NCAA Division II Championships, Night 2: Jacob Hamlin Lowers His 1,000 Free Record
Jacob Hamlin served notice in January when the Tampa sophomore downed the NCAA Division II record in the men’s 1,000 freestyle.
It went lower on Wednesday. Much, much lower.
Hamlin was more than 6.5 seconds quicker than his in-season time to dethrone reigning champ Cedric Buessing and win the title in a record 8:47.23. It was a fine way to start off the first full night session of the Division II Championships at Indiana University Natatorium.
Women’s 1,000 freestyle
Last year’s bronze medalist, Andrea Gomez Espinosa of UIndy, made the jump to the win in local waters, going 9:44.90 to win an absolute thriller. She turned for the final 50 three tenths up on Tori Meklensek of Simon Fraser, and the senior from Canada nearly ran her down, finishing .03 back in second. Meklensek had been a spot behind Gomez Espinosa in fourth last year.
Hailey Williams finished third in 9:51.28 for Nova Southeastern. She had been second last year. Missouri-St. Louis’s Justice Beard was fourth, while Montana White finished fifth. The other swimmer under 10 minutes was Olivia Hansson in sixth.
Event 3 Women 1000 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA DII: N 9:38.98 3/13/2024 Emily Trieschmann, Nova S'eastern
Meet: M 9:38.98 3/13/2024 Emily Trieschmann, Nova S'eastern
Name Year School Seed Finals Points
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1 Gomez Espinosa, Andre SR Indy 9:49.28 9:44.90 20
r:+0.72 26.27 54.97 (28.70)
9:16.96 (29.29) 9:44.90 (27.94)
2 Meklensek, Tori SR Simon Fraser 9:53.60 9:44.93 17
r:+0.72 26.50 55.22 (28.72)
9:17.24 (29.24) 9:44.93 (27.69)
3 Williams, Hailey JR Nova S'eastern 9:53.10 9:51.28 16
r:+0.76 26.39 54.67 (28.28)
9:22.07 (29.91) 9:51.28 (29.21)
4 Beard, Justice SO UMSL 9:53.87 9:55.52 15
r:+0.84 26.12 55.06 (28.94)
9:26.80 (30.15) 9:55.52 (28.72)
5 White, Montana SR Azusa Pacific 10:10.17 9:56.64 14
r:+0.76 27.07 56.14 (29.07)
9:27.91 (29.86) 9:56.64 (28.73)
6 Hansson, Olivia JR Colorado Mesa 9:56.05 9:58.91 13
r:+0.81 26.93 56.24 (29.31)
9:29.38 (29.88) 9:58.91 (29.53)
7 Vassilakos, Allison SR Wayne State 10:02.69 10:00.66 12
r:+0.76 27.10 56.55 (29.45)
9:31.27 (30.30) 10:00.66 (29.39)
8 Hodgson, Laura SO Tampa 10:01.67 10:00.99 11
r:+0.79 27.28 56.59 (29.31)
9:31.97 (30.05) 10:00.99 (29.02)
Men’s 1,000 freestyle
Jacob Hamlin improved his NCAA record by a massive margin, going from 8:53.99 in January to 8:47.23 for the win Wednesday night. He had plenty of a push form last year’s NCAA champion, Cedric Buessing of UIndy, who didn’t relinquish his crown lightly. Buessing went 8:48.18, both well under the old mark. The meet record had been a quaint-seeming 8:54.10 from Fabio Dalu of McKendree in 2021. Hamlin was third in this event last year.
Luca Alessandrini of Nova Southeastern was up a spot from his finish last year, third in 2:00.29. Paul Demesy of West Chester jumped two spots to fourth in 9:01.47. Christian Davidson was fifth, and Tampa’s Rafael Ponce de Leon was the quickest of the morning heats, in sixth.
Event 4 Men 1000 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA DII: N 8:53.99 1/2025 Jacob Hamlin, Tampa
Meet: M 8:54.10 3/17/2021 Fabio Dalu, McKendree
Name Year School Seed Finals Points
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1 Hamlin, Jacob SO Tampa 8:53.99 8:47.23N 20
r:+0.77 22.97 48.14 (25.17)
8:21.91 (26.49) 8:47.23 (25.32)
2 Buessing, Cedric SR Indy 8:54.93 8:48.18N 17
r:+0.76 23.16 48.28 (25.12)
8:23.12 (26.26) 8:48.18 (25.06)
3 Alessandrini, Luca SR Nova S'eastern 9:00.73 9:00.29 16
r:+0.73 24.45 50.74 (26.29)
8:34.69 (27.01) 9:00.29 (25.60)
4 Demesy, Paul JR West Chester 9:04.40 9:01.47 15
r:+0.73 24.49 51.34 (26.85)
8:35.48 (27.13) 9:01.47 (25.99)
5 Davidson, Christian SO McKendree 9:05.34 9:01.98 14
r:+0.68 24.39 50.75 (26.36)
8:35.56 (27.50) 9:01.98 (26.42)
6 Ponce De Leon, Rafael 5Y Tampa 9:11.73 9:02.41 13
r:+0.73 23.53 49.41 (25.88)
8:35.09 (28.04) 9:02.41 (27.32)
7 Kazakin, Vladislav FR Mines 9:06.17 9:07.50 12
r:+0.80 24.70 51.66 (26.96)
8:41.79 (27.09) 9:07.50 (25.71)
8 Kantzenbach, Jon 5Y Grand Valley 9:12.66 9:09.33 11
r:+0.70 24.41 50.98 (26.57)
8:42.02 (28.08) 9:09.33 (27.31)
Women’s 200 individual medley
Mellie Wijk helped Drury maximize its advantage in the IM, with places 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7. Wijk won in 1:57.97. She had placed fourth a year ago. Jonette Lagried was third in 1:59.98, just ahead of teammate Claire Conover. Conover, Wijk and seventh-place Aurora Duncan were all in the A final last year for Drury.
Second place went to May Lowy of Nova Southeastern in 1:59.39. She was fifth last year, again a spot behind Wijk. Last year’s bronze medalist, Emilia Ronningdahl of Nova, was fifth.
Event 5 Women 200 Yard IM
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NCAA DII: N 1:55.63 3/9/2016 Patri Castro Ortega, Queens (NC)
Meet: M 1:55.63 3/9/2016 Patri Castro Ortega, Queens (NC)
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Wijk, Mellie SR Drury 1:58.81 1:57.97 20
r:+0.73 25.57 55.90 (30.33)
1:29.45 (33.55) 1:57.97 (28.52)
2 Lowy, May SR Nova S'eastern 2:00.00 1:59.39 17
r:+0.64 26.31 55.98 (29.67)
1:31.39 (35.41) 1:59.39 (28.00)
3 Lagreid, Jonette FR Drury 2:00.72 1:59.98 16
r:+0.74 27.36 58.16 (30.80)
1:31.19 (33.03) 1:59.98 (28.79)
4 Conover, Claire SR Drury 2:00.17 2:00.16 15
r:+0.69 27.06 57.38 (30.32)
1:31.25 (33.87) 2:00.16 (28.91)
5 Ronningdal, Emilia JR Nova S'eastern 1:59.94 2:00.23 14
r:+0.76 26.32 56.40 (30.08)
1:31.25 (34.85) 2:00.23 (28.98)
6 Fe Munoz, Maria JR Drury 2:01.62 2:00.92 13
r:+0.66 26.25 56.52 (30.27)
1:32.06 (35.54) 2:00.92 (28.86)
7 Duncan, Aurora SR Drury 2:00.37 2:01.84 12
r:+0.75 26.50 56.43 (29.93)
1:32.48 (36.05) 2:01.84 (29.36)
8 Dillman, Shannah JR West Florida 2:01.96 2:02.70 11
r:+0.76 26.66 57.92 (31.26)
1:33.46 (35.54) 2:02.70 (29.24)
Men’s 200 individual medley
Ivan Adamchuk defending the top seed, going from winning the B final in 2024 to the champion in 1:43.19. He was a second clear of Jeremias Pock of UIndy, the runner-up in 1:44.26.
Drury went 1-3-5-7, with Alejandro Villarejo nearly getting up to second, though he was a tenth back of Pock, despite outsplitting him by .65 on the end. McKendree’s Volodymyr Gavrysh was fourth, one of three freshman in the A final. David Mourao and Joao Nogueira also finished in the top eight for Drury.
Event 6 Men 200 Yard IM
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NCAA DII: N 1:41.61 3/14/2018 Marius Kusch, Queens (NC)
Meet: M 1:41.61 3/14/2018 Marius Kusch, Queens (NC)
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Adamchuk, Ivan SO Drury 1:44.55 1:43.19 20
r:+0.69 22.02 47.54 (25.52)
1:17.84 (30.30) 1:43.19 (25.35)
2 Pock, Jeremias FR Indy 1:45.89 1:44.26 17
r:+0.63 22.79 49.05 (26.26)
1:18.57 (29.52) 1:44.26 (25.69)
3 Villarejo, Alejandro JR Drury 1:45.89 1:44.36 16
r:+0.63 22.31 49.40 (27.09)
1:19.32 (29.92) 1:44.36 (25.04)
4 Gavrysh, Volodymyr FR McKendree 1:45.98 1:45.13 15
r:+0.61 23.15 49.22 (26.07)
1:20.88 (31.66) 1:45.13 (24.25)
5 Mourao, Davi SR Drury 1:46.08 1:45.28 14
r:+0.66 22.60 50.57 (27.97)
1:19.80 (29.23) 1:45.28 (25.48)
6 Thalau, Tom FR Lewis 1:46.15 1:45.51 13
r:+0.70 23.48 49.60 (26.12)
1:20.35 (30.75) 1:45.51 (25.16)
7 Nogueira, Joao JR Drury 1:46.05 1:45.89 12
r:+0.66 22.84 49.65 (26.81)
1:20.32 (30.67) 1:45.89 (25.57)
8 Bichsel, Connor JR Missouri S & T 1:46.12 1:46.00 11
r:+0.64 22.85 49.37 (26.52)
1:19.85 (30.48) 1:46.00 (26.15)
Women’s 50 freestyle
Augustana’s Bryn Greenwaldt couldn’t quite match her prelims speed, but she did get the gold medal she was after, going 22.09 to win the 50. It took 22.08 to win it last year, and Greenwaldt set the NCAA record in prelims at 21.92. But the swimmer of said 22.08 last year, UIndy’s Kirabo Namutebi, was second Tuesday night in 22.26.
Third place went to Lynn’s Luna Mertins in 22.34, a tenth ahead of Henderson State’s Kiara Pozvai, who dropped a spot from last year. Kristina Orban of Nova Southeastern was fifth in 22.52.
Event 7 Women 50 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA DII: N 21.92 3/12/2025 Bryn Greenwaldt, Augustana
Meet: M 21.92 3/12/2025 Bryn Greenwaldt, Augustana
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Greenwaldt, Bryn JR Augustana (W) 21.92 22.09 20
r:+0.69 10.67 22.09 (11.42)
2 Namutebi, Kirabo SO Indy 22.27 22.26 17
r:+0.67 10.78 22.26 (11.48)
3 Mertins, Luna 5Y Lynn 22.31 22.34 16
r:+0.73 10.99 22.34 (11.35)
4 Pozvai, Kiara SR Henderson St. 22.65 22.44 15
r:+0.79 10.87 22.44 (11.57)
5 Orban, Kristina FR Nova S'eastern 22.76 22.52 14
r:+0.71 10.82 22.52 (11.70)
6 Dekoninck, Laura SR Lynn 22.79 22.68 13
r:+0.68 10.88 22.68 (11.80)
7 Esparza, Maya JR Nova S'eastern 22.88 22.79 12
r:+0.79 10.97 22.79 (11.82)
8 Kurdi, Zsofia 5Y Nova S'eastern 22.88 22.99 11
r:+0.76 11.19 22.99 (11.80)
Men’s 50 freestyle
Tibor Tistan of Tampa and Lynn’s Maurice Grabowski each went 19.45 in the morning.
Grabowski did it again at night. Tistan had no interest in that.
Tistan blasted a time of 19.12 to win the gold medal, improving from sixth place in a veteran field last year. He was .32 seconds ahead of Grabowski, who nonetheless made a massive improvement from 37th in this event last year to the silver medal. Uruguayan international Leo Nolles of Northern Michigan finished third in 19.54 after being 12th last year. Evan Scotto Divetta of Grand Valley was fourth in 19.59, while Catawba’s Maksymilian Minichowski was fifth.
In befitting the wildness of the event, the B final was won by St. Cloud State’s Mason Beck in 19.49, faster than all but two of the teams in the A final.
Event 8 Men 50 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA DII: N 18.88 3/9/2022 Matej Dusa, Queens (NC)
Meet: M 18.88 3/9/2022 Matej Dusa, Queens (NC)
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Tistan, Tibor JR Tampa 19.45 19.12 20
r:+0.67 9.14 19.12 (9.98)
2 Grabowski, Maurice JR Lynn 19.45 19.45 17
r:+0.56 9.42 19.45 (10.03)
3 Nolles, Leo JR NMU 19.70 19.54 16
r:+0.61 9.42 19.54 (10.12)
4 Scotto Divetta, Evan JR Grand Valley 19.54 19.59 15
r:+0.72 9.62 19.59 (9.97)
5 Minichowski, Maksymil SO Catawba 19.82 19.73 14
r:+0.62 9.50 19.73 (10.23)
6 Minuer, Lucas JR Drury 19.60 19.76 13
r:+0.67 9.49 19.76 (10.27)
7 Brandon, Caleb 5Y Tampa 19.81 19.77 12
r:+0.69 9.53 19.77 (10.24)
8 Wilson, Brandon SR Florida Southern 19.49 19.94 11
r:+0.58 9.57 19.94 (10.37)
Women’s 1-meter diving
Women’s 200 medley relay
Men’s 200 medley relay
