NCAA Division II Championships: Augustana’s Bryn Greenwaldt Sets 50 Free Record
Augustana’s Bryn Greenwaldt set the NCAA Division II record in the women’s 50 freestyle Wednesday morning at the Division II Championships in Indianapolis.
Greenwaldt went 21.92 to lead the way in prelims. That’s faster than the 22.08 used by UIndy’s Kirabo Namutebi to win last year. (Namutebi has been 22.03 this year, and Greenwaldt had been 22.09).
Namutebi is the second seed at night, having gone 22.27 in prelims to set up a showdown.
Greenwaldt, a junior, finished second in the 50 last year in 22.49, behind Namutebi’s record. Greenwaldt tied for second in the 100 free and was ninth in the 100 back. She also helped Augustana finish third in the 200 free relay.
Greenwaldt is a special athlete who also competes on the Augustana track and field team, including during the indoor season concurrent with swimming. She competed at Outdoor NCAAs last year in the high jump, where her best of 1.74 meters is tied for sixth in program history. Two weeks ago, she finished third in the high jump at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Championships.
The men’s 50 free included a tie for the top seed, with Maurice Grabowski of Lynn and Tampa’s Tibor Tistan both going 19.45. Tistan had the top seed entering prelims at 19.31 in season, with Grabowski at 19.48. Brandon Wilson of Florida Southern was third in 19.49. The B final was wild, with the ninth-place finisher going 19.89 and the 16th 19.97. A swim-off for 18th place yielded two best times in 19.82 and 19.85.
Drury claimed the top seed in both 200 IMs, with Mellie Wijk going 1:58.81 in the women’s to lead six Drury swimmers in the A final. Ivan Adamchuk’s 1:44.55 leads four from Drury in the A final on the men’s side.
The first full night session of the Division II championships Wednesday night at Indiana University Natatorium will also include the men’s and women’s 1,000 freestyle, women’s 1-meter diving finals and the 200 medley relays.
