Division II Meet Preview: First Wave Of Conference Championships

Next weekend kicks off many of the major conferences in Division II Swimming & Diving, giving fans a preview of what they can expect to see at NCAA Championships in March. Take a look below to find out who to watch across some of the biggest D2 conferences.

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 

Wayne State University will return to the meet as the defending conference champions on the women’s side, while Grand Valley State University will return as the defending conference champions for the men. This year, Grand Valley State seems to be the strongest team on paper to win both championships.

Senior Leonie Van Noort, who was a two-time NCAA Champion last year, will return for her last season leading the Lakers and should help get some big individual points and boost their relays. The Laker men will be lead by junior Gabriel Souza, who is part of a deep sprint group that includes sophomore Benjamin Walling and senior Daniel Abbott. Between these three the GVSU men should rack up some big points individually and with relays.

While Grand Valley State looks to be the favorite, don’t count out Northern Michigan, who could conceivably make a run for either conference title. Freshman Rachel Helm could be one of the biggest breakout stars of this year and has the potential to win individual titles in the 100 free, 100 back, and 100 fly. Wayne State also returns sophomore Lezlie Bueno Estrada and senior All-American Manuela Ferreira, who can both challenge for individual titles in the sprint free and breaststroke events respectively. The 2017 GLIAC Championships will run Feb 8 – 11 at the Gerstacker Regional Aquatic Center at Saginaw Valley State University.

Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships

All eyes will be on the defending NCAA Champions Queens University of Charlotte at the 2017 ASC Championships as fans look to see if the Royals have enough in the tank to repeat their wins this year. Queens lost a great class last year that was key to their championship titles, but both their men and women are still strong enough to challenge for both titles in March. While some of their swimmers may not be fully rested for this meet, the Royals performance should give a good indication of what the team has left to challenge for a championship title.

Junior Dion Dreesens is coming off an amazing sophomore year and hasn’t been too far off his in-season times from last year. He was 43.84, 1:34.20, and 9:14.08 at the 2016 ASC meet to take the 100, 200, and 1000 individual titles, and was able to drop considerably at NCAA’s. If he is anywhere near those times it will be a good sign for him past the conference meet. Fellow junior Nick Arakelian is having a stellar season and should do his part to grab a few individual titles, as could newcomer Paul Pijulet who joins an incredible junior class for Queens. The Lady Royals will return several conference champions of their own, including McKenzie Stevens in the distance events, Hannah Peiffer in sprint fly and back, and Kyrie Dobson in the sprint events.

Wingate will be looking to hold on to their runner-up position in the conference. Redshirt junior Sebastian Holmberg will help strengthen Wingate’s point haul. As a swimmer for Bluegrass Mountain Conference rival Catawba Holmberg recorded three top three placings in the 100 back, 100 fly, and 100 free. Senior Leif-Henning Kluever should also be good for three top 8 individual appearances in addition to helping out on the relays. The Bulldog women’s greatest asset in the conference will be their breaststroke duo of seniors Olga Kosheleva and Jessika Weiss. Weiss won the 200 breast at last years meet, while Josheleva was dual champion in the 100 and 200 breast in 2015. The 2017 Bluegrass Mountain Championships will be begin February 8th at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships

UC San Diego is in a good place to defend their 2016 PCSC Championship titles at this year’s conference championships and extend their streak of 8 consecutive team titles for both the men’s and women’s teams.

The Triton women have some high level talent in the breaststroke events, with the trio of sophomore Lily Maxfield (11th), junior Anshanika Phetbenjakul (10th), and senior Jaimie Bryan (3rd) all ranked within the top 11 nationally from their times in the fall. Bryan has never won either breaststroke event at the conference level, but with the way she is swimming expect her to challenge for the top of the podium in either event to set herself up for a great NCAA’s. Other swimmers to watch will include sophomore transfer Amanda Sumrow, who posted a 2:01.23 in the 200 butterfly at mid-season. That is a tenth faster than what won that event last year. Sophomore Reagan Eickert also seemed poised to grab an individual title after going a best time in the 500 free (4:57.37) at the A3 Invitational. It took a 4:59.32 to win the event last year.

For the men, All-American senior Michael Cohn should be in a position to win his third consecutive 200 backstroke given his third ranked time from the fall (1:45.56) and defend his conference titles in the 200 and 500 free. Junior All-American Kevin Wylder will also be looking for a three-time title defense in the 100 butterfly and could be a title threat in multiple events. Senior transfer Gabriel Hernandez will also be one to watch — he’s currently ranked #1 in the conference in the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 fly. The 2017 Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships will begin February 8th in Monterey Park.

Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships

Truman State won the women’s meet last year by 36 points over Drury, while the Drury men topped Truman State by 31 points to take their third consecutive title. Truman State is not in the same form as last year, and Drury is in a resurgent year that is reminiscent of their old dominance of Division II swimming. Freshman Bailee Nunn will be a standout for the Panthers, with the incredibly versatile freshman capable of winning multiple individual conference titles. Nunn currently holds the fastest times in the country in the 100 breast (1:00.42), 200 IM (1:57.96), and 100 fly (53.16), and could conceivably also challenge for wins in the 100 free, 200 breast, or 200 fly. Junior Nicole Sisson will be Truman State’s biggest point scorer, with the All-American also challenging for wins in the 50, 100, and 200 free in addition to helping boost relays. 

The Drury’s men’s chances of defending their title will also be boosted from a freshman. Konrad Stepien was just .10 off of Dion Dreesen’s NCAA record in the 500 free (4:17.19) this fall, and should get big points in the middle distance free events while contributing key legs to relays. Juniors Rodrigo Caceres and Jun Kim should also bring in considerable points and relay legs for the Panthers. Caceres recorded two seconds and a third at last year’s meet, while Kim is having a strong return to competition after being absent from Drury’s roster since 2011. Kim will be trying to take down Truman State’s William Shanel, who was the 2016 Champion in the 200 fly (1:47.27) and 400 IM (3:48.56). He would go on to get third in the 400 IM at NCAA’s and has a chance to three-peat in that event at conferences this year. 

The 2017 GLVC Championships will come just a week after the tragic loss of Drury senior Wen Xu, who passed away following a medical emergency during a team practice on February 2nd. Xu was the GLVS Champion in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles and swam the anchor leg on both winning medley relays for Drury last season. At the 2016 NCAA Championships she set a national record in the 50 freestyle (22.36), and at the 2015 NCAA Championships swam on the winning 200 free and 200 medley relays for Drury. The 2017 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships will begin February 8th in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

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Javier Sossa
7 years ago

Manuela Ferreira

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