TCU, Queens Charge to the Lead at NIC; Kentucky 500 Freestylers Break Through

2024 National Invitational Championships

• March 14-16, 2024
• FAST, Ocala, Florida
• Short Course Yards (25 yards), prelims/finals
• Day 1 results

The 2024 National Invitational Championships are underway in Ocala, Florida. The meet, hosted by the Collegiate Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America, is primarily an end-of-season competition for NCAA Division I swimmers who did not qualify for the NCAA Championships or are not eligible (such as is the case with Queens as they transition from Division 2 to Division 1), though an occasional NCAA qualifier does shoe up at the meet.

It was Queens, formerly the dominant team in D2 swimming & diving, that led the charge early on day 1 of this meet. They are in their second season of moving do Division I athletics, meaning their swimmers won’t be eligible for the NCAA Championships for two more seasons.

Their 200 free relay swam 1:29.99, finishing .54 seconds ahead of runners-up Akron (who are without their three NCAA qualifiers at this meet).

That time for Queens broke their own Meet Record set last year at 1:30.27 and included a 22.31 leadoff split from Danielle Melilli. Melilli would go on to win the individual 50 free in 22.46, finishing .11 seconds better than UCSD’s Miranda Renner. UCSD is another program not eligible for the NCAA Championships this season as they transition from Division II.

Melilli also finished 2nd in the 50 breaststroke, falling to Akron’s Sara Bozso. Bozso swam 27.72 to break Melilli’s Meet Record of 27.76 from prelims. Melilli repeated her time in finals.

The women’s team later picked up a win in the 50 fly from Maddie Foster, who was .01 seconds ahead of Illinois’ Sydney Stoll.

While the Royals’ day started out hot, it ended in disappointment after their 400 medley relay was disqualified when Foster left early. They were 4th to the was in 3:39.10, with UCSD picking up the win in 3:35.88.

The likely-37 points in that relay (CSCAA uses a different scoring system than most collegiate championships) dropped them from what would have been a tie-for-3rd, just 6.5 points behind the leaders from TCU, to 4th place and 43.5 points back.

Women’s Team Standings After Day 1

1. TCU – 199.5
2. Akron – 199
3. Kentucky – 193
4. Queens – 156
5. FIU – 140.5

The Queens men also opened up with a win in the 200 free relay in 1:17.71, a second-and-a-half better than the runners-up from Oakland. That relay included a 19.20 from Matej Dusa.

That was the first of three victories on the day for Dusa – he would go on to win the 50 fly (21.09) and 50 free (19.13), the latter of which broke his Meet Record of 19.29 from last year.

With no Dusa on their 400 medley relay, the Queens men finished in 4th place behind the winners from TCU. TCU’s relay, which got a 52.26 breaststroke split from Jadon Wuilliez and a 45.89 fly split from Piotr Sadlowski, swam 3:09.62 to break Indiana’s Meet Record from 2019 by half-a-second.

That was one of a handful of wins for the Horned Frogs on the day. Geremia Freri won the 200 IM in 1:44.64, which is a new personal best and shaved .07 seconds off his 6th-place time from Big 12s.

After splitting the relays, the Queens and TCU men finished day 1 in a dead heat, 257-257.

Men’s Team Standings After Day 1

1. (tie) TCU/Queens – 257
3. Oakland – 213.5
4. Kentucky – 173
5. Grand Canyon – 137

Other Day 1 Winners

• Kentucky had just two individual swimmers qualify for NCAAs this season in their first season under a new coaching staff, but they’re making the most of the program’s middle-distance tradition at this NIC meet: Libby Grether won the 500 free in 4:42.59 and Madi McGlothen was 2nd in 4:43.26. That time for Grether is a best by two-and-a-half seconds, while McGlothen dropped about a second.
• Miami (Ohio)’s Madeline Padavic won the women’s 50 backstroke in 24.27, a new best time and Meet Record. She broke the meet record in both prelims (24.58) and again in finals.
• Ball State’s Joey Garberick won the 50 breaststroke in 23.89, shaving about a tenth off Christian Bart’s Meet Record of 23.98 from last year. Bart was 3rd this year in 24.14.
• Grand Canyon’s Alex Volkov won the men’s 50 backstroke in commanding fashion, swimming 21.37. TCU freshman Nigel Forbes was half-a-second back in 21.86.
• Iowa freshman Olivia Swalley won the 200 IM in 1:58.47. That shaves .12 seconds off her best time (from high school) and ranks her 2nd all-time in program history.
• Oakland’s Jonas Cantrell won the men’s 500 free in 4:21.48.