) and 200 (1:42.68). 2021 NCAA champion in the 200 back, Nathan Bighetti of Drury, ranks third in the 200 (1:43.44). His teammate Mikita Tsmyh comes in seeded third in the 100 back (46.57) and second in the 200 back (1:43.19). Ostrowski (46.99-7th) also figures among the top-8 in the 100 back.

Florida Southern’s Brandon Dyck is the number two seed in the 100 back (46.56) and sixth in the 200 (1:44.89). Last year he placed fifth in the 100. Alexander Bauch (46.64-4th) and Finn Howard (46.90-6th) of Queens are top-8 qualifiers in the 100 back. Howard came in eighth in last year’s A final of the 100.

Raf Hendriks from St. Cloud State and Drury’s Andrew Rodriguez, both A-finalists in the 200 last year, rank fifth (1:44.31) and seventh (1:45.12) in the psych sheet this year.

Breaststroke

Liki Prema of Indy is the top 100 breaststroke qualifier (52.76) and owns the number two seed time in the 200 breast (1:55.63). His teammate Jan Zuchowicz ranks second in the 100 (52.99); the pair of Greyhounds are the only sub-53s entered in the meet. Zuchowicz placed sixth in the 100 breast and eight in the 200 breast at the 2021 NCAA Championships.

The 2021 NCAA champion in the 200 breast and bronze medalist in the 100 breast, Filipe Pinheiro of McKendree, is seeded third in the 100 (53.02) and fifth in the 200 (1:56.58). Gerald Brown of Lindenwood, who tied for first place in the 100 breast and placed fifth in the 200 last year, is seeded sixth (53.34) and eighth (1:57.66) in those events.

First-years John Amrein of Oklahoma Christian and Davi Mourao of Drury are top-8 seeds in both distances. Amrein leads the field in the 200 (1:55.22) and ranks fourth in the 100 (53.14); Mourao is third in the 200 (1:55.76) and fifth in the 100 (53.25).

Florida Southern could log significant points in the breaststroke events with Ludovico Viberti (53.38-7th / 1:56.62-6th) and Matteo Zampese (1:57.00-7th).

Butterfly

Drury’s Dominik Karacic has the top seed time in the 100 fly (46.22), three-tenths faster than that of defending champion Tim Stollings of Findlay (46.52). Karacic finished fourth in this event last year, while Stollings won the event by half a second with 45.57. Findlay freshman Camilo Marrugo is also a top-8 seed in the 100 (47.21-8th).

Other names to watch out for in the 100 fly are Michael Wolsek of Wayne State (46.59-3rd); Elliott Irwin of Lindenwood (46.90-5th); Steven Aimable of Nova S’eastern (46.95-6th); and Indy’s Kael Yorke (47.07-7th). Wolsek finished sixth last year and Irwin was ninth.

In the 200 fly, defending champion Kunert of Queens, who set the NCAA meet record in 2019, is top seed with 1:43.92. His teammate, Yannick Plasil, comes in at third (1:44.62). Between them is McKendree’s Jackson Lustig (1:44.46). Karacic ranks fourth (1:45.14), just ahead of Delta State’s Federico Bracco (1:45.16). Bracco is also seeded fourth in the 100 fly (46.78). Drury’s Rodriguez, who won the B final in 2021, has the sixth entry time in the 200 (1:45.75).

Individual Medley

Queens’ Kunert is also top seed in the 200 IM (1:46.68), an event in which he placed second in 2021. His teammate Balazs Berecz (1:46.67) ranks fourth – he came in sixth in last year’s A final. Zampese from Florida Southern (1:46.05) is second seed in the 200 (1:46.05) while defending champion Emanuel Fava of Delta State ranks sixth (1:46.83). Fava is seeded seventh in the 400 IM (3:51.52).

Jarryd Baxter of Nova S’eastern is seeded third in the 200 IM (1:46.50) and third in the 400 IM (3:48.62). Last year he finished 10th in the 400.

Indy freshman Buessing, the distance specialist, comes in with the leading time in the 400 IM (3:48.25). Jan Delkeskamp of Queens ranks second (3:48.60), having finished fifth in 2021. Keegan Hawkins of Grand Valley (3:50.35), Mohamed Hegazy of Queens (3:51.18), and Lindenwood’s Matheo Mateos-Mongelos (3:51.67), who came in third, fourth, and sixth, respectively, last year, are all seeded in the top-8 of the 400 IM. Mateos-Mongelos is also seventh in the 200 IM (1:46.85).

Team Race

The top ten teams from the men’s psych sheet, including distance events, diving, and relays, are as follows:

1. Queens (NC) – 519
2. Drury – 427
3. Indy – 423
4. McKendree – 306
5. Nova S’eastern – 280
6. Colorado Mesa – 275
7. Florida Southern – 269
8. Lindenwood – 201
9. Grand Valley State – 178
10. Wingate – 167

4-Day Schedule – Finals

Wednesday, March 9

• 200-yard medley relay
• 1000-yard freestyle
• 200-yard individual medley
• 50-yard freestyle
• 1-meter diving (M)
• 200-yard freestyle relay

Thursday, March 10

• 100-yard butterfly
• 400-yard individual medley
• 200-yard freestyle
• 3-meter diving (W)
• 400-yard medley relay

Friday, March 11

• 500-yard freestyle
• 100-yard backstroke
• 100-yard breaststroke
• 200-yard butterfly
• 3-meter diving (M)
• 800-yard freestyle relay

Saturday, March 12

• 1650-yard freestyle
• 100-yard freestyle
• 200-yard backstroke
• 200-yard breaststroke
• 1-meter diving (W)
• 400-yard freestyle relay