2023 NAIA SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- March 1-4, 2023
- Columbus Aquatic Center, Columbus, GA
- SCY (25 yards)
- Championship Central
- Live Stream
- Record Book
- Day 1 Recap
- Day 2 Recap
At the end of the third day of the 2023 NAIA Swimming and Diving Championships, defending men’s and women’s champions Keiser opened up huge leads on the rest of the field. Keiser heads into the final day of the meet up 200 points in the women’s meet, while they hold a 105-point lead in the men’s standings. That being said, Keiser is well on their way to sweeping the meet for the second year in a row.
Friday’s finals session kicked off with a bang, seeing University of the Cumberlands freshman Elisa Corradi crack the NAIA Championships record in the women’s 400 IM. Corradi swam a 4:22.69, winning the race by nearly three seconds. She established a lead on the first 100, splitting 58.92 on fly, then really took the race over on breaststroke, where she split 1:13.37.
That was just the first of four meet records that would fall on the day. Next up, Keiser’s Nikoline Biltoft-Jensen won the women’s 100 breast in a photo-finish, setting a new meet record with a 1:02.01. Biltoft-Jensen was trailing both Olivet Nazarene’s Allison Pearson (29.30) and Julie Vega (29.34) on the first 50, splitting a 29.39. She then came home faster on the second 50, and managed to touch the pair out. Pearson came in second with a 1:02.06, while Vega finished third in 1:02.22.
Keiser’s Noel de Geus won the men’s 100 breast in another very tight race and another championship record. De Geus got out to a slim lead over St. Thomas’ Inigo Marina on the first 50, splitting 24.65 to Marina’s 24.76. He managed to hold that narrow lead through the back half, finishing in a new record of 52.62, just ahead of Marina (52.71).
Marina then helped St. Thomas to victory in the men’s 400 medley relay, providing a 52.13 breast split which helped them break the meet record in the event. Alex Marrero led the team off in 49.63, then Marina went with a 52.13, Miguel Angel Arroyo Garcia split 47.91 on fly, and Daniel Laureyssens anchored in 43.05. In the end, they finished in 3:12.72, setting a new championship record. Other notable splits in the race include Keiser’s Alberto Garcia, who split 46.33 on the fly leg.
Keiser won the women’s 400 medley relay handily, swimming a 3:45.21. Marine Leconte (56.29), Nikoline Biltoft-Jensen (1:02.31), Noelia Garzon (54.89), and Liya Goupil-Lizekne (51.72) teamed up to get the job done. Also of note, Julie Vega threw down a speedy 1:00.92 breast split on Olivet Nazarene’s relay, helping them to a second-place finish (3:47.63).
Keiser’s Alberto Garcia won the men’s 100 back in 47.37, establishing a nig early lead on the first half of the race. Garcia also won the men’s 100 fly on the day, posting a 46.88 to win the race by over a second.
St. Thomas’ Taylor Fitzgerald won the women’s 100 back decisively, swimming a 55.871. She touched as the only swimmer in the field under 57 seconds.
Fynn Kunze, a Keiser sophomore, won the men’s 400 IM in a tight race, clocking a 3:56.15. Kunze was trading the lead with Milligan’s Stephen Gilbert throughout the race, but ended up getting his hand on the wall first. Gilbert finished second in 3:56.24, just 0.09 seconds behind Kunze.
Keiser senior Noelia Garzon won the women’s 100 fly in 54.62, pulling into the lead on the second 50. Another Keiser swimmer, won the women’s 200 free in 1:49.83, finishing over two seconds ahead of the next-fastest swimmer in the race.
St. Thomas’ Daniel Laureyssens won the men’s 200 free in 1:36.72, marking the closest finish of the day. SCAD’s Joel Thatcher was second, touching in 1:36.73, just 0.01 seconds behind Laureyssens. Thatcher opened up a sizable lead on the first 150 yards of the race, but Laureyssens came roaring home in 23.85 on the final 50, much faster than Thatcher’s 25.16, and it was just enough for Laureyssens to get his hand on the wall first.
Bethel (Indiana) sophomore Nick Bohm won men’s 1-meter diving, racking up a total score of 273.55.
TEAM STANDINGS THROUGH DAY THREE (TOP TEN)
WOMEN
- Keiser – 496
- SCAD – 296
- Olivet Nazarene – 280
- Cumberlands – 224.5
- Milligan – 192
- St. Thomas – 185
- Westmont – 129
- Indiana Wesleyan – 110
- The Master’s – 101
- Saint Ambrose – 93
MEN
- Keiser – 491
- St. Thomas – 386
- SCAD – 302
- Cumberlands – 244
- Milligan – 229
- Lindsey Wilson – 166
- Saint Ambrose – 141
- Olivet Nazarene – 115
- Bethel (Indiana) – 102
- Thomas – 84