Division II Meet Recap: Delta State Shines At Christmas Invite

This week featured two more invitationals featuring big name teams from Division II swimming, and the results did not disappoint. Take a look at our recaps below to see all the top swims in this week’s Division II Meet Recap.

Meet of the Week: Delta State Christmas Invitational

Delta State University, which was ranked #8 (women) and #15 (men) among Division II teams last month, hosted the Delta State Christmas Invitational this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Lindenwood, the #5 (men) and #10 (women) ranked team in the country, finished in first on both sides of the meet, with the Lion men scoring 1201.5 points and the Lion women finishing with 1284 points.

Host Delta State was second, with 1094.5 points on the men’s side and 1217 points on the women’s side, less than 70 points back from the winning Lions. Lindenwood senior and three-time 2016 NCAA Champion Serghei Golban had a nice meet for the Lions, winning the 50 free (19.84) and 100 fly (48.99, 48.03 prelims) while finishing second in the 100 free (43.87). His time in the 50 free puts him second in the country, just .05 back from Drury’s Rodrigo Caceres. He also moved up to fourth in the 100 fly tied for third in the 100 free. Other notable performances from the meet included:

Lindenwood junior Ewa Dymarek, who cleared the NCAA invited time from 2016 when she won the 100 breaststroke (1:02.53) and 200 breast (2:16.41). That 100 time is a lifetime best for the junior, who hasn’t been under 1:03 since the 2014-2015 season.
Lindenwood freshman Aleksandra Tomala, who dropped 8 seconds off her seed time in the 200 backstroke to win in 1:59.20, good for fourth in the country.
Delta State senior Melanie Tombers posted a 4:17.04 to win the 400 IM, less than a tenth off of her lifetime best from 2014 and good for an NCAA “A” cut.
Delta State breaststrokers Matteo Fraschi and Alex Peach, who won the 100 breast (53.70) and 200 breaststroke (1:55.30) in the fastest times in the country this year.
Delta State sophomore Mattia Schirru, who won the 100 freestyle in a “A” cut of 43.35 to become the fastest in the country this season.
Delta State sophomore Caroline Jouiss, who recorded an “A” cut to win the 1650 free (16:48.22) and move to second in the country.

With a lot of upperclassmen stepping up, both Lindenwood and Delta State look to be in a great spots to challenge each other for the NSISC Conference Championships at the end of the year and improve upon their standings from 2016 at NCAA’s.

Golden Rams Invitational

West Chester University hosted two Division III teams at the Golden Ram Invitational this past weekend, putting up some impressive performances that are sure to improve up both teams’ #18 (men) and #23 (women) rankings. Both teams won the meet handily. The women more than doubled the points of the closest team, while the men won by nearly 400 points. While the Golden Ram women have some talented freshman talent who are sure to contribute at the end of the year, the men have a lot of experience behind them, which was evident in the high level of their performances.

Senior Victor Polyakov was a stand out for the Golden Rams, winning four individual events and contributing to three winning relays. The senior’s best event had to be the 400 IM, which he won in a PSAC conference record time of 3:50.62. That’s a best time by about two seconds, and although it is not one of the senior’s regular events still puts him second in the country so far this season. Polyakov also won the 200 IM (1:47.25), 1650 free (15:43.90), and 200 free (1:38.24) throughout the meet. He is the defending NCAA champion in the 200 IM, and has won both the 200 free and 1650 at NCAA’s, so expect him to be challenging for multiple titles at the end of the year based on these mid-season results.

Other notable performances included:

Senior Michael Oliver winning the 200 breaststroke in 1:57.38, which was, at the time, the fastest time in the country. That time was since surpassed by Alex Peach of Delta State, but that is still Oliver’s best time in the event by over a second.
Freshman Megan Keithly, who won the 100 (55.52) and 200 butterfly (2:02.98) in huge lifetime best times to claim the top spots in the PSAC conference this year and crack the top 10 nationally in the 200 fly.
Fellow freshman Georgia Wright (1650 free, 200 backstroke) and Mikaela Lantz (50 free), who moved to the top of the conference in their respective events.

West Chester will take a break from competition for the rest of the year, returning on January 7th away against John Hopkins University.

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Steffi

7 years ago

I would say youtube. But honestly, you di#&1d82n7;t miss anything spectacular. I thought it was quite creepy and I felt like I could have done fine without seeing it.