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Division II Championships
Division II Division II dived into its winter championships season with a familiar result: a fourth consecutive men’s swimming and diving championship by Drury.
DII Men’s Basketball SEMIFINALS
Winona St. 86, Bentley 75
Augusta St. 56, Alas. Anchorage 50
CHAMPIONSHIP
Winona St. 87, Augusta St. 76
Winona State center John Smith, the two-time Division II national player of the year, stepped beyond the arc to make four three-pointers and lead Winona State to its second NCAA title in three years. Tournament most outstanding player Jonte Flowers added 30 points as Winona State overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to down Augusta State, 87-76, in the title game. Winona State, whose senior class won 129 games, trailed at halftime in each of its three contests at the Elite Eight. The victory erased a bitter memory for Winona State, which lost the 2007 final when Barton’s Anthony Atkinson went on a 10-1 run over the last 45 seconds. That experience was not easily forgotten, said Winona State coach Mike Leaf. “Even in that last huddle, John Smith said, ‘When you lose a game you’ve got to learn from it. Let’s finish this thing off,’ ” Leaf said.
DII Women’s Basketball SEMIFINALS
South Dakota 68, Delta St. 58
Northern Ky. 57, Alas. Anchorage 54
CHAMPIONSHIP
Northern Ky. 63, South Dakota 58
Northern Kentucky refused to push the panic button and methodically downed South Dakota, 63-58, to win the Division II Women’s Basketball Championship. Angela Healy scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Cassie Brannen netted 15 of her 18 points in the second half to lead Northern Kentucky to its second NCAA title. South Dakota, 33-2, led 26-23 at halftime and opened the advantage to 38-26 with 14:30 left. Northern Kentucky responded with a 10-1 run capped by a three-pointer from Danyelle Echoles. “We kept believing,” said Norse coach Nancy Winstel. “Our entire defensive plan was to switch high, and not let them drive and pitch on us. We did a pretty good job of knowing who their three-point shooters were and guarded them very well. We wanted to stay home on their shooters and not help, and we are long enough defensively to do that.”
DII men’s Indoor Track and Field Saint Augustine’s outpointed Abilene Christian for the third straight year to win the team title at the Division II Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships and moved closer to matching the Wildcats as the most successful team in the meet’s history. The title is Saint Augustine’s fourth of the decade and 11th overall, just one fewer than Abilene Christian’s 12. The two teams combined have won all but one of the 24 meets conducted since 1985. In fact, Saint Augustine’s won six of the first eight meets before Abilene Christian won 11 of the next 13 years. The Falcons edged ahead of the Wildcats in another indicator of long-term success, winning two events at the meet to lead Division II in individual championships with 56. Abilene Christian, which won no events this year, has won 55 individual titles. Saint Augustine’s won the 1,600-meter relay for the third straight year and Joe Kindred won the high jump, as the Falcons compiled a 19-point advantage over the Wildcats.
DII Women’s Indoor Track and Field TEAM RESULTS
1st: Adams St., 55
2nd: St. Augustine’s, 48
3rd: Lincoln (Mo.), 38.3
Adams State outpointed defending champion Saint Augustine’s to win its first women’s NCAA track and field crown in competition at Minnesota State Mankato. The Grizzlies won just one event (the distance medley relay), but pieced together points in seven others to build a seven-point margin of victory. They collected more than half of their points (32 of 55) in the meet’s three shortest races. Most came courtesy of freshman Indira Spence, who contributed 19 points with a runner-up finish in the 60-meter hurdles, a third-place effort in the 200-meter dash and a fourth-place finish in the 60-meter dash. Saint Augustine’s traditional strength in the sprints nearly lifted the Falcons to their fifth indoor team title of the decade. Sophomore Barbara Pierre successfully defended her 60-meter dash championship and also won the 200-meter dash. Erica Young added a title in the 400-meter dash. Minnesota State Mankato pole vaulter Katelin Rains, who last year became the first Division II woman to clear 14 feet indoors, improved the mark by 1¾ inches as a Maverick claimed that event for the fourth time in five years.
DII Men’s swimming and diving TEAM RESULTS
1st: Drury, 523.5
2nd: Missouri S&T, 336
3rd: West Chester, 316.5
Drury swimmers won six individual events and two relays en route to the school’s fourth consecutive Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships team title. The Panthers, who have now won six national championships overall, finished well ahead of host Missouri S&T. Panthers junior Mitch Snyder won both distance freestyles. Other event titlists for Drury were Alexander Protsenko (100-yard backstroke), Yi Wen Huang (100-yard butterfly), Tomas Kuzvard (200-yard individual medley) and Kyrill Fesenko (400-yard individual medley). Protsenko, Huang, Kuzvard and Kyle Kearbey teamed to win the 400-yard freestyle relay with a meet-record time of 2:58.84, while Protsenko, Huang, Kuzvard and Artem Sludnov set a meet record in the 400-yard medley relay. Dan Perdew of UC San Diego was named swimmer of the meet after winning both freestyle sprints.
dII woMen’s Swimming and Diving TEAM RESULTS
1st: Truman, 461.5
2nd: Drury, 449
3rd: North Dakota, 324
Truman pulled away from a dead heat with Drury on the final day of the meet to claim its seventh national title in eight years. Drury snapped the Bulldogs’ six-year run last winter. Kate Aherne was Truman’s lone individual champion, winning the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:03.67. Aherne also teamed with Emily Pufall, Kendra Brunkow and Molly Polette to lead the Bulldogs to the championship in the 800-yard freestyle relay (7:36.43). Southern Connecticut State sophomore Kristen Frost set three national records en route to four individual titles. Frost won the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.15), the 500-yard freestyle (4:45.69), the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:50.49) and was more than 25 seconds ahead of Polette to win the 1,650-yard freestyle (16:17.66). For her efforts, Frost was named swimmer of the meet. Drury had individual champions in the 100-yard backstroke (Janelle Slattery), 100-yard butterfly (Li Tao) and 400-yard individual medley (Abbey Musch), while North Dakota’s Carissa Gormally dominated the sprints with wins in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events.
DII Wrestling
TEAM RESULTS
1st: Neb.-Kearney, 108.5
2nd: Minn. St. Mankato, 108
3rd: Neb.-Omaha, 93.5
Nebraska-Kearney heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev’s come-from-behind 4-1 victory over Central Oklahoma’s Dustin Finn gave the Antelopes the Division II Wrestling Championships team title by a half point over Minnesota State Mankato. Dlagnev, a four-time All-American, trailed in the second period, but tied the match when Finn was called twice for stalling. Dlagnev took the lead by easily escaping at the start of the third period, then recorded a late takedown to secure the victory. Minnesota State Mankato’s Jason Rhoten (157) and Andy Pickar (165) won their weight classes to give the Mavericks the lead in the overall team race. In Pickar’s 8-2 victory in the 165-pound final, he almost earned bonus points late in the third period as the referee counted for back points. The official counted one before the final buzzer sounded. Had he gotten to two, Pickar would have won by a major decision, and Mankato would have won the team title by a half point. James Kane from Clarion takes his first dive during the men’s 3-meter competition.
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