NAIA Nationals Recap: Keiser Registers Title Sweep For Second Year In a Row
The NAIA Swimming and Diving National Championships concluded on March 4 with Keiser on top of the podium once again. Keiser swept the podium for the second year in a row, taking both the women’s and men’s titles. The Keiser women’s team ended up 331 points ahead of runnerup SCAD. The men’s team ended up finishing 150 points ahead of St. Thomas.
Day One
Keiser won three of the four relays on Day One to begin its march to the titles.
In the women’s 200 medley relay, Keiser took the first spot on the podium with a time of 1:42.25, followed by Olivet Nazarene University and St. Thomas University. On the men’s side, St. Thomas University took first place with a time of 1:27.38, followed by Keiser and the University of the Cumberlands.
The day finished with the 800 freestyle relay. Keiser took both first places for the women and men with timed of 7:25.27 and 6:31.45, respectively.
Day Two
Keiser’s Rachel Bradley kept the team’s momentum going on the second day. She went 4:58.51 to first place in the 500 free. Kylee Sears was second with a time of 4:59.83, followed by Haley Vanbuskirk with a 4:59.98.
For the men, Joel Thatcher, from SCAD, defended his title from last year with a time of 4:22.92, which put him on top of the podium for the third time in this event.
Keiser’s Camryn Hudson took her first championship title by winning the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.70, which was enough to break the championship record. She was followed by Elisa Corradi, who touched the wall in 2:03.03.
The fastest swims in the 50 free were Sloane Sizemore from SCAD with a time of 23.04 and for the men Noel De Geus (19.80).
The day wrapped up with the 200 freestyle relay and Keiser on top of the scoring board for both the men’s and women’s sides in 1:20.00 and 1:33.18, respectively.
Day Three
The third day started with Elisa Corradi breaking a 30-year-old championship record in the 400 IM. The freshman for the University of the Cumberlands touched the wall with a time of 4:22.69, which was 1.34 seconds faster than the record in 1993.
Fynn Kunze, a Keiser sophomore, won the men’s 400 IM clocking a 3:56.15. Milligan’s Stephen Gilbert finished second in 3:56.24, just .09 seconds behind Kunze.
Alberto Garcia, from Keiser, had a strong day, winning the men’s 100 back in 47.37 and 100 fly, posting a 46.88.
St. Thomas’ Taylor Fitzgerald won the women’s 100 back, swimming a 55.871. Fitzgerald is the first woman in St. Thomas University history to win a national title.
The men’s 200 freestyle was the closest race of the day. St. Thomas’ Daniel Laureyssens won the event in 1:36.72. Joel Thatcher was second, touching in 1:36.73, just .01 seconds behind Laureyssens.
The session continued with a couple more championship records. Next up, Keiser’s Nikoline Biltoft-Jensen won the women’s 100 breast, setting a meet record with a 1:02.01. Noel de Geus captured the men’s 100 breast and set another championship record with a time of 52.62.
Keiser won the women’s 400 medley relay, swimming a 3:45.21. Marine Leconte went 56.29, followed by Nikoline Biltoft-Jensen (1:02.31), Noelia Garzon (54.89), and Liya Goupil-Lizekne (51.72).
St. Thomas teamed up to win the 400 medley relay. Alex Marrero led the team off in 49.63, Inigo Marina checked in with a 52.13, Miguel Angel Arroyo Garcia split 47.91 on fly, and Daniel Laureyssens anchored in 43.05. They touched the wall in 3:12.72, setting a championship record.
Day Four
Riley Renaud, from Milligan, finished first in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 17:21.03. Meanwhile, Aaron Wilmes (Keiser) was dominant in the men’s 1650 free, swimming a 15:20.53 to finish first.
In the women’s 200 back, Marine Lecomte, from Keiser, took over the race and was the only swimmer to swim under 2:00. She touched the wall with a time of 1:59.90. In the men’s 200 back, freshman Jokubas Jankauskas, who swims for the University of the Cumberlands, took the victory. Jankauskas broke the meet record with a time of 1:44.98.
Camryn Hudson won the 100 freestyle in 50.59 and then the women’s 200 fly, swimming a 2:01.38. Hudson finished the meet with three individual victories. Alberto Garcia won the men’s 100 freestyle in 43.52.
The women’s 200 breaststroke was a tight race. Keiser’s Nikoline Biltoft-Jensen won in 2:15.75. She touched just ahead of Olivet Nazarene’s Allison Pearson (2:15.78) and Julie Vega (2:15.99). On the men’s side, Inigo Marina broke the meet record with a time of 1:56.54.
Miguel Angel Arroyo Garcia, from St. Thomas, won the men’s 200 fly in 1:48.12, touching out Max Miller (1:48.22) from KU.
Keiser teamed up to finish the championship with another meet record in the men’s 400 free relay, touching the wall in 2:56.23. Ivan Amillo-Escobedo (44.85), Alberto Garcia (43.09), Alex Kusik (44.27), and Max Miller (44.02) united for the win. On the women’s side, Keiser teamed up to win the last relay of the night behind Aubrey Bach (52.48), Liya Goupil-Lizekne (50.32), Timea Aspegren (51.39), and Camryn Hudson (50.40), who finished in 3:24.59.
Team Scores
Women
Keiser University – 771
Savannah College of Art and De – 440
Olivet Nazarene University – 391
University of the Cumberlands – 329.5
Milligan University – 284
St. Thomas University – 245
Indiana Wesleyan University – 176
Westmont College – 162
The Master’s University – 136
Bethel University (Indiana) – 135
Men
Keiser University – 719
St. Thomas University – 569
Savannah College of Art and De – 450
University of the Cumberlands – 363
Milligan University – 337
Lindsey Wilson College – 228
Saint Ambrose University – 187
Olivet Nazarene University – 155
Bethel University (Indiana) – 120
Thomas University – 108