NCAA Division II Championships, Night 2: Jacob Hamlin Crushes His 1,000 Free Record

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.
The team scores after Night 2:
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 10 1. Nova S'Eastern 170 2. Drury 143 3. Indy 114 4. Colorado Mesa 104 5. Clarion 73 6. Lynn 67 6. Grand Valley 67 8. Tampa 63 9. West Florida 61 10. Augustana 57 10. Simon Fraser 57 12. Wingate 41 13. Azusa Pacific 36 14. Findlay 34 15. Wayne State 29 16. Oklahoma Christi 21 17. Msu Mankato 20 18. McKendree 16 19. Henderson St. 15 19. Umsl 15 21. Nmu 13 22. Delta State 10 23. Catawba 5 24. Florida Southern 2 24. Csu East Bay 2 24. Davenport 2 24. Truman St. 2 28. Concordia 1
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 11 1. Drury 151 2. Tampa 143 3. Indy 111 4. McKendree 89 5. Grand Valley 82 6. Florida Southern 50 7. Lewis 48 8. Lynn 46 9. Colorado Mesa 45 10. Wingate 41 11. Wayne State 30 12. Nmu 28 13. Catawba 27 14. Nova S'Eastern 26 15. Rollins 25 16. St Cloud St 23 17. Delta State 15 17. West Chester University 15 19. Ouachita 14 20. Mines 12 20. Barry U 12 22. Missouri S & T 11 23. Carson-Newman 10 24. Simon Fraser 9 25. Biola University 7 26. Saginaw Valley 4 27. Montevallo 3 28. Henderson St. 2
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 ========================================================================= 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 ========================================================================= 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 ========================================================================= 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 ========================================================================= 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 ========================================================================= 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 ========================================================================= 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 for the program’s first national title.
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 ========================================================================= 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 ========================================================================= 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
Clarion went 1-2 and took four of the top five spots on 1-meter, led by Luna Vejarano. She scored 476.75 in the intrasquad scrimmage, edging teammate Colleen Hudson by second. Alexa Gonczi was fourth, Taelyn Thomas fifth and Kaitlyn Madigan 10th.
Breaking the blockade was Madison Kooistra of Grand Valley in 441.65, .25 seconds over Gonczi.
Event 9 Women 1 mtr Diving ========================================================================= NCAA DII: N 511.55 3/10/2011 Kayla Kelosky, Clarion Meet: M 511.55 3/10/2011 Kayla Kelosky, Clarion Name Year School Prelims Finals Points ========================================================================= === Championship Final === 1 Vejarano, Luna JR Clarion 444.80 476.75 20 2 Hudson, Colleen SO Clarion 411.40 456.50 17 3 Kooistra, Madison SR Grand Valley 432.35 441.65 16 4 Gonczi, Alexa SR Clarion 439.80 441.40 15 5 Thomas, Taelyn SO Clarion 408.70 437.80 14 6 Mieses, Adriana JR West Florida 391.75 432.55 13 7 Warnygora, Aspen SR MSU Mankato 401.50 426.10 12 8 Licht, Amelia JR Colorado Mesa 388.60 388.10 11
Women’s 200 medley relay
UIndy set a national record in an event where they finished ninth last year, going 1:38.30 to take down the NCAA record. The team of Julia Magierowska, Megan Gregory, Andrea Paaske and Kirabo Manutebi (21.69 on the end) went a second quicker than their seed time. It downs the NCAA record of 1:38.49 set in 2018 by Queens and the meet record that that school set a year later.
Nova Southeastern finished second in 1:38.44 to take the lead at the end of the night session. Lynn was third with Colorado Mesa fourth. Drury finished seventh and sits second as a team.
Event 10 Women 200 Yard Medley Rel
ay ================================================================================== NCAA DII: N 1:38.30 3/12/2025 Indy J Magierowska, M Gregory, A Paaske, K Namutebi Meet: M 1:38.30 3/12/2025 Indy J Magierowska, M Gregory, A Paaske, K Namutebi School Seed Finals Points ================================================================================== 1 Indy 1:39.42 1:38.30N 40 1) Magierowska, Julia SR 2) r:0.31 Gregory, Megan SR 3) r:0.24 Paaske, Andrea SR 4) r:0.24 Namutebi, Kirabo SO 24.87 52.82 (27.95) 1:16.61 (23.79) 1:38.30 (21.69) 2 Nova S'eastern 1:39.46 1:38.44 34 1) Goncalves, Maria SR 2) r:0.30 Montgomery, Hannah SO 3) r:0.27 Orban, Kristina FR 4) r:0.41 Esparza, Maya JR 25.17 52.78 (27.61) 1:16.34 (23.56) 1:38.44 (22.10) 3 Lynn 1:40.13 1:39.18 32 1) Dekoninck, Laura SR 2) r:0.28 Schneider, Malaika JR 3) r:0.24 Mertins, Luna 5Y 4) r:0.14 Lundell, Alexa SO 25.57 53.07 (27.50) 1:16.23 (23.16) 1:39.18 (22.95) 4 Colorado Mesa 1:39.38 1:39.71 30 1) Naskret, Agata JR 2) r:0.34 Leese, Antonia SO 3) r:0.25 Borchardt, Kiara JR 4) r:0.28 Williams, Elli JR 24.40 52.41 (28.01) 1:17.09 (24.68) 1:39.71 (22.62) 5 Augustana (W) 1:40.17 1:39.82 28 1) Greenwaldt, Bryn JR 2) r:0.23 Jelliti, Nesrine SR 3) r:0.13 Chan, Angelina SR 4) r:0.08 Montgomery, Makoa SR 24.22 52.10 (27.88) 1:16.93 (24.83) 1:39.82 (22.89) 6 Findlay 1:40.85 1:39.87 26 1) Melnyk, Oleksandra SR 2) r:0.28 Susi, Katie JR 3) r:0.26 Mears-Bentley, mily JR 4) r:0.12 Grubbs, Troie JR 24.99 53.34 (28.35) 1:17.15 (23.81) 1:39.87 (22.72) 7 Drury 1:40.15 1:40.79 24 1) Waller, Alexandra 5Y 2) r:0.26 Lagreid, Jonette FR 3) r:0.35 Fe Munoz, Maria JR 4) r:0.52 Moore, Ashlyn JR 25.95 52.90 (26.95) 1:17.61 (24.71) 1:40.79 (23.18) 8 Wingate 1:41.59 1:40.86 22 1) Ozola, Elizabete Paula FR 2) r:0.24 Dwojak, Natalia JR 3) r:0.27 Zapata Ceballostina SO 4) r:0.03 Andrews, Lucinda SR 25.76 53.43 (27.67) 1:18.07 (24.64) 1:40.86 (22.79)
Men’s 200 medley relay

200-medley-relay-awards-
Make it a double dose of victories for Indy, the quartet of Mattia Rossi, Brayden Cole, Oskar Sawicki and Aqeel Joseph going 1:24.68. That’s .22 off their national record last year. Ind held off Tampa by .03 seconds, Caleb Brandon bringing it home in 19.19. Florida Southern wasn’t far behind in 1:24.87
Indy’s win helps it keep the pressure on in the team category in third place. Tampa is second, eight points behind Drury, which finished fourth in the relay.
Event 11 Men 200 Yard Medley Relay ================================================================================== NCAA DII: N 1:24.46 3/13/2024 Indy J Thompson, B Cole, O Sawicki, A Joseph Meet: M 1:24.46 3/13/2024 Indy J Thompson, B Cole, O Sawicki, A Joseph School Seed Finals Points ================================================================================== 1 Indy 1:24.88 1:24.68 40 1) Rossi, Mattia SR 2) r:0.12 Cole, Brayden 5Y 3) r:0.29 Sawicki, Oskar JR 4) r:0.24 Joseph, Aqeel 5Y 21.82 44.91 (23.09) 1:05.21 (20.30) 1:24.68 (19.47) 2 Tampa 1:25.83 1:24.71 34 1) Knollman, Parker SR 2) r:0.26 Polasek, Richard 5Y 3) r:0.27 Tistan, Tibor JR 4) r:0.36 Brandon, Caleb 5Y 21.60 45.56 (23.96) 1:05.52 (19.96) 1:24.71 (19.19) 3 Florida Southern 1:25.51 1:24.87 32 1) Wilson, Brandon SR 2) r:0.22 Barczyk, Janek SO 3) r:0.07 Viallon, Nino JR 4) r:0.27 Da Rocha, Matheus SO 21.43 44.78 (23.35) 1:05.39 (20.61) 1:24.87 (19.48) 4 Drury 1:25.37 1:25.41 30 1) Adamchuk, Ivan SO 2) r:0.52 Mourao, Davi SR 3) r:0.12 Villarejo, Alejndro JR 4) r:0.38 Minuer, Lucas JR 21.53 45.73 (24.20) 1:06.18 (20.45) 1:25.41 (19.23) 5 McKendree 1:25.62 1:25.56 28 1) Rozenek, Patryk SR 2) r:0.21 Bertulis, Nojus FR 3) Lustig, Jackson SR 4) r:0.15 Upton, Tyson SO 21.53 45.39 (23.86) 1:06.01 (20.62) 1:25.56 (19.55) 6 Grand Valley 1:26.70 1:25.73 26 1) Dies, Aaron SR 2) r:0.15 Goh, Andrew SO 3) r:0.25 Nunez Del Pradoeban FR 4) Scotto Divetta, Evan JR 22.01 46.05 (24.04) 1:06.83 (20.78) 1:25.73 (18.90) 7 Lewis 1:26.48 1:25.96 24 1) Jacinto, Jerard 5Y 2) r:0.16 Streefland, River FR 3) r:0.17 Vincent, Davidson SO 4) r:0.19 Howard, Matt JR 21.43 45.63 (24.20) 1:06.52 (20.89) 1:25.96 (19.44) 8 Lynn 1:27.23 1:26.07 22 1) Melcer, Paul JR 2) r:0.21 Tsyfarov, Maxim SO 3) r:0.32 Kostin, Vitaly 5Y 4) r:0.06 Grabowski, Maurice JR 21.93 45.96 (24.03) 1:07.06 (21.10) 1:26.07 (19.01)