Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, the Great Lakes Valley Conference will celebrate its 40th anniversary by recognizing 40 teams that made a significant impact both on campus and at the Conference level. This week’s featured team is the 2014 Drury men’s swimming and diving squad.
40 TEAMS | 40 YEARS
WEEK 22: 2014 Drury Men’s Swimming & Diving
SEASON SUMMARY
The 2013-14 Drury men’s swimming and diving program entered the inaugural season of GLVC competition with its eyes set on a 10th-straight NCAA Championship, but knew that its path would now go through Crawfordsville, Indiana with another trophy to earn. With it’s annual fall competition against NCAA Division I foes Missouri and Missouri State in the books, the Panthers returned home to their newly refurbished Breech Pool where junior Banjo Bora quickly set the pool record in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:01.47. Just two weeks later, he posted a new school record in the 100 Breast (54.96) at the Arkansas-Little Rock Christmas Invitational, while diver Jesse Allard took titles on both the 1- and 3-meter boards. GLVC Athlete of the Week honors went to Jordi Montseny, however, as he recorded NCAA standards in each of the four races he competed. The Panthers went into the semester break as the top-ranked team in the country, while boasting the nation’s fastest relay times in the 200 Free and 400 Medley as well. Following its training trip to Hawaii, Drury returned home to defeat Missouri State 126-117 in the Panthers’ annual “Duel in the Pool” meet. Drury maintained its No. 1 ranking in the final CSCAA DII national poll heading into the first-ever GLVC Championships, Feb. 12-15. Despite leaving day one without an event title, Drury’s depth gave the Panthers a 139-138 advantage over Missouri S&T. On day two, Allard tied for the title on the 3-meter board, while a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 IM by Albert Lloyd, Borja and Kacper Pelczynski grabbed the headlines. Allard scored the 1-meter title on Friday while his teammates in the pool helped extend the Panthers’ lead over second-place Indianapolis, 628-563. Drury would see freshman Alec Morris pick up the GLVC crown in the 1,650 Free and Sean Feher score a win in the 200 Back on the final day to help Drury to the inaugural GLVC Championship. The Panthers scored 838 points to nose out runner-up Indianapolis (747.5) and Missouri S&T (743.5). After a few weeks off to prepare for the NCAA Championships, senior Nick McCarthy literally and figuratively got the Panthers off the blocks quickly at nationals, winning the 50 Free title at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. McCarthy touched in 19.75 to edge teammate Daniel Radzkowski as the 1-2 finish help the DU men build a big first-day lead. The Panthers had 144.5 points after the opening day to easily outdistance second-place Florida Southern (83). Drury would extend that lead to nearly 100 points at the halfway point to 276.5-182 over second-place Wayne State. The Panthers got things started quickly in the evening, with Rzadkowski, Feher, junior Samuel Olson and McCarthy winning the 200 Free Relay in an NCAA-record time of 1:19.00, breaking the old mark of 1:19.25 set by Limestone in 2009. Depth continued to bolster Drury’s lead on day three as the Panthers entered the final day with a 406.5-257 advantage over second-place Florida Southern. It was smooth sailing on the fourth and final day of the NCAA Championships as the men finished it all off with an NCAA record-setting victory in the closing 400 Free Relay (2:54.37) from Rzadkowski, Olson, Lloyd and McCarthy. Drury finished with 569.5 points, well ahead of runner-up Florida Southern (361). Wayne State finished third at 358.5, followed by Queens (285) and Bridgeport (258.5) to round out the top five.
IMPRESSIVE INDIVIDUALS
Nick McCarthy
- NCAA & GLVC Champion – 50 Free
- NCAA Champion – 200 Free Relay
- NCAA Champion – 400 Free Relay
- NCAA Runner-Up – 100 Free
- All-GLVC First Team – 50 Free
- All-GLVC Second Team – 200 Free, 800 Free Relay
Daniel Radzkowski
- NCAA Champion – 200 Free Relay
- NCAA Champion – 400 Free Relay
- All-GLVC Second Team – 800 Free Relay
Samuel Olson
- NCAA Champion – 200 Free Relay
- NCAA Champion – 400 Free Relay
Sean Feher
- NCAA Champion – 200 Free Relay
- NCAA Champion – 400 Free Relay
- GLVC Champion – 200 Back
- All-GLVC First Team – 200 Back
- All-GLVC Second Team – 100 Breast, 400 Medley Relay
- Went on to earn the 2014-15 Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award as GLVC Male Athlete of the Year
Jesse Allard
- GLVC Champion – 1-Meter Diving
- GLVC Champion – 3-Meter Diving
- All-GLVC First Team – 1-Meter, 3-Meter
Brian Reynolds
- Currently coaching his 36th year with the Drury men’s swimming and diving program
- Coached Drury to 10 consecutive NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships (2005-14)
- NCAA Division II Men’s Coach of the Year (7th career award)
- Coached Drury to GLVC Championships in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
LASTING LEGACY
The 2013-14 Drury men’s swimming and diving program secured its 10th consecutive NCAA Championship and 12th overall since the Panthers moved to Division II in 1994-95. Counting their NAIA days, the 2014 title was the 21st men’s national championship, with all but one of those coming under the storied dynasty led by head coach Brian Reynolds, who had just completed his 31st year. Not only did Drury win its 10th straight NCAA Championship, but it also secured the inaugural GLVC Championship. Individually, Drury shined in the pool with its depth during the postseason, but no swimmer was arguably more dominant than Nick McCarthy. In his three previous trips to nationals, McCarthy had finished 17th, 16th and ninth in the 50 Free. Not only did McCarthy walk away with the national title in 50 Free as a senior, he finished second in the 100 Free and was the anchor on both the 200 and 400 Free relays that broke NCAA records en route to national titles. Another member of the 200 and 400 Free relay squads was Samuel Olson, who completed an impressive comeback as well. During the team’s annual Hawaii training trip in early January, Olson broke his collarbone and was thought to be lost for the season, but he returned to guide the Panthers to two of the four national relay titles he earned in his career. Since the 2013-14 season, Drury has continued to find success in the pool with three additional GLVC Championships, two NCAA national runner-up finishes, and a pair of sixth-place results at nationals, with all combining to fuel the run towards NCAA title No. 13. Sean Feher would later be named the 2014-15 Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award winner as the GLVC Male Athlete of the Year, while just this past season, Andrea Bazzoli became the second Panther swimmer in four years to win the league’s top award.