On the final night of competition, Marius Kusch won his fourth individual event of the week at NCAA Division II Nationals. Kusch led start to finish in the 100 free, stopping the clock in 41.73. That time made him the first Division II man under 42 seconds in the event, destroying his old records, and the rest of the field.
Kusch held the meet record, a 42.42 swum last year. At the Bluegrass Conference Championship in February Kusch lowered the National mark to a 42.29. He cruised through prelims this morning in 43.32, before blasting away the field in finals.
His teammate Alex Kunert was third for the Royals in 43.31. Florida Tech’s Victor Rocha Furtado finished second in 43.07.
Event 35 Men 100 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA DII: N 42.29 2/9/2019 Marius Kusch, Queens (NC)
Meet: M 42.42 3/17/2018 Marius Kusch, Queens (NC)
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Kusch, Marius SR Queens (NC) 43.32 41.73N 20
r:+0.67 19.86 41.73 (21.87)
2 Rocha Furtado, Victor SR Florida Tech 43.64 43.07 17
r:+0.63 20.71 43.07 (22.36)
3 Kunert, Alex FR Queens (NC) 43.15 43.31 16
r:+0.63 20.79 43.31 (22.52)
4 Skinner, Xander SO McKendree 43.48 43.45 15
r:+0.68 20.89 43.45 (22.56)
5 Schirru, Mattia SR Delta State 43.62 43.50 14
r:+0.65 20.62 43.50 (22.88)
6 Heck, Brody JR Queens (NC) 43.85 43.72 13
r:+0.69 20.66 43.72 (23.06)
7 Santos, Joao SO Emmanuel 43.75 43.85 12
r:+0.65 20.89 43.85 (22.96)
8 Pucarevic, Matija SO McKendree 43.87 44.05 11
r:+0.65 21.00 44.05 (23.05)
He appears to be 30
you appear 76…..what’s your point?
Not quite, but he is closer to 30 than he is to 20.
Paul White oops only 25 typical age of college freshman.
Robert Kale agree, wonder what the NCAA guidelines are that allow these mid to late 20’s European swimmers to swim against 18-22 yr old US swimmers in college meets? I would hope that the NCAA would look into updating these rules. Looks like most sports you have to be within 6 months to a year of HS graduation for NCAA eligibility and not over 20 or 21. ?. Wonder what the swimming regulation is??
Robert Kale
My son is a STUDENT athlete (mechanical engineering) who swims for 3rd Place UIndy, this was a topic of conversation this week. This guy is 25 and a senior, is ranked 4th in the World in the 100 fly? And they have a 23 year old “freshman” who broke several meet records. I’d like to know what their majors are….
Especially as he lives in San Diego, doesn’t train with the team, and takes online classes..
I think it would be very interesting to hear the story as to why he swam for a D2 school instead of going to the D1 school of his choice?
Because he is a 25, almost 26, year old German professional swimmer. Same for the 23 year old “freshman”at Queens, Alex Kunert. D2 has different rules that allow this sort of thing, and Queens does it on the women’s side too. Many of these top swimmers in D2 are foreign swimmers who are much older than your average American college student.
James Bair I know of some D3 athletes that could have swam D1
If he went to D1 he would have been given only 1 year of being able to swim, but if he went D2 he got 3 years.
James Bair I recommend doing some research on Queen’s University’s program. You’ll see why he chose that school! The swim program there is astonishing.
James Bair Olympian Andrew Wilson swam D3 at Emory. Maybe these STUDENT athletes choose their schools for the education vs D1 ego.
Great.
Hi, all,
Regarding the students/athletes are older than the your/my son.
It is not a problem, if you think about the growth and learning they can acquire from more experient and old athletes it is positive.
If this guy was Michael Phelps or someone wonderful swimming maybe we would not having this conversation.
They are all friends in the pool and competitors in the competition, that’s it, nothing else.
😉 Have a nice day your all, and sorry for any different opinion here. <3